NBA Handicapping Predictions – Cavs vs Grizzlies
The Grizzlies have won 4 straight, but all of those wins have come to team that have a sub .500 record. Tonight they take on another losing club in the Cavs, who are coming off a loss and are only 3/7 in their last 10 games.
Venue/ Stadium: FedExForum, Memphis, TN
Time/Date: 8 PM EST Monday, April 23, 2012
NCAA Odds From: Bovada
Moneyline: OFF
Spread (ATS): Grizzlies -13
Over/Under: 191
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Memphis Grizzlies Preview
The Grizzlies only trail the Clippers by 1 game in the Western Conference and if they can pass up the Clip Joint they will wrap up the 4th seed and host a first round playoff series. NBA lines have the Griz as a big 13-point home favorite with a total of 191.
In their last games the Grizzlies beat the Portland Blazers 93-89 while the Cavs lost to the San Antonio Spurs 114-98.
This season the Cavs are 30-33 ATS with an O/U record of 30-33 and the Grizzlies are 29-35 ATS with an O/U record of 25-39.
The Grizzlies cannot suffer a letdown facing the weak Cavs and C Marc Gasol stated, “Sometimes, we play to the level of our opponents. If we play a good team, we play a lot better. If we play the not-so-good teams, we play to their level.”
This is the only game of the season between these 2 teams and if the Griz lose tonight they will not be able to pass the Clippers since they have the tiebreaker.
The Cavs have lost 9 of their last 11 road games and for them to pull off the big upset they will need good games from Kyrie Irving and Antawn Jamison, who combined for 40 points in the loss to the Spurs. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
The Grizzlies have won their last 2 games facing the Cavs in Memphis.
The Cavs need to really worry about Griz leading scorer Rudy Gay, who is averaging 22.6 ppg on 50.9% shooting over his last 10 games. Memphis has a well-balanced team with the guards of Mike Conley and O.J. Mayo, C Marc Gasol, and PF Zach Randolph are all averaging in double figures.
The Cavs will have their work cut out for them on offense facing a Memphis defense that ranks 6th in the league in opponents’ points allowed. To pull off the upset they will have to rely on their offense since their defense only ranks 26th in the league.
In some betting trends for this non-conference match up the Cavs are -4 ATS in their last 5 games overall, 2-8 ATS in their last 10 games vs. a team with a winning S.U. record, and they have an Under record of 5-2 in their last 7 games as a road underdog of 11.0 or greater.
The Grizzlies are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games overall, 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games as a favorite, and they have an Under record of 4-1 in their last 5 games.
Jason’s Pick: The Grizzlies will win this game, but since they have not played well against losing teams as of late the Cavs will cover the big spread.
