this weeks nba game of the week memphis grizzlies vs oklahoma city thunder nbanba game of the week gauging western contenders 3 2014every week the new york times chooses one essential game to watch highlighting hot teams winning and losing streaks and statistical intrigue in the nbamemphis at oklahoma city monday 8 pm easternin the eastern conference teams do not need a particularly impressive record to be in the mix for a playoff spot washington and chicago the fifth and sixthplace teams in the east are 500 charlotte at 2128 would sneak into the playoffs as the eighthplace teamit is a different story in the western conference in which ninthplace dallas is 2721 the mavericks were unseated for the eighth spot in the standings by the resurgent memphis grizzlies 2620 who have won nine of their last 10 gamesit is not hard to identify the source of the grizzlies sudden competitiveness marc gasol the nbas defensive player of the year last season returned to the team 10 games ago after a knee injury had sidelined him for two months the team is allowing 1028 points per 100 possessions for the season but in the games since gasols return that mark has been 944two of the grizzlies recent wins have been against the houston rockets whose center dwight howard was limited by gasol howard averaged 105 points in the two losses about 8 below his season average gasols willingness to get a little rough he tried to throw howard to the floor in the second game reflects a player returning to full strengththe grizzlies have also been aided by their acquisition of shooting guard courtney lee whom they received from the boston celtics in a trade in which they gave up jerryd bayless lee made his debut on jan 7 scoring 12 points in an overtime loss to the san antonio spurs and he has continued to be a solid contributor averaging 137 points 28 rebounds and 17 assists a game since the trade he gives the grizzlies a muchneeded outside threat someone who can punish defenses that pay too much attention to gasol and forward zach randolphthe memphis revival is more bad news for competitors in the west where no team has quite managed to separate from the pack of contenders the oklahoma city thunder have made the strongest case in recent weeks mounting a 10game winning streak that ended on saturday with a loss to the washington wizards the thunder are similar to the grizzlies in one respect the return of an injured star russell westbrook in their case could elevate their play westbrook is expected back in late february as soon as feb 20 according to a yahoo sports report the west has drawn attention for its parity in recent seasons in the 2011 playoffs for example the eighthseeded grizzlies defeated the topseeded spurs only the fourth such upset in nba history the thunder have looked awfully tough recently but they are as vulnerable as past conference leaders