NBA: San Antonio Grizzlies vs. Memphis Grizzlies Preview, Odds, Prediction

The Memphis Grizzlies host the San Antonio Spurs, hoping to start a new stretch of victories. Morant and the guys are currently third in the West, and they hope to see the Warriors making a few mistakes along the way, which would open a chance for them to seize the second spot. Meanwhile, the Spurs are one win behind the play-in spot. Gregg Popovich and his unit will try to reach the “wild card” round for the playoffs, but to be honest, they need to improve significantly to do so.

Preview

San Antonio Spurs (24-37, +270) are on one hell of a road trip. This will be their eighth consecutive away game and the last one in this stretch. We need to say that Popovich’s team played very well throughout this period, posting four wins and three losses, which is just fine when looking at the overall situation.

After two wins, in OKC and Washington, they narrowly lost the contest in Miami against the Heat, 133-129. May we add that the Spurs went above 120 points in four of the previous six matches, playing superb offense.

Against the Heat, we saw them shooting 55.6% from the field, and hitting 14 threes. On top of that, they had more boards than the hosts, 46-32, but couldn’t utilize that to win. Three players had 22 points each, Bates-Diop, Vassell, and Lonnie Walker IV. Tre Jones scored 19 with 11 assists and six boards.

Memphis Grizzlies (42-20, -385) lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in their first game following the All-Star break, but after that bounced back with a big win in Chicago. Morant and the company beat the Bulls, 116-110. Ja was in the middle of the story with a career-high 46 points, 15-for-28 from the field and 13-for-15 from the free-throw line.

What wasn’t a good thing in Memphis’ performance was the fact that they made only seven threes in 23 attempts. The downtown struggles continue to appear, and Taylor Jenkins will need to do something about it. On the other side, they would completely outrebound the Bulls, 61-41, and that was the difference-maker here besides Morant’s fantastic game.

Desmond Bane had 12 points, 1-for-7 for three, Steven Adams 12 as well, but with 21 boards, and Tyus Jones had 11 off the bench. Adams was fantastic in controlling the glass, and we want to stress out his contribution.

Head to Head Games

The two sides meet for the third time this year. Both ended in Memphis’s favor, 118-105 at FedEx Forum and the other 118-110 in San Antonio.

Prediction

We have a strong feeling that Morant might explode once again because he has favorable matchups on the floor, and also due to the Spurs’ unwillingness to play defense. So our first suggestion here is to go with a prop pick – Morant over 34.5 points. Of course, if you have the possibility of doing so. The other would be Memphis’ easy win, with the hosts covering an eight-point spread. The Spurs are too tired to resist the Grizzlies’ ferocious attack. We are sure that all the recent road games shortened their energy bar and that the Grizzlies know how to use that in the best possible way.

Pick: Memphis Grizzlies -8

 

Here is the preview for the Chicago Bulls vs. Miami Heat game.