The Memphis Grizzlies enter a crucial game 3 at home on Thursday night with their season on the line, as no team has ever completed a comeback from down 3-0 in an NBA playoff series. To make matters worse, the Grizzlies have the second-worst point differential (-70) in the first two playoff games in NBA history.
In the top 10 list of worst point differentials, which also includes the 2015-16 Memphis Grizzlies as third on the list (-58), only one team has won two games in the series, and two others have won one game. Quite frankly, history isn't on the Grizzlies' side, as the Oklahoma City Thunder have asserted clear dominance in this series.
While there are plenty of numbers to choose from to make sense of the mismatch this series has shown so far, one specific stat shows why this series has been a double-digit difference for the majority of the first two games.
Oklahoma City has a 48-8 advantage in fast break points
The Grizzlies finished the NBA's regular season second in the league in points per game (120.9) with only one game where they scored less than 100 points, and 99 points was what they scored in that game. However, after scoring over the century mark in their two play-in games, the team has failed to score 100 points in the first two games of this series.
A huge reason for that is they have scored a combined eight fast-break points in their two games against the Thunder. Meanwhile, the Thunder have scored 48 fast-break points in those two games. Game 1 saw a 27-5 advantage, and Game 2 saw a 21-3 advantage in the fast-break scoring department.
The Thunder and Grizzlies finished the regular season tied eighth in the NBA with 16.2 fast break points per game. However, you wouldn't know that based on how the first two games of this series have transpired. Oklahoma City's defense has the Grizzlies' offense in a headlock with no space to catch a breather.
Another added layer to that is the turnovers, as the Grizzlies have turned it over 39 times in the two games, allowing 49 points off of them. On the flip side, the Grizzlies have forced 23 total turnovers, with only 16 points scored off those turnovers to show.
One team is clearly better at making the other team pay for their mistakes while also limiting their own number of mistakes. If the Grizzlies want any chance at even winning one game in this series, they have to match the Thunder's energy for a full 48 minutes.