Memphis Grizzlies vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Preview
Where: Chesapeake Energy Arena – Oklahoma City, OK
When: Friday, February 3, 2017, 8:00 PM ET
Line: Memphis Grizzlies (+1.5) at Oklahoma City Thunder (-1.5); total: 203.5 – view all NBA lines
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Betting on the Memphis Grizzlies (30-21)
There’s just no stopping Memphis right now. The Grizzlies extended their winning streak to three games with an emphatic 119-99 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night. Four players scored in double figures for the Grizzlies who moved to within 1.5 games of the Utah Jazz for the fifth spot in the Western Conference standings.
Leading the way for the Grizzlies in this game was Marc Gasol. The three-time All-Star scored 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field. He wreaked havoc against a Denver defense that was sorely missing the services of star big man Nikola Jokic. So far this season, Gasol is averaging 20.8 points (his previous career-best was 17.4 in 2014-2015) and shooting 41.7 percent (on 3.7 attempts per game) from beyond the arc.
Gasol and the rest of the Grizzlies will look to keep the momentum going when they lock horns with the Oklahoma City Thunder later tonight. They will fancy their chances of doing just that as they have fared extremely well on the road of late. The Grizzlies have started their six-game road trip with three consecutive wins. They have won by an average of 15.3 points during this span.
The total has gone over in the Grizzlies’ last four road games.
Betting on the Oklahoma City Thunder (28-22)
Oklahoma City’s losing woes show no sign of abating as the Thunder crashed to their third straight defeat with a humiliating 128-100 loss to Chicago on Wednesday night. The Thunder simply had no answer for Jimmy Butler who exploded for a game-high 28 points. It was another disappointing result for the reeling Thunder who have now lost six of their last 10 games.
The Thunder will look to end their losing rut when they square off with the Memphis Grizzlies tonight. For OKC to pull off the much-needed victory, it needs to improve on its play on the defensive end. In their last three losses, opponents have scored an average of 114.3 points. Their defensive ineptitude was in full display in the second half of their game against Chicago where they allowed the Bulls to shoot a whopping 68 percent from the field.
With regards to their offense, the Thunder are expected to ride the hot hand of Russell Westbrook. The league’s scoring leader poured in 28 points in the loss to Chicago. He can’t do it all alone, though, and he needs the other Thunder players to contribute as well against the Grizzlies. Oklahoma City’s players other than Westbrook shot a combined 28 for 77 from the field against the Bulls on Wednesday.
The Thunder are 7-3 SU and 7-2-1 ATS in their last 10 home games against the Grizzlies.
Writer’s Prediction
Memphis (+1.5) edges past OKC, 101-97.
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