A 36-game home winning streak hangs in the balance for the San Antonio Spurs (60-11) when they take on the Memphis Grizzlies (41-31). The game starts at 8:30 pm ET on Friday, Mar. 25 and will air on FxS and FSW.
The Spurs won big over the Heat 112-88 on Wednesday. Kawhi Leonard led all scorers on the team with 32 points on 12-for-21 shooting. The Grizzlies, meanwhile, are coming off a 107-100 loss at the hands of the Lakers on Tuesday. Tony Allen had a good shooting night, leading the game with 27 points.
The defense for San Antonio should have a clear edge in terms of effective field goal percentage. They rank first in the league in forcing misses (opponents’ effective field goal percentage of 47.1%), while the offense of Memphis is 29th with a mark of 47.8%. Furthermore, getting to the line could play a crucial role for the Grizzlies. They rank fifth in the league in free throw attempt rate (30.5). However, the Spurs are among the best in the NBA at keeping opponents off the charity stripe (ranking second at 24.3).
The Spurs have won both matchups against the Grizzlies this season, including a 103-83 blowout in their last matchup. Leonard scored a game-high 27 points.
The Spurs enter the game with records of 60-11 Straight Up (SU) and 42-29 Against The Spread (ATS). They have gone 7-6 SU and 6-7 ATS against teams from their own division. The Spurs have the top-ranked offense in terms of FG%, shooting .488 from the floor. The Spurs, sporting the best assist-to-turnover ratio in the NBA (1.98), have proven themselves to be an extremely efficient offensive team. Transitioning to the San Antonio defense, teams routinely struggle to score points against the Spurs, who allow a league-low 92.2 points per game. Opposing offenses have been stifled by the Spurs, who allow an NBA-low field goal percentage of only .432. The Spurs are the fifth-best team in the league at blocking shots, averaging 6.0 blocks per game. Memphis has a habit of getting in foul trouble (22.5 fouls per game), so expect the Spurs to get a number of opportunities from the free throw line.
On the other side, the Grizzlies head into the game with records of 36-33-3 ATS and 41-31 SU. In divisional games, Memphis has gone 10-2 SU and 8-4 ATS. The last 10 games have really brought the best of the Grizzlies on the defensive end. They’ve allowed 92.5 points per game during that span, which is lower than their season average of 100.6.
The Spurs’ win over Memphis in their last game brought their SU record to 8-2 over the Grizzlies in the last 10 games. Additionally, the Spurs lead the matchup ATS with a record of 7-3.
Predictions: SU Winner – SA
Notes
“San Antonio is 15-2 SU in its last 17 games “.
“The total has gone UNDER in 11 of San Antonio’s last 15 games “.
“San Antonio is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home”.
“San Antonio is 9-3 ATS in its last 12 games when playing Memphis”.
“San Antonio is 12-2 SU in its last 14 games when playing Memphis”.
“The total has gone OVER in 10 of San Antonio’s last 14 games when playing Memphis”.
“San Antonio is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Memphis”.
“San Antonio is 12-1 SU in its last 13 games when playing at home against Memphis”.
“The total has gone OVER in 5 of San Antonio’s last 7 games when playing at home against Memphis”.
Ranked eighth, San Antonio scores 104.4 points per game. On the other hand, Memphis allows 100.6 and also ranks eighth (in points allowed).
On average, Memphis puts up just 96.1 per away game, the worst in the league. On the other hand, San Antonio is the top-ranked team in points allowed at home, allowing 90.5 points.
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the San Antonio Spurs are a formidable 50-5. In games where they fail to hit triple digits, the Memphis Grizzlies have a losing record of 10-23.
The Spurs have a 10-6 record when they allow at least 100 points. The Grizzlies have also performed well when they reach the century mark with a record of 31-8 in such games.
The Grizzlies have a defensive rating of 105.0 (ranked 18th). The Spurs rank third for their offensive rating of 109.5.
San Antonio averages fewer possessions per game than Memphis, with 95.4 compared to 95.9. However, the Spurs score an average of 1.095 points per possession, more than the 1.034 that the Grizzlies score.
The San Antonio Spurs have one of the best effective field goal percentages this season, ranking second in the league with an EFF% of 53.0%. When their opponents record a similar or higher EFF%, the Memphis Grizzlies have a losing 10-17 record.
San Antonio makes an average of 25.0 assists per game (ranked third), while Memphis makes 20.9 assists per game (ranked 22nd).
The San Antonio Spurs average 6.0 blocks per game for a rank of fifth. The Memphis Grizzlies rank lower (20th), earning 4.4 blocks each game.
San Antonio is ranked 25th in offensive rebounding. Memphis ranks 30th in defensive rebounds.
Making 8.8 steals per game, Memphis is ranked fifth in the NBA. San Antonio has an outstanding 19-6 record when it gives up at least 8 steals.
