Easter is usually a time of reflection, a time to remember the blessings that come with the resurrection of our savior, Jesus Christ. For the Memphis Grizzlies, however, the only blessing of the day was that their game against the Thunder only lasted 48 minutes.

In an all time shellacking, the Thunder beat the Grizzlies like Mike Tyson would beat another boxer, winning the first game of the playoff series 130-81, in one of the heaviest playoff defeats in NBA history. 

Think about that: The Thunder, a playoff team, beat the Grizzlies, also a playoff team, by 51 points. Nothing went right for them from the opening tip until the final buzzer. The game was called by several analysts as an “evisceration,” “desecration,” “annihilation.” I think the most appropriate name for this game would be the Easter Massacre. 

At one point, the Thunder lead went up to 60 points. This wasn’t a basketball game; this was a mockery of the game of basketball. I don’t even think that if Christ himself came out of the stands and took the Thunder on by himself, he couldn’t have beaten the Thunder for the Grizzlies, even if he cared enough to intervene in favor of the Grizzlies.  What is worse, the Grizzlies will play against the Thunder again in Oklahoma City on Tuesday, before returning to Memphis to play on Friday. 

As for the Thunder, Shai Giligeous Alexander had an off day, but it really didn’t matter, as the entire roster got involved in scoring on Sunday. Jalen Williams scored 20 points, and Aaron Wiggins scored 21 points in the game, and the amount of depth that they have was evident in this game for the Thunder.

As for the Grizzlies, it is only one game, but if this team plays poorly once again, expect this series to be over as quickly as it started for Memphis. This could get ugly pretty quickly if the Grizzlies end up losing by 20 or more points in Game 2. If the Grizzlies can get the offense going again, the series could become more interesting for sure.