NBA: Atlanta Hawks vs. Memphis Grizzlies Preview, Odds, Prediction

The Atlanta Hawks travel to Memphis, where they meet the Grizzlies, on the second of their back-to-back games. Trae and the boys won last night, following an OT, meaning that they might be a bit tired. When we add the distance and travel, it’s reasonable to see the odds favoring Memphis. The Grizzlies, meanwhile, are red hot, having five wins in the past five games, four at home. Taylor Jenkins’ unit caught its usual pace and delivered pain all over the NBA. Will they do the same tonight?

Preview

Atlanta Hawks (14-13, +240) won at home against Chicago, 123-122, stopping a three-game slide that saw them losing to the thunder at home, and the Knicks and the Nets on the road. It was AJ Griffin who scored a game-winner, scoring on an alley-oop as the time expired.

It was a back-and-forth event in which both teams had their sequences, with the Hawks losing the edge created in the first half and allowing the Bulls to come back. The home team had seven players with ten or more points, Bogdan Bogdanovic hitting 28 off the bench, with six threes in 14 attempts.

Bogi also added seven boards and five assists, quickly getting back in shape following the nasty injury that forced him to miss the opening several weeks of the competition. Trae had 19 points, 5-for-18, Griffin 17, Hunter 16, and Clint Capela 15 with 14 boards.

Memphis Grizzlies (17-9, -305) have five wins in a row, and four were at their FedEx Forum. Their record at home is 11 triumphs with two draws and is among the best in the league.

The streak started against the Sixers, 117-109, and continued in Detroit, 122-112. before coming back to Tennesee, where they beat Miami, 101-93, OKC Thunder, 123-102, and the Pistons, 114-103. As said, the Grizzlies are very confident at home, as we can see from the results.

In the most recent event, against the Pistons, whom they defeated 114-103, we saw Jaren Jackson Jr. dropping 20 points, a team-high. Memphis had five more players in double-digit points, Dillon Brooks, who had 16 buckets, Ja Morant with 15 and 12 assists, and Steven Adams and Tyus Jones had 10.

Head to Head

Atlanta and Memphis met twice in the previous season, and the Hawks triumphed on both occasions. The first event was in Memphis, where guests from Georgia trashed the rivals 132-98, inflicting them one of the nastiest defeats at home ever. The second game, the one in Atlanta, saw the Hawks triumph 120-105.

Prediction

The fact that the Hawks are more tired is an advantage for the hosts, who are also in excellent shape, which is one more reason why we back up the Grizzlies to take this contest. We also expect to see a very efficient event because both teams are pretty diversified in the offense and aren’t that interested in defense. Also, this should be a fun matchup between Ja and Trae, who could both go over 30 points. For those who like prop bets, this is the one that simply needs to be tried. They are among the best scorers in the league, and not such good defenders.

Pick: Memphis Grizzlies -305