I’m 1-0 on this in my NBA picks as last Thursday night the Chicago Bulls (+6) handed the San Antonio Spurs their most lopsided defeat of the season with a 104-81 victory at home. Tonight I like the Orlando Magic-Memphis Grizzlies match-up.
Orlando Magic (15-32) @ Memphis Grizzlies (31-12)
Overview: The Orlando Magic have lost 5 in a row and 11 of their last 13 games. Last night they were defeated 106-99 at home versus Indiana. Center Nikola Vucevic led the way with 27 points on 11 of 17 shooting in 34 minutes. He also pulled down 7 rebounds. Guard Victor Oladipo scored 18 points on 8 of 17 shooting in 34 minutes. Forward Tobias Harris netted 11 points on 2 of 5 shooting in 30 minutes off the bench. He grabbed 7 rebounds. Guard Elfrid Payton chipped in with 10 points and 8 assists. He was 4 of 8 from the field in 31 minutes. The team shot 48.7% from the field, 35.3% from the 3 point, and 73.9% from the foul line. The team is 24th in the league in points per game with 95.8. They are 22nd in the league in points allowed with 101.7. They are 28th in the league in rebounds per game with 40.4 per game. They are 22nd in the league in assists per game with 20.5 per game. 5 of their last 7 losses have been by a margin of 10 or more points. They are 10-17 on the road this season. They have lost their last 2 road games. They are 5-11 versus Western Conference opponents. Tonight is the 2nd game of a back to back. They are 5-6 in the 2nd game of a back to back so far this season. Their next game is Thursday night at home versus Milwaukee. Orlando is currently 5 games back of the 8th playoff spot (which currently belongs to the Hornets) in the Eastern Conference. The Memphis Grizzlies have won 2 in a row and 6 of their last 7 games. On Saturday they were victorious 101-83 at home versus Philadelphia. Forward Zach Randolph had a double-double as he scored 17 points and pulled down 14 rebounds. He was 8 of 11 from the field in 27 minutes. He also had 4 assists. Forward Jeff Green scored 18 points on 6 of 11 shooting in 28 minutes. Guard Vince Carter netted 13 points on 6 of 14 shooting in 24 reserve minutes. Center Marc Gasol had 9 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks, and 2 steals. The team shot 46.8% from the field, 42.9% from the 3 point line, and 84% from the free throw line. The team is 14th in the league in points per game with 101.5 points per game. They are 6th in the league in points allowed with 97.4. They are 16th in the league in rebounds per game with 42.8 per game. They are 11th in the league in assists per game with 22.3 per game. 5 of their last 7 wins have been by a margin of 10 or more points. They are 18-5 at home this season. They are 6-1 in their last 7 home games. They are 13-5 versus Eastern Conference opponents. Tonight is the 1st game of a back to back. They are 6-2 in the first game of a back to back so far this season. Tomorrow night they play at Dallas. Memphis is currently the 2nd seed in the Western Conference playoff race, 5.5 games behind the #1 seed Golden State.
In their first meeting this season Memphis scored a 106-96 win at Orlando. The Grizzlies have won the last 7 meetings with the Magic. Tonight is the final meeting of the season between the 2 teams.
Prediction: The Grizzlies have it going pretty well right now while the Magic are struggling. I’m looking forward to the Vucevic-Gasol match-up, that should be an excellent physical battle between 2 good rebounders and scorers. The Magic won’t have much of an answer for Zach Randolph. Play: Grizzlies -12 (Bet365)
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