The Memphis Grizzlies will travel to the AT&T Center to take on the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals. The game begins at 8:00 pm ET on Sunday, Apr. 17 and can be seen on TNT, FSW and FxS.
The Spurs enter this game hoping for similar success after beating the Mavericks 96-91 on Wednesday. Boban Marjanovic fueled the Spurs, recording his third double-double of the season with 22 points and 12 rebounds. The Grizzlies, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after their deflating 125-104 loss to the Warriors on Wednesday. Lance Stephenson played well for Memphis, posting 22 points, four assists, and two steals.
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 47.7%), while the offense of Memphis is 29th with a mark of 47.7%. Moreover, the Grizzlies are among the NBA’s elite on the offensive backboards, ranking fifth in offensive rebound percentage at 25.3%. But the Spurs rank third at corralling defensive rebounds with a defensive rebound percentage of 79.1%.
The Spurs come into this game 67-15 Straight Up (SU) and 44-38 Against The Spread (ATS). They have a record of 7-9 both SU and ATS against their division at home. The Spurs are an exceptional shooting team from the line with a .803 free throw percentage, one of the highest marks in the NBA. The Spurs, sporting the best assist-to-turnover ratio in the NBA (1.96), have proven themselves to be an extremely efficient offensive team. Crossing over to the defensive side of the court, teams routinely struggle to score points against the Spurs, who allow a league-low 92.9 points per game. Teams have to fight for open shots against the Spurs, who have one of the best opponent field-goal percentages in the league at .436. San Antonio will look to take advantage of the Grizzlies and their propensity to foul. Memphis ranks 27th in the league in fouls, averaging 22.3 per game.
Over on the other bench, Memphis has a SU record of 42-40 and an ATS record of 40-39-3. Most recently, Memphis is a meager 2-8 ATS over the last 10 games. Memphis’s defense tends to perform well when they play division rivals. They’ve allowed an average of 91.6 points per game against teams from the Southwest, lower than their season average of 101.3.
San Antonio beat Memphis in their most recent meeting this season, bumping its SU record to 8-2 over the Grizzlies in their last 10 meetings. Additionally, the Spurs hold the advantage ATS with a record of 6-4.
Predictions: SU Winner – SA
Notes
San Antonio ranks 10th in points per game with 103.5, while Memphis ranks 11th in points allowed with an average of 101.3 given up.
On average, Memphis scores just 96.3 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 91.2 points.
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the San Antonio Spurs are a superb 56-6. In games where they fail to hit triple digits, the Memphis Grizzlies have a poor record of 10-28.
San Antonio is 11-9 when allowing 100 or more points this season. The Grizzlies have a winning 32-12 record when they hit the century mark.
The Spurs have the third-best offensive rating in the NBA (109.0). The Grizzlies are also in the top half of the league based on their defensive rating of 106.2 (ranked 15th).
The Memphis Grizzlies average 96.0 possessions per game and 1.032 points per possession. The San Antonio Spurs earn fewer possessions with 95.0, but they score more points with 1.090.
San Antonio is among the top-ranked teams based on its average effective field goal percentage of 52.6% (ranked second in the NBA). Memphis is a subpar 11-26 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
On average, the San Antonio Spurs attempt 18.0 three point field goals per game and the Memphis Grizzlies attempt 18.0 per game. In games where they attempt at least 25 threes, San Antonio has a losing record of 1-2, while Memphis is 3-2.
The San Antonio Spurs top the league in assist to turnover ratio this season with an A/TO of 1.96. The Memphis Grizzlies have an A/TO of 1.63 (ranked 13th).
The Memphis Grizzlies are one of the worst rebounding teams in the league with just 41.6 per game. Ranked 15th, the San Antonio Spurs average 43.9 rebounds.
San Antonio ranks among the best in the league in defensive rebounds at fifth, while Memphis is a top-10 team in offensive rebounding (ranked eighth).
On average, the Grizzlies force a turnover rate of 16.1%, ranked first in the NBA. When the Spurs turn over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a solid 13-5 record.
