The NBA Playoffs continue on Sunday afternoon and we will see the Portland Trailblazers travel to the FedEx Forum to take on the Memphis Grizzlies in game 1 of their best-of-seven series. Free Pick to follow. The game has a start time of 8:00 pm (Eastern) and will be televised on TNT. Current Vegas betting odds have Memphis listed as 5 point favorites, while the total is set at 188.5.
Analysis: The Trailblazers did win the Northwest division with a 51-31 record overall, that includes a 19-22 record on the road. Portland did not finish the year strong as they come in having lost their last 4 games, but luckily for them they do draw a hobbled Memphis squad in the first round. Portland has gone 11-5-1 ATS in the last 17 meetings in Memphis, but just 3-13-1 ATS in their last 17 Conference Quarterfinals games and 1-5 ATS in their last 6 road games vs. a team with a winning home record. The Trailblazers have been a decent offensive team this year, ranking 9th in scoring (102.8 ppg), 17th in shooting, 8th in 3 point shooting and 1st in FT shooting. Defensively the Trailblazers have been decent this year, ranking 12th in points allowed (98.6 ppg), 7th in defensive FG% and 6th in 3 point defense.
Memphis had a very solid year and finished in 2nd place in the Southwest Division with a 55-27 record, which includes a 31-10 record at home. The Grizzlies did finish with a nice home win over the Pacers, but still this is a team that is hobbling in the playoffs and could e the victim of and early round upset at the hands of Portland. Memphis has gone 5-0 ATS in their last 5 when their opponent allows 100 points or more in their previous game and 9-3-1 ATS in their last 13 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600, but just 5-13 ATS in their last 18 games following a S.U. win. The Grizzlies have been a below average offensive team this year, ranking 20th in scoring (98.3 ppg), 9th in shooting, 22nd in 3 point shooting and 7th in FT shooting. Defensively the Grizzlies have been very good this year, ranking 2nd in points allowed (95.1 ppg), 10th in defensive FG% and 18th in 3 point defense.
Pick: I really like the Under here. Memphis home games are usually very low scoring, but now we couple that with all the injuries on both teams and the fact that game 1s of a series tend to be low scoring anyway. That should really make for a low scoring game here. Memphis has been an excellent defensive team this year, especially at home, where they have allowed just 93.2 ppg on the year. Portland has been weak on defense of late, but this Memphis offense is not strong at all and they are even weaker with a hobbled Mike Conley out there. The Grizzlies have played without him plenty down the stretch and they have averaged just 94 ppg in their last 10. This is not a good offense. The Blazers have played well on offense, but they have averaged just 93.8 ppg in the 4 games vs Memphis this year. The Grizzlies just took on an Indiana team that had averaged 103.6 ppg in their 5 games prior to playing Memphis and the Grizzlies held them to just 83 points on this floor. The should be able to keep the Blazers down once again here. I look for no more than 180 points scored in this one.
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NBA Free Picks: Portland Trailblazers vs Memphis Grizzlies
What Pro basketball bettors need to know about betting the series between the Portland Trailblazers and Memphis Grizzlies which begins on Sunday (4/19/15) - a free pick from Pregame.com's Teddy Covers with added insight from Steve Fezzik.