Game of the Week: Oklahoma City at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m., Monday Despite being the No. 1 team in the West, despite their outstanding, consistent play throughout the season, despite the most valuable player-caliber year that Tony Parker is having, despite the resurgence of Tim Duncan, despite their balanced, assist-happy offense and despite the steady hand of Gregg Popovich - no one is talking about the Spurs as if they are legitimate contenders. Oklahoma City is the commentariat's favorite to repeat as Western Conference champs. To do so, the Thunder will likely have to go through San Antonio. Although the Thunder are only one game behind the Spurs, if the playoffs were to start today, the Spurs would hold home court advantage and San Antonio has lost at home four times all season. Monday's game is a statement game for Oklahoma City. If they win, they'll be tied with the Spurs for the best record in the West. They'll have proven that they can beat the Spurs at home. Monday's winner will take a 2-1 lead in the season series, with the final game to be played in Oklahoma City on April 4. San Antonio will be playing without Parker, but the Spurs have the added motivation of Friday's embarrassing loss to Portland. The Spurs should already be taken seriously. If they can beat the Thunder without Parker, those who have been ignoring them will be forced to take notice. Knicks at Denver, Wednesday, 10:30 p.m. It's hard not to feel bad for the Knicks. This week they have to play five games in seven days on an extended Western Conference road trip, their longest such jaunt of the season. And they'll have to do it all without Amar'e Stoudemire, who is out at least six weeks and much of it without Carmelo Anthony, who is currently day-to-day with a knee injury. This is a critical time for the Knicks. Their cross-town rivals are two and a half games back in the Atlantic division and Brooklyn has been playing well of late, going 8-4 in their last 12 games with big wins over the Pacers and the Hawks. Meanwhile, Denver's current winning streak is being overshadowed by Miami's dominance but the Nuggets have won eight straight, with victories against some of the best teams in the Western Conference during that stretch, including both the Clippers and Thunder. Ty Lawson has been playing superbly in the past few weeks. The Nuggets" point guard has averaged 23 points and 7 assists in his last 10 games. That's better than his fellow North Carolina alum and former Nugget, Raymond Felton, who will need to improve his consistency and overall output while Anthony and Stoudemire recover. Memphis at Los Angeles Clippers, Wednesday, 10:30 p.m. Knicks supporters may be focusing on Denver on Wednesday night but other N.B.A. fans are likely to tune in to this Western Conference showdown. Memphis has been on the radar since the Grizzlies shocked San Antonio in the first round two seasons ago. But Memphis isn't an eight seed any longer. They're in third place in the West, recently moving ahead of the Clippers in the standings after winning 12 of their last 13 games. It all starts on defense for Memphis, which allows opponents to score just 88.8 points per 48 minutes this season, making the Grizzlies the stingiest team in the league. In their last 10 games, that statistic has improved, with the Grizz holding opponents to 85.3 points per 48 minutes with a low field goal percentage of 42.2 percent. By comparison, the Clippers have allowed opponents to score 94.2 points per 48 minutes this season, and in their last 10 games have let that number rise to 98.7. That's not a shabby defense by any means (in fact, the Clippers have allowed the fourth fewest points in the league over the season) but it helps to explain why the Clips have been losing to efficient offenses like Oklahoma City, Denver and San Antonio. As the saying goes, defense wins championships. The Clippers have one of the more dynamic offenses in the league, but if they can't stop teams, they won't have much of a chance in the playoffs. The Grizzlies" balanced offense should be a good test for the Clippers, while their defense provides an instructive model.