The Memphis Grizzlies hope to stop the bad losing streak on Sunday when the Brooklyn Nets are coming to town, but this is far from given – the home side has been thrown out of their character without Conley and the Nets have proven to be tough to beat recently. It may come down who wants it more, and such games are always fun to watch.
Nets at Grizzlies
Spread: Memphis -5.5 (-110) at BetDSI Sportsbook
Total: o/u 212 points (-110)
The Nets come close against the Blazers, lose 125-127
Black Friday matinee game against the Portland Trail Blazers was another game where the Brooklyn Nets showed they are no pushovers, playing even ball with another playoff hopeful team, but ultimately lost in a tight finish, missing key three-point tries.
The Nets started the game with the intent of getting into the paint, with Hollis-Jefferson, and Carroll finding gaps with drives and finishing with some floaters. On the other side, they held the Blazers to one and done, building a nice lead early on. As the Blazers pulled their defense to protect the paint, and the Nets reserves came in, the good shots were much tougher to find, and it allowed Portland to settle in and half their lead. At the break, Brooklyn led by only two but still seemed in control. However, their defense was spotty, and the Blazers top players found their rhythm. The second half was played at much faster pace, with sides trading baskets almost each trip down the floor. In a statistical quirk, both teams shot exactly the same percentages – 50 percent on field goals, 40 percent on three ball and 71.4 percent on free throws. It just shows you how close this game was. The finish was wild, with scrambles, missed free throws and chances on both ends. Dinwiddie scored 23 points to lead eight players in double figures for the Nets, while the Blazers got most of the points from their top trio. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson was the most efficient Brooklyn player, going 8-of-13 for 17 points, and the bench made up for the poor first half with a terrific second – they outscored their counterparts 53-27 for the night.
Coach Atkinson opted to start Zeller again, despite Booker feeling well and returning after a missed game. Zeller only played 20 minutes, but showed great versatility and had the team-best +12 plus/minus. He’ll probably hold his status coming forward, and may have earned more minutes.
Place: FedExForum, Memphis, Tennessee
Date/Time: Sunday, November 26th, 2017. 6:00 PM ET
TV Coverage: Fox Sports Southeast-Memphis, YES
Seventh consecutive loss for the Grizzlies
Just one game removed from getting outworked and outhustled on the glass by the Portland Trail Blazers (35-60 in a 92-100), the Memphis Grizzlies have replicated the same type of effort, losing 92-104 to the Nuggets in Denver, with a 23-50 rebounding defeat. As much as they’ve been missing Mike Conley Jr. in other areas of their game, this simply can’t be excused for his absence.
Coaching staff opted to give another chance to the same starting unit with Chalmers, Brooks, Green, and Parsons accompanying Gasol, and it worked a bit better on the offensive side. The Grizzlies managed to score enough not to give a big run, but the more talented Nuggets team slowly pulled away and the lead grew to 17 points even before halftime. Memphis would close the gap to 76-74 with a strong defensive third quarter, but Jokic saved Denver with taking the game over and it was as close as the Grizz would come. Marc Gasol had 15 points and a career-high 14 assists for Memphis, JaMychal Green scored a season-high 21 points and Tyreke Evans had 15 off the bench for the Grizzlies. Memphis shot 49.3 percent from the field and had 28 assists on 36 made field goals. That’s the good part. Now comes the bad, and I’m withholding the worst for the big finale. The Grizzlies overpassed it on many occasions, being tentative to take open shots. It lead to 18 turnovers, far to many they can withstand. They’ve also allowed Denver to shoot 65.8 percent from the floor in the first half. Finally, the 23 rebounds were are season-low, and only 3 offensive boards are ridiculous. Gasol had 6 and no other player had more than 3 boards. Giving up more possessions to their opponents was costly. Also, Chalmers can’t start – he worked well with the second unit (although his form wasn’t great in the week prior to Conley’s decision to heal his Achilles), but doesn’t mesh well with starters. Memphis are significantly better with him off the ball (and off the court), further compounding the handicap of not having Conley run the show.
Brandan Wright missed his third straight game with a groin injury, and Conley has no timetable to return, so the Grizzlies will have to improve with practice and repetition. There are no quick fixes, but losing can force coaches’ hands, so don’t be surprised if the Grizzlies try some different player combinations. For instance, James Ennis didn’t even play in the last game, despite being healthy.
Brooklyn Nets at Memphis Grizzlies Game Trends & Prediction
The Nets covered the spread in the last one as they were a 4.5-point underdog, and this is the third time in a row that they lost but got help by the added points. Overall, they are 11-7 against the spread, and have covered in seven of their last nine games – the two times they’ve failed to earn you a payout, they lost by a 0.5-point and 1-point. Also, they played just one under in the last six games, failing to reach the closing total points line by 0.5 points. This season, the Nets are 10-6 against the over/under, but only 4-4 on the road.
Memphis haven’t been kind to your wallet, going 6-12 against the spread for the season. They are 0-7 ATS in the last twenty days, losing all the games straight up as well. More than the defense or the pace, it was their inability to score that had resulted in total points staying below what’s expected in four consecutive tries, coinciding with Conley’s injury.
Admi-Rank: Even though this system doesn’t account for the short-term injuries, the longer the Grizzlies play without Conley, their rating will reflect their power without him. They’ve slid towards an average NBA team with all those losses, and they don’t seem to be pressing the brakes yet. The Nets are in a good period, even though they have been losing games. Their expectations are low, of course, so it’s much easier to reach them.
The things are really dire for the Grizzlies at the moment, as they’ve lost all of their early season composure. They don’t have any identity now, working new rotations and are playing defense nowhere near what they used to. The Nets play it the right way on offense, sharing the ball and attacking with drives and kicks. They lack talent, experience, and the know-how to win games, but are making money with their hustle and competitiveness.
The books are setting Memphis as a 5.5-point favorite, which means that they see Grizzlies just a tad better on the neutral court. Given their losing streak and the situation they are in currently, it’s hard to blame them. I’m going with 6-point difference myself, as I do expect the Nets to put in a good fight. It’s unlikely that we’ll have any bets on the spread, but the totals are calling for investment. Like in the previous matchup with Portland, the Nets line has been held down by the premise of Memphis being an under team, but it’s not exactly true. They do play at a slower tempo and struggle to score, but are unable to force such game on the Nets, who lead the league in pace, and can’t play much defense. Even the worst offensive teams find it easy scoring on them, so I’m confident that the line will be eclipsed. Go with the over points.
My Pick: (no wager on the spread)
Total: Over 212 points (-110)
