As of this writing, the OKC Thunder find themselves well on their way toward advancing to their second-straight semifinal berth here in this 2025 NBA postseason.
Following Tuesday's win over the Memphis Grizzlies, Oklahoma City boasts a 2-0 lead in their first-round series.
What makes their situation all the more encouraging is that they've accomplished such a feat while registering the second-largest point differential in a two-game span to open a playoff round and with superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander playing well below his MVP-worthy standard.
However, while confidence in this team should be high moving forward as a result of this sensational start to the postseason, this best-of-seven showdown is by no means over.
In fact, should Memphis find a way to make one specific improvement to their game, there's a case to be made that they could find themselves getting right back into this series.
Thunder can't afford to have Grizzlies get hot from beyond the arc
Through this point in time, the Thunder have done a tremendous job of taking away the long-ball from Memphis' offensive game plan, as they've held them to just 24.6 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
Considering they finished as the sixth-best offense and within the top 12 in three-point percentage during the regular season, this type of production through the first two games of the series is far from the norm.
Though Game 2 still saw serious struggles in the shooting department for the Grizzlies, as they cashed in on a mere 32.3 percent of their attempts from distance, there were signs of life in this area of play that, if tapped into for a full 48 minutes, may give OKC some concern.
In the opening quarter of action, shooting proved to be a serious issue for both clubs, as Memphis saw splits of 22.2/11.1/80.0 while the Thunder registered in at 38.5/35/7/87.5.
The next two periods, however, saw the Grizzlies pull a complete 180 with their success-rate, as they would wind up shooting 57.8 percent from the field and a whopping 50.0 percent from deep while Oklahoma City went a still impressive, albeit lesser 50.0 percent from the floor and a rather pedestrian 35.0 percent from distance.
As a result of this regression to the mean (or closer to it, that is), the Grizzlies outscored the Thunder 62-58 during this span.
Fortunately, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and company held a 15-point edge heading into this run, and would go on to win the final quarter by eight points (20-28), so, in the end, this push by Memphis ultimately didn't amount to much.
Still, what this shows is that the Grizzlies are more than capable of lighting it up on offense if they get into a groove. Considering they have five regular rotation players who shot 39.0 percent or better from distance within their arsenal, even the smallest amount of wiggle room could lead to a hard-to-handle surge from Memphis.
Even with their commanding 2-0 lead, the Thunder need to remain fully locked in on the defensive side of the ball as they navigate through the rest of this series.
Especially now that they're heading back to Memphis for Games 3 and 4, this 48-win Grizzlies squad is not a team OKC can afford to ease up on.