Portland / Memphis...
Let me be gin with the grizzlies, they are plain horrible and got some more bad news in the form of Dickinson being out for another month, which will cost them about ten points a game which is usally no big deal, however the grizz is just shooting 39 percent from the floor so anything at this point would be a big help. Also lorenzen wright could be one of memphis best players and he is definitely the best rebounder as he averages just under 14 boards a game, but tonight he will have to match up against Dale Davis, who will bring a physical presence to the floor. Wright just matched up against Fortson and the physical warriors and the whole team is wiped out mentally and physically. We just lost to a tough, physical club," Memphis coach Sidney Lowe said. "We didn't take the challenge. They were big and we knew it."
Memphis' bench was outscored by Golden State's reserves, 46-12.
"We're playing our hearts out," Wright said. "But one person is slacking and it hurts the whole team. No one is working together. We are just going to have to do some soul searching."
The finger pointed has already begun and I look for a low scoring output from the grizz. On the other side of the ball, the blazers have been one of the hardest teams to figure out this year as they have the talent but lack the chemistry which seems to be the norm for this team, but they do rebound very well after a loss, just as they did after the upset loss to the warriors this year. When the blazers are playing their best it is usually on the defensive side of the ball and I look for some tight defense on the court tonight.
Finally I have a couple of trends to add as well.
memphis when playing an opponent that is playing their third straight away game has the total at O/U 0/7
when memphis is at home against a team that is from the pacific division the O/U is 12/17
The Blazers on the road vs a midwest team has the O/U at 13/18, and in all of those games if the line was 187 the O/U would be 10/21
The grizzlies are just averaging 81 points at home, which means I can allow the blazers to score 100 and this would still come in. I think memphis will have no inside game and be force to shoot jumpshots all day, and they will also be beat on the boards which will not give them many second chances.
Hope This helps.
JT
Sneaks
Sneaks
