NBA: Boston Celtics vs. Memphis Grizzlies Preview, Odds, Prediction

The Boston Celtics will have a tough time in Memphis, where they meet the Grizzlies on Monday night. It is arguably the most exciting matchup of the entire day, and we, as well as the entire NBA community, expect to see one hell of a fight at the FedEx Forum. These units are among the top favorites for winning their respective conferences, and they both have certain title ambitions, and all this makes tonight’s matchup even more important.

Preview

Boston Celtics (6-3, -170) trashed the New York Knicks in their previous event, 133-118, displaying a very strong performance in the attack and providing us with yet another proof of their power. According to the majority of power rankings No.1 in the East, this team is, and as time goes by, Boston is justifying that status.

Last year’s NBA finalists scored 27 threes in 51 attempts, setting season-high figures in that area. Even in the moments when the Knicks played better, having the initiative and the swing, the Cs would kill that with a few long-distance hits that would immediately stop NY’s surge.

Jaylen Brown had 30 points, 6-for-11 for three, Jayson Tatum had the same number of long-distance shots from 13 tries, and he scored 26 points. The bench was very good, with Sam Hauser leading the way with five threes and 17 points, while Malcolm Brogdon scored 14 buckets.

Memphis Grizzlies (7-3, +140) had a hard time beating the Washington Wizards last night. Instead of breaking the rival’s defiance during the third period once they went up 20 points, the Grizzlies allowed the franchise from DC to come back, and even take the lead at a certain moment of the final sequence. In the end, it was 103-97 for the hosts.

Bane and Morant were once again the leading figures on the court, with bane dropping 28 points and Morant scoring 23 with nine boards, though with pretty poor shooting stats. Ja made only nine of his 27 shooting attempts.

Brandon Clark played 21 minutes off the bench, he missed only one shot of his eight and had 16 points with five boards. These three guys were the only ones who had double-digit points.

Head to Head Games

The Cs won both meetings last year, and they did it pretty confidently, while scoring a high number of points. At first, Boston was better than the Grizzlies at the TD Garden, beating them 120-107. Following that, the Celtics posted a win at the FedEx Forum, 139-110, demolishing the hosts who even though are one of the top-scoring teams in the NBA, couldn’t keep pace with the boys in green.

Prediction

The line for the totals is set at 231 points, and for us, this is a clear over. The reason for that is Boston’s recent performances, the last two, especially against the Bulls and the Knicks, where we saw their shooting percentages at a very high level. Memphis will be, as usual, aggressive at home, and all this should lead to high offensive numbers. After all, two H2H matchups during the previous year were both over that line. The odds on that are -110.

Pick: Over 231 points -110