Denver Nuggets vs Memphis Grizzlies NBA Betting Preview & Odds
Western Conference hoops and we will see the Denver Nuggets travel to the FedExForum to take on the Memphis Grizzlies. Local TV will carry this game, which has a start time of 8:00 pm EST.
Current betting odds for this game have the have the Grizzlies listed as 1 point favorites, while the total has been set at 202.5.
Head-To-Head This Year: Memphis won the first meeting 91-84 as 5.5 point home favorites… Memphis won the 2nd meeting 102-101 as 2.5 point road dogs… Memphis won the 3rd meeting 103-96 as 1 point road favorites.
Just hasn’t been a good year for the Nuggets as they come in at 31-44 overall, including 14-24 on the road. The Nuggets are off a 97-88 loss at home to Dallas and they have now lost 6 of their last 9 games. They are taking on a very beat up Memphis squad and will be looking for their first win over them on the year. The Nuggets are missing Danilo Gallinari till at least mid-April and that is a big loss as he is the team’s leading scorer at 19.5, while Jusuf Nurkic (7.8 ppg) is listed as questionable for this game with an illness. Will Barton is the team’s leading scorer right now as 14.8 ppg, while D.J. Augustine is the team’s best long range threat at 45.3% and he is 3rd on the team in scoring at 12.9 ppg. Kenneth Faried (12.8 ppg), Emmanuel Mudiay (12.3 ppg) and Gary Harris (12.2 ppg) round out the double digit scorers for a very balanced offensive team. Overall the Nuggets are 18th in the league in scoring, putting up 102.1 ppg, while also ranking 22nd in shooting overall, 24th from long range and 14th from the charity stripe. The defensive numbers are not that good as they come in ranked 22nd in points allowed, giving up 104.8 ppg, while also ranking 21st defensive FG% overall and 28th in 3-point defense.On the road the Nuggets have averaged 100.1 ppg on 43.9% shooting, while allowing 103.9 ppg on 46.2% shooting.
Trends: The Nuggets are 13-6 ATS in their last 19 games following a ATS loss and 19-9 ATS in their last 28 games playing on 1 days rest, but just 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games following a straight up loss and 1-4 ATS in their last 5 road games vs. a team with a winning home record. The Over is 19-6-1 in their last 26 when their opponent allows 100 points or more in their previous game, while the Under is 12-1 in their last 13 vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
The Grizzlies have been hit by the injury bug this year as Marc Gasol (16.6 ppg) has been lost for the season, while Mike Conley (15.3 ppg) will be out unit mid-April and P.J. Hairston (7.4 ppg) is out till early April, plus Brandan Wright (6.9) is out indefinitely and Zach Randolph (14.9 ppg) is listed as questionable for this game. That is a lot missing from this team and a big reason why they are just 2-7 in their last eight games, which includes a 14 point home loss to the Spurs in their last game, which was resting everyone but the waterboys and cheerleaders in that game. The Grizzlies are still 41-33 on the year overall, including 25-12 at home and if the playoffs started today they would have the 5th seed in the West. If Randolph can’t go tonight then the leading scorers for the team will be Lance Stephenson, who has averaged 14.6 ppg in his 19 games since coming over from the Clippers, Jordan Farmar, who has recently come of the DL and has averaged 10 ppg in his 4 games played with the team and Matt Barnes who has averaged just 9.7 ppg on the year. Not many options for the team. Overall the Grizzlies enter this game ranked 24th in the league in scoring, putting up just 99.2 ppg, while also ranking 21st in shooting overall and 29th in three point shooting, but they have been strong at the stripe where they are 8th. The Grizzlies will really have to rely on their defense the rest of the way and it has been solid as they come in ranked 9th in points allowed at 100.7 ppg, while also ranking 18th in defensive FG% overall and 21st in 3-point defense. At home the Grizzlies have averaged 101.9 ppg on 44.6% shooting, while allowing 101.6 ppg on 45.4% shooting.
Trends: The Grizzlies are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games following a ATS loss and 17-7 ATS in their last 24 home games, but just 3-7-1 ATS in their last 11 games following a double-digit loss at home. The Over is 11-2 in their last 13 games following a ATS loss, while the Under is 17-5 in their last 22 vs. a team with a losing straight up record.
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