Two Western playoff regulars may have different basketball philosophy, but they went undefeated in the first week of the new NBA season, despite both having to face the Warriors. Find out which team can continue rolling when Houston Rockets and Memphis Grizzlies will meet on Monday evening. The game will be played at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas with the first tip-off scheduled for 8:00 PM ET. The game will be televised on Fox Sports Tennessee.
Grizzlies at Rockets
Spread: Houston -8.5 (-110) at BetDSI Sportsbook
Total: o/u 211.5 (-110)
Grizzlies frustrate Warriors, win 111-101
If you believe the so-called journalist experts, Memphis Grizzlies weren’t supposed to be any good. Grinding days are over, for sure, but this team revolves around two terrific competitors, Mike Conley and Marc Gasol. They also have a system in place, hardworking reserves and devoted fans. Good luck with trying to top that. Not even the champs (who are yet to get waken up for this season) could do much to avoid getting defeated on Saturday evening.
The Grizzlies, missing a starter, built a 19-point third-quarter lead over Golden State before holding on for the win. Marc Gasol had his way with Pachulia, and worked above any Warriors attempt to go small, to enjoy a career night on the charity stripe, going 16-of-17 for the game. He scored 34 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. Conley couldn’t get his shot to fall, but remained in firm control of the Grizzlies offense with 7 assists and just 1 turnover. The bench was once again great, with both veterans and greenhorns contributing on both sides of the floor.
Memphis did win twice against the Warriors last year (only one of two teams to do that in the regular season), so they know how to play them. Still, this win puts them back on the radar of mainstream media and bookmakers, and doubling this success with an away win in Houston would literally put them on top.
Place: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
Date/Time: Monday, October 23th, 2017. 8:00 PM ET
TV Coverage: ATTSN-SW, Fox Sports Tennessee
The Rockets revert to old style sans Paul
The Houston Rockets left no doubt in their home opener, surging to an insurmountable lead over the first three quarters and let their in-state rivals save some grace by closing the margin to a relatively respectable 109-91 in the end. Things went according to the script, as the Rockets scored with ease and defended well. The Mavericks were terribly shorthanded and aren’t good even in full health, but it doesn’t take away from the performances the Rockets have been putting since the Game 1.
James Harden was once again unstoppable. When the Mavericks tried to pressure him, he lived at the rim, when they backed down, he practiced his shot. In just 30 minutes, Harden scored 29 points, going 10-of-19 from the field. The Rockets outscored their opponents by 31 during his time on the court. He didn’t have much support too, at least not on the offensive side. The rest of starters combined to shoot just 3-of-15 from the perimeter, and the Rockets won convincingly without hitting their stride on shooting the ball.
They would certainly want to get their shooting stroke back for the game vs Memphis, as the Grizzlies would punish going 23 percent from the deep. Still, they are well rested, motivated and are enjoying themselves, so they expect to win any game on any court. They will be missing Chris Paul again, whose knee condition has been declared as a week-to-week thing, meaning that they want to play it safe and let him recover before he returns to play.
Memphis Grizzlies at Houston Rockets Game Trends & Prediction
Memphis played both games at home and made the best out of it. They were underrated both times, and they covered first as a small jolly, and then defeated the Warriors as an underdog. This gives them 2-0 ATS record for the season, to go together with two unders. The unders are more of a product of their strong defense than offensive struggles as they reached triples digits both times.
Houston is also perfect for the season, but they won 3 games last week. They covered against Dallas despite a large handicap, building too big of a lead to be undone in the garbage time. This brings their ATS record to 2-1. This was also a second consecutive under, so they sport a 1-2 O/U record this year so far.
A unique ranking system – AdmiRank helps you understand how good NBA teams are on a scale to 100. As one of the best teams in the West for a prolonged period, Memphis is still going strong in my rankings, but the Rockets do have more talent and are off to equally impressive start to the season.
Since the Rockets sans Chris Paul resemble last year’s edition, and the Grizzlies are also playing the same way they were, let’s take a look at the last year’s meetings between the two. It’s not telling us much though. Dead even split by all accounts. Both teams won at either court, ATS score was also equal, and the total points have been reached once in Houston and once in Memphis. If you had hoped for some kind of streak, sorry to disappoint you – this is exactly the opposite of it.
Still, to show you that you can go ahead and invest on matchups even without a support of historic streaks, I’m going after not one, but two bets on this game.
While I’m grateful for the profit the Rockets have given me so far, it’s time to flip the switch. They are being favored by 8.5 points, and to my estimations, it’s too much. I’m going with a 6.5 difference in this matchup, so I’m jumping on the dogs to win or lose by less than nine points. The total has been set at 211.5 points at the opening of the market, and that number is going to climb up on the game day. Make sure to grab it early, as the value is tight. Still, it’s a wager you’ll like in your weekly report.
My Pick: Memphis +8.5 (-110)
Total: over 211.5 points (-110)
