The Portland Trail Blazers (44-22) travel to Memphis to take on the Grizzlies (47-21) in what should be a low-scoring game. Action begins at 8:00 pm ET on Saturday, Mar. 21 and can be seen on CSN-NW and SPSO.
The Grizzlies are are expecting a better outcome after their 105-95 loss to the Pistons on Tuesday. Jeff Green was the team’s leading scorer with 21 points. The Trail Blazers, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after the 108-104 loss against the Heat on Wednesday. Portland still lost despite the best efforts of LaMarcus Aldridge, who recorded his 35th double-double of the season with 34 points and 12 rebounds.
Aldridge has upped his play for the Trail Blazers, averaging 26.0 points, 11.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.6 blocks, and 0.6 three-pointers over the past five games.
Baskets could be hard to come by as Memphis ranks third in the league, allowing just 99.6 points per 100 possessions, while Portland is fourth (99.9).
The Grizzlies have emerged victorious in all three games against the Trail Blazers this year, including a 98-92 win the last time these two teams met. Courtney Lee had a standout performance in the victory, putting up 19 points, three rebounds, three assists, one steal, and two three-pointers.
The odds for Memphis and Portland are even, while the Over/Under (O/U) is unavailable as of now. The Grizzlies have gone 47-21 Straight Up (SU) and 31-35-2 Against The Spread (ATS). Over their last 10 games, they have only managed a record of 3-7 ATS. The Grizzlies are one of the best in the NBA in terms of free throw percentage, shooting an impressive .778 from the free throw line.
As for their opponent, the Trail Blazers have a record of 34-31-1 ATS and 44-22 SU. Against the Western Conference, Portland is 24-14 SU and 20-17-1 ATS. The Trail Blazers convert their free throws at a high percentage, leading the league at .797. The Trail Blazers have controlled the glass with an average of 46.0 per game, second in the league. Moving on to Portland’s defense, the Trail Blazers have the least opponent three-pointers made in the league with 407 (6.2 per game).
The Grizzlies’ win over Portland in their last game bumped their SU record to 8-2 over the Trail Blazers in the last 10 meetings. The Grizzlies also lead the matchup ATS with a record of 7-3. Memphis held the edge in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers one time, while Portland was never able to do so in their most recent 10 games.
Predictions: SU Winner – POR, ATS Winner – POR
Notes
Portland averages 102.8 points per game (ranked ninth). However, Memphis has allowed an average of just 95.4 points per game (ranked second).
Portland puts up 103.0 points per away game, ranking seventh in the league. Memphis gives up just 93.7 points per home game (ranked second).
The Portland Trail Blazers have a formidable 34-7 record when their opponents score fewer than 100 points this season. The Memphis Grizzlies are 18-19 when they score less than 100.
When the Portland Trail Blazers allow at least 100 points they are 10-15, while the Memphis Grizzlies are 29-2 when they reach the century mark.
The Grizzlies have a defensive rating of 99.6, third-best in the NBA. The Trail Blazers also rank in the top half of the league for their offensive rating of 105.1 (ranked seventh).
The Memphis Grizzlies have one of the best field goal percentages this season, ranking 10th in the league with a FG% of 45.7%. When their opponents have a similar or higher FG%, the Portland Trail Blazers are 10-12.
The Memphis Grizzlies rank higher for their field goal percentage (10th) than they do for their effective field goal percentage (18th). The Portland Trail Blazers rank higher for their effective field goal percentage (ninth) than they do for their field goal percentage (18th).
On average, the Portland Trail Blazers make 22.2 assists per game and the Memphis Grizzlies make 21.8. Portland is ranked ninth, while Memphis is ranked 14th.
Memphis makes an average of 4.4 blocks per game (ranked 23rd). Portland ranks higher in blocks with 4.7 (ranked 14th).
The Portland Trail Blazers are the NBA’s best defensive rebounding team. The Memphis Grizzlies rank 18th in offensive rebounding.
The Memphis Grizzlies rank sixth in steals, with an average of 8.8 per game. When the Portland Trail Blazers allow at least 8 steals, they have a winning 23-14 record.
