Friday night in the NBA I will have a free pick in the game between the Memphis Grizzlies and the Utah Jazz, which will take place at the EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. The game has a start time of 9:00 pm (Eastern) and will be televised locally. Current Vegas betting odds have the Grizzlies listed as 2.5 point favorites, while the total is set at 180.
Analysis: The Memphis Grizzlies come in tied with the Houston Rockets for the second best record in the NBA and are off a big 36 point win over New Orleans on Wednesday night. Memphis has now won 3 of the last 4 games and are 53-25 overall, which includes a 23-15 mark on the road. Memphis has gone 4-12 ATS in their last 16 games following a S.U. win and 2-10 ATS in their last 12 games vs. a team with a losing S.U. record. The Grizzlies have been an average offensive team this year, ranking 18th in scoring (98.5 ppg), 8th in shooting, 19th in 3 point shooting and 6th 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 16th in 3 point defense.
The Utah Jazz come in playing solid ball at the moment as they have won 5 of their last 6. Still at 36-42 on the year the Jazz will be sitting at home when the playoffs start. Utah is 20-19 at home for the year. Utah has gone 4-1-1 ATS in their last 6 vs. the Western Conference, but just 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games vs. a team with a winning S.U. record. The Jazz have been a bad offensive team this year, ranking 26th in scoring (94.9 ppg), 18th in shooting, 18th in 3 point shooting and 26th in FT shooting. Defensively the Jazz have been excellent, ranking 1st in points allowed (94.6 ppg), 14th in defensive FG% and 25th in 3 point defense.
Pick: Going with the Under here. This should be a very slow paced game, which will make both teams happy as they both love to play the grind it out style of ball. Utah is not a very good offensive team as they have averaged just 94.9 ppg overall and 96.2 ppg at home, while the Grizzlies have scored just 97.4 ppg on the road. Offense isn't really where these teams have excelled this year, as the defenses have been excellent for both squads, especially of late as the Jazz have allowed just 88.3 ppg in their last 6 games, while Memphis has allowed just 88.8 ppg in their last 5 games. The Under is 6-1 the last 7 meetings in Utah, 20-5-1 in the Grizzlies last 26 vs. the Western Conference and 7-0 in Utah's last 7 games following a SU win of more than 10 points. 88-86 sounds about right for this game.
-$25 of picks FREE! No Obligation - No Credit Card Required - Becoming a member is Fast and Free!
Stay on top of the latest odds and line moves for NBA Season with our real-time odds from Las Vegas and offshore!
Handicapping Tips: Late Season NBA Betting
Teddy Covers and Steve Fezzik from Pregame.com give tips and insight for handicapping the dog days of the NBA season.