NBA Playoffs 2013: What to Watch for During Saturday's Postseason Action

After Friday night's exciting doubleheader, two more NBA playoff games are set to take place on Saturday as the Memphis Grizzlies host the Oklahoma City Thunder and the New York Knicks travel to Indiana to take on the Pacers. Both series are deadlocked at 1-1, so Saturday will be a crucial day for all four teams involved.

The series are going in different directions at the moment as the Grizzlies now have momentum against the No. 1-seeded Thunder after taking Game 2. The No. 2-seeded Knicks found their mojo in Game 2 against the rough-and-tumble Pacers as they buried Indiana in the fourth quarter and managed to earn a split at home.

Both series can go either way at this point, so Game 3 promises to be pivotal as they are essentially five-game series now. Due to the contrasting styles that are involved in each series, Saturday's contests should be extremely entertaining. They promise to be cat-and-mouse affairs with plenty of back-and-forth action.

Here are the biggest keys and matchups to watch for while taking in Saturday's crucial NBA playoff encounters.

Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Memphis Grizzlies (5 p.m. ET on ESPN)

In perhaps the most interesting series of the second round, the Thunder and Grizzlies have been evenly matched thus far. The Thunder were heavily favored to represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals prior to the start of the postseason, but things haven't gone according to plan. Point guard Russell Westbrook was injured during their series with the Houston Rockets and will now miss the remainder of the season, so the Grizzlies have a fighting chance.

The Thunder were able to hold off the Grizzlies in Game 1, but Memphis turned up the intensity in Game 2 and knotted the series at 1-1. The main concern for Oklahoma City is finding a running mate for Kevin Durant. He has largely played well in this series as he is averaging 35.5 points per game, but he has had very little help and is being leaned on far too heavily.

While Westbrook had some lapses in judgment on the court, he took a lot of the burden off Durant's shoulders. ESPN released a telling stat regarding Durant's usage. He has averaged nearly twice as many dribbles per game than usual since Westbrook went out, which means that he doesn't trust his teammates to get the job done.

Memphis, on the other hand, is all about team basketball. Power forward has been great for the Grizzlies during the postseason, but he was fairly quiet with 15 points in Game 2. That didn't matter, though, as center Marc Gasol and point guard Mike Conley picked up the slack. Conley was particularly good as he fell just short of a triple-double with 26 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.

Conley's performance was so good that he now finds himself in elite company, according to ESPN.

As good as Durant is, there is too much for the Thunder to compensate for at this point. Reggie Jackson can't handle Conley, and it will be tough for Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins to deal with Randolph and Gasol.

Despite the fact that the Thunder are a No. 1 seed, they are now just an 18-1 shot to win the NBA Championship, according to Bovada. Memphis, on the other hand, is 8-1 and is actually favored to win this series. If the Grizzles win Game 3, it will be tough sledding for OKC moving forward.

New York Knicks vs. Indiana Pacers (8 p.m. ET on ABC)

Knicks fans were certainly worried after New York's Game 1 loss at home to the Pacers, but the Knicks came back with a vengeance in Game 2 as they outscored Indiana by 20 points in the fourth quarter en route to a blowout victory. The Knicks now have all the momentum, but it won't be easy to beat the Pacers on the road.

Indiana has been a schizophrenic team throughout the playoffs as it is unclear which version is going to show up. The Pacers turned in some dominant performances against the Atlanta Hawks in the first round, but they were blown out in a couple games as well. Indiana has done its best impression of Jekyll and Hyde during this series as well.

Carmelo Anthony has been criticized for failing to share the ball during the postseason, but it hasn't been much different from what he did during the regular season. Melo silenced his detractors in Game 2 as he led the Knicks with 32 points and nine rebounds. Anthony made half of the shots he attempted and took over during the fourth quarter of play.

According to ESPN, Anthony outscored the Pacers 16-15 on his own over the final 15 minutes of Game 2. The Pacers play great team basketball when they are on their game, but it will be incredibly tough to beat the Knicks if Anthony continues to play like this.

At the same time, Melo will need more support moving forward. New York got scoring throughout the lineup in Game 2, but nobody stepped up as a secondary option. That role is usually reserved for J.R. Smith, but he has struggled since being suspended for Game 4 against the Boston Celtics in the first round.

Smith was especially bad in Game 2 against the Pacers. He made only three of his 15 shots from the field and was ice cold all game long. Smith played so poorly that head coach Mike Woodson is considering cutting his minutes in upcoming games, according to Sports Illustrated.

Even if Smith continues to scuffle, the Knicks are back in control of this series. They really exerted themselves in Game 2, and provided Anthony plays the same way in Game 3, New York should be able to take a 2-1 lead.

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