The Memphis Grizzlies will travel to the Moda Center to face off against the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 6 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals. Action begins at 7:05 pm ET on Friday, May 1 and can be seen on SportSouth and KGW.
The Trail Blazers enter this game hoping for similar success after topping the Grizzlies 99-92 on Monday. Damian Lillard was the game’s leading scorer with 32 points on 12-for-23 shooting. Marc Gasol led the team in scoring with 21 points.
The odds for Portland and Memphis are even, while the Over/Under (O/U) is currently unavailable. The Trail Blazers come into this game 51-31 Straight Up (SU) and 40-41-1 Against The Spread (ATS). They are 31-21 SU and 26-25-1 ATS against the Western Conference. The Trail Blazers lead the NBA in free throw percentage, shooting an impressive .801 from the free throw line. The rebounding edge goes to the Trail Blazers in this matchup, who are one of the top rebounding teams in the league with an average of 45.9 boards per game. Portland’s three-point defense can be considered for best in the league, allowing an NBA-low 524 three-pointers (6.4 per game).
As for their opponent, the Grizzlies have 55-27 SU and 40-40-2 ATS records. Against the Western Conference, Memphis is 35-17 SU and 26-26 ATS.
The Trail Blazers’ win over Memphis in their last game wasn’t enough for them to overtake the Grizzlies in the recent head-to-head series. Their record is now 2-8 SU over the most recent 10 meetings. Furthermore, the Grizzlies hold the advantage ATS with a record of 8-2. Memphis held the advantage in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers two times in the last 10 matchups. On the other side of the court, Portland never accomplished this feat in that span.
Predictions: SU Winner – POR, ATS Winner – POR
Notes
Both Memphis and Portland rank zeroth in points per game and points allowed per game respectively. Memphis scores 0.0 points per game, while Portland gives up 0.0.
Memphis and Portland are well matched, ranking zeroth in points per away game and points allowed at home respectively. Memphis puts up an average of 0.0 points on the road, while Portland gives up 0.0 points at home on average.
Memphis has an outstanding 42-11 record when it gives up under 100 points this season. Portland is 13-19 when it scores under 100.
Memphis is 13-16 when allowing 100 or more points this season. The Trail Blazers have a formidable 38-12 record when hitting triple digits.
The Grizzlies have an offensive rating of 103.0 (ranked 13th), while the Trail Blazers rank 10th for their defensive rating of 101.0.
The Memphis Grizzlies have one of the best field goal percentages this season, ranking eighth in the league with a FG% of 45.8%. When their opponents have a similar or higher FG%, the Portland Trail Blazers are 12-15.
The Portland Trail Blazers rank lower for their field goal percentage (17th) than they do for their effective field goal percentage (eighth), but the Memphis Grizzlies have a better FG% ranking (eighth) than their EFF% ranking (20th).
Portland makes an average of 21.9 assists per game (ranked 12th), while Memphis makes 21.7 assists per game (ranked 15th).
The Portland Trail Blazers average 4.5 blocks per game for a rank of 18th. The Memphis Grizzlies rank lower (24th), earning 4.2 blocks each game.
The Portland Trail Blazers rank 16th in offensive rebounding, while the Memphis Grizzlies rank 15th in defensive rebounding.
Memphis averages 8.5 steals per game (ranked sixth). Portland is 27-19 when allowing at least 8 steals.
