In Game 1 of their 2025 quarterfinal matchup, the OKC Thunder put forth a truly historic performance at the expense of the Memphis Grizzlies.
Firing on all cylinders, from their lights-out shooting to their elite defensive efforts, Oklahoma City had itself an overall dominant outing and ultimately coasted to a 1-0 series lead with their 131-80 blowout win.
Coming into the postseason, expectations were already through the roof for the ball club, as the odds-makers already had them pegged as the favorites to win this year's NBA Finals.
Now, following Sunday's massacre, confidence in their title potential among both fans and pundits seems to have skyrocketed. However, when it comes to those actually participating in this first-round showdown, the series is still understood to be far from over.
Directly following their Game 1 spectacle, coach Mark Daigneault made sure to keep things in perspective by stressing that, while he's certainly proud of his team, Memphis is "going to play a lot better than that" moving forward as they have "big-time competitors" on their roster.
Ahead of Tuesday's Game 2, one of said competitors, Ja Morant, further strengthened the notion that a much more competitive contest should be expected, as he revealed that he and his teammates are heading into Paycom Center with one, straightforward message: "Go out and get this next one!"
Ja Morant heading into Game 2 vs. Thunder with history on his side
As Morant pointed out in his interview, throughout his impressive professional career, he has won just one Game 1 in five tries.
What's worth noting about this track record is the fact that, leading into Tuesday's slate, he and the Grizzlies have gone undefeated in the direct follow-up to these ill-fated openers.
Now, though the Thunder should still feel quite confident in their ability to take care of business once again, especially when considering they went 33-8 in front of their home crowd this season and haven't lost to Morant and co. since December 7, 2022 (have gone 9-0 since), it must be understood that Memphis is far from a team that can afford to be overlooked.
This round-one matchup is by no means your typical one vs. eight seed series, as the Grizzlies had found themselves slotted in as high as the number two spot in the Western Conference standings as recently as March and finished the year with just two fewer wins than the third-seeded Lakers at 48-34.
On top of this, they are spearheaded by two perennial All-Stars in Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr., and have several other high-end contributors in Desmond Bane, Santi Aldama, and Scotty Pippen Jr. surrounding them as stud supporting talents.
Because of this, even with how Game 1 played out, Memphis should not be counted out.
Ja is clearly stressing this kind of sentiment ahead of Game 2, and fortunately, the Thunder seem to already have the perfect mentality to hopefully counter this type of confidence.