Today we have the Memphis Grizzlies 50-23 (1st SE Division) playing the San Antonio Spurs 46-26 (3rd SW Division) with the game played at the AT& T Center in San Antonio and the game tips off at 7 PM ET.
Today with the NBA 2014-15 Season grinding down it’s that time when the teams have the playoffs in mind, and that’s when NBA fans should see some rather more exciting games as the competition increases as owners and players are seeking playoff seeds.
The opening line on the games see the Spurs favored at -8 and the Over/under at 193 ½ with the Spurs on the Money Line at -370 and the comeback Money Line on the Grizzlies is +310. At this point the Spurs seem to be playing their best game at the right time, while the Grizzlies seem to be struggling.
The games in Texas have proven over the years to be difficult games for Memphis, and coming into this game they have had 2 straight losses to OKC and the Mavericks whom are both contenders for conference playoff spots.
On the other hand the Spurs of San Antonio are coming off a three game win streak at home. Presently the Spurs are in 6th place just 1 ½ games in front of the Mavericks and they likely will see a playoff series down the road with Memphis.
The Grizzlies of Memphis are now at 9-9 since back on the 25th of Feb. 2015 and standing at 10th when including all Western Conference teams. If they were to win that series it would be the 1st since back in the 2004-2005 NBA seasons.
Speaking of the difficulties the Grizzlies have had in San Antonio, they have only managed to win some 8 of their total of 15 games against the Spurs and that does include the playoff games during that period. However, they did break their losing streak and win a game on the 17th of Dec. 2014 winning the game 117-116 and it took 3 overtime periods to accomplish that.
Finally, if you Bet on NBA at an Offshore Betting site you should know that the Spurs have managed winning 19 of their last 22 home games, and in that game they have averaged some 23.7 points in each of those games.
The other game we are previewing for today is the Thunder of Oklahoma City 41-32 (2nd NW Division) taking on the Suns of Phoenix 38-35 (3rd Pacific Division) with the game being played at the U.S. Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona and the game tips off at 9 PM ET.
The odds in this game are slightly favoring the Suns of Phoenix at -1 with the Over/under at 213 ½ and on the Money Line the Suns are -120 while the comeback ML on the Thunder of OKC is EVEN.
The Thunder has had five weeks in which they had to play without their start Kevin Durant and now they have been told their MVP will not return this season, and their first news of that did not lead to a good showing in their last game. Now it’s up to Westbrook and the other team members to pick up the slack in this game with Phoenix as they try to avoid a 5th consecutive road loss. Prior to that losing streak they had won 12 of 18. Since they have been playing without Durant their record is 17-19 games.
So without Durant, Westbrook has been great and he’s the primary reason the Thunder is up by 2 ½ games over the Pelicans. During his last 23 game periods he had averaged 31.4 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 10.6 assists and then slowed a little.
Phoenix is a team with high hopes of making the playoffs after their nine home games, but went 50-50 in those games. Now they hoping the return of guard Knight from an ankle injury can give the team the need boost. If Phoenix is to win this game they will have to slow down the Thunders hot Kanter who has been averaging some 22 points per game and record some 8 double-doubles in consecutive games with 13.5 rebounds per game.
On the other hand the fans need to know that the Thunder of OKC has lost the last 3 times they played at Phoenix. Meanwhile the Suns will look to Morris, Markieff and Bledsoe to pick up their offensive pace in seeking a win in this matchup!