It’s an unusual Thursday night in the NBA as there are five games on tap. Normally, we see the TNT doubleheader and maybe one other game, but together there’s a bigger menu. Nonetheless, the main attraction is the two TNT games, which sets us up with a couple of non-conference pairings. The Memphis Grizzlies and Washington Wizards are both trying to snap out of their slumps in the early game and then LeBron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers meet the San Antonio Spurs in the late game. Here’s a preview and pick for both:
Memphis Grizzlies @ Washington Wizards
NBA Odds: Wizards -1
There is no doubt that the Grizzlies are not playing their best basketball right now. Something happened right in and around the All-Star break but since February 11th, this team is just 6-6. They’ve been losing ground relative to the Golden State Warriors in the fight for the top seed in the Western Conference, falling back to the pack. The third-place Houston Rockets are just 1.5 games back.
However, for all that’s wobbly and uncertain about the Grizzlies, it’s a much worse situation with the Wizards, who have amazingly not won a game against a team with a winning record since beating the Chicago Bulls on January 14th. They’ve lost nine straight to teams above .500 and are 9-17 against them this season. This is a team that at one point was 31-15. They’ve lost five of 18 since then.
Washington has lost focus at the offensive end of the court, as shown by the fact that the Wizards haven’t scored at least 100 points in a game since February 24th against Golden State (and that game was a loss). Although they average 98.4 points per game on the season, they scored just 93 per game in February (29th in the NBA) and are at 92.8 in March. The Grizzlies are still the league’s best defensive team, so we’ll look for that to be the main factor that carries them to a win.
Pick: Grizzlies +1
Cleveland Cavaliers @ San Antonio Spurs
NBA Odds: Spurs PICK
This is a game in which the whole NBA is going to be paying very close attention to both teams – especially the Spurs. San Antonio has struggled to find its form all season long and maybe the defending champions are finally putting it together, but they need to prove it here. Tony Parker has gone through prolonged stretches with shooting percentages in the 30’s or worse and point totals in single digits or very low double figures. However, he scored a season-high 32 points in a win over the Chicago Bulls last Sunday and followed that up with 23 points and nine assists in a win against Toronto. He is showing signs of being the player the NBA is accustomed to seeing. If Parker really is getting healthier after dealing with a lot of nagging injuries, the Spurs instantly become a championship contender. It also helps that Kawhi Leonard is finally playing his best ball of the season. So far this month, he’s playing 35.8 minutes per game while scoring 22.5 points, collecting 8.0 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocks. These two are the keys to a Spurs repeat nowadays.
San Antonio has won six straight but beating teams like Denver and Sacramento isn’t going to convince anyone of anything they didn’t already know. However, a win over Cleveland would hold some clout. San Antonio won in Cleveland earlier this season but that was way back in November when the Cavaliers were just getting started and had not made the various trades that have turned the team around (Timofey Mozgov and J.R. Smith in particular, with Dion Waiters leaving). Cleveland is coming off a 33-point win in Dallas against the Mavericks, which is impressive even if you’re not high on the Mavs. Should you pick the Cavs based on that game and the long-term improvements they’ve made the past two months, or should you trust the Spurs based on a six-game winning streak and a current 4-0 homestand? It’s a tough call, but if Parker plays well, the Spurs deserve the benefit of the doubt.
Pick: Spurs PICK
