Thunder: Must-win Game 2?

When the Thunder got up 2-0 on Denver, we trotted out the famous 94 percent stat — in NBA history, 94 percent of the teams that go up two games to none have gone on to win the series.

But how about teams that go up 2-0 by winning twice on the road? That gives a team a 2-0 lead with three home games left, if needed. Seems like that would be an even more sure shot for the team in front.

Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook (0) passes the ball away from Darrell Arthur (00) of Memphis in the first half during game one of the Western Conference semifinals between the Memphis Grizzlies and the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA basketball playoffs at Oklahoma City Arena in Oklahoma City, Sunday, May 1, 2011. Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman

Not so. In NBA history, 14 teams have won on the road the first two games  of a seven-game series. Eleven have gone on to win the series. That’s a 78.6 percent rate.

A couple of things to consider. One, a pool of 14 is not a strong sampling. Not like the more than 100 times a team has gone up 2-0 anywhere. Another, if a team loses the first two games at home, that means it’s the higher seed and in most cases the better team, in theory. Not sure how relevant that is in the Thunder-Memphis series. No one wants a piece of the high-flying Grizzlies right now. But Memphis did go 46-36 in the regular season. The Grizzlies are vulnerable somewhere.