"The latest wrinkle in this superb Thunder-Grizzlies series involves a scheme to stop Russell Westbrook.

Memphis, keeping consistent with its tendency to throw the kitchen sink at Oklahoma City, has unleashed bulldog defender Tony Allen on the Thunder's All-Star point guard. The Grizzlies unveiled their latest strategy from the opening tip of Game 5.

Only the Thunder made such quick work of the Grizzlies — turning a first-quarter stalemate into a second-quarter breeze and, eventually, a second-half rout — that Memphis' modification never had much of a chance to make an impact.

But don't be surprised if the Grizzlies, now facing elimination, stick to the same strategy in Friday night's Game 6 inside FedExForum and hope for stronger results. The decision by the Grizzlies is designed to put the clamps on Westbrook. But the move also sparks a series of side effects.

Most importantly, Allen exerting his energy on Westbrook means he isn't attached to Thunder forward Kevin Durant. That's a good thing for the Thunder. It was Allen's "grit, grind" mentality that shut down Durant in Game 3, limiting the reigning two-time scoring champ to 2-for-10 shooting in the fourth quarter and overtime in the Grizzlies 101-93 win. With the Grizzlies unable to control Westbrook, though, Memphis has moved point guard Mike Conley over to Thabo Sefolosha and assigned Sam Young to Durant.

"Tony Allen is a good defender, and that tells you just how good he is," said Thunder coach Scott Brooks. "He can guard the best scorer in the league and one of the quickest, toughest point guards to guard in the league.""