NBA Basketball Matchup: Grizzlies vs Mavericks
By record, the Charlotte Bobcats are the worst team in the league. They have just 16 more games this season and the way they are playing they might not break double digits in wins something every other team has already done – even in a short season that is pretty bad.
Memphis Grizzlies (29-22) vs Dallas Mavericks (30-24)
Wednesday April 4
American Airlines Center – Dallas, TX
8:30PM
Moneyline:
Spread: Dallas -6.5
O/U: 185
Memphis
Memphis played last night, beating Golden State for their third victory in a row including an impressive win at Oklahoma City. Now that power forward Zach Randolph is back this is looking more and more like a team that could do some damage in the playoffs. Point guard Mike Conley has to get back to full strength though.
He played well last night after a couple games off with a bum ankle. The Grizzlies might avoid playing him back to back games right now to preserve him for the playoffs.
Speaking of playing well we might be seeing the resurgence of shooting guard O.J. Mayo. Mayo has scored 24, 22 and 19 points the last three games, far above his seasonal average of 12ppg. The Grizzlies get pretty balanced scoring from across their starting lineup but he is the one guy who can do real damage just shooting the ball.
If he can regain his form than it opens up slashing opportunities for Rudy Gay and posts ups for Marc Gasol and Randolph. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Dallas
The Dallas Mavericks are trying to catch the Grizzlies in the Southwest Division standings. After winning the championship this team has done a good job maintaining their defensive identify (6th in points allowed) but their offense outside of Dirk Nowitzki has become very spotty.
This team ranks in the bottom third of the league in pretty much every offensive category with an aging roster that only occasionally show glimpses of their youth.
At home this team is still tough to beat (19-9), though not a good bet (14-14 ATS). They will have the advantage of the extra day off but Memphis has the deeper roster and younger team. Memphis won the first game between these two teams this season and this is the first of twice they will play each other within the span of a week.
If Dallas wishes to catch the Grizzlies these games are a golden opportunity to bridge the gap.
Spread Pick: Memphis +6.5
O/U Pick: Over
Score Prediction: Memphis 99 – Dallas 97
