The Detroit Pistons head to Grind City to take on the Memphis Grizzlies as the NBA’s 2018-19 season continues on Wednesday, January 2, 2019 at the FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee.
The Detroit Pistons are coming off a blowout loss to the Milwaukee Bucks last night and will be playing the second of back-to-back road games. The loss was Detroit’s third in a row, all on the road and it also sent the Pistons reeling to their 11th defeat in their last 14 games.
Blake Griffin leads Detroit with 24.7 points aside from 8.7 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game. His frontcourt mate Andre Drummond is averaging in a double-double with 17.4 points and a league-best 15.3 rebounds per game. Reggie Jackson is adding 15.0 points and 4.4 assists per game.
Detroit averages just 107.7 points per game which is the 21st ranked offense around the league. The Pistons are also 25th in assists with 22.1 dimes per contest but are 7th in the NBA with 46.9 rebounds per games and 14th in scoring defense, allowing 109.5 points per game.
The Memphis Grizzlies enter this game having lost two in a row. The Grizzlies lost at home to the Boston Celtics on Saturday then were dropped by the Houston Rockets in Houston on Monday. With the losses, Memphis has now lost seven of 10 and have dropped to .500 on the season at 18-18 after a good start.
Mike Conley leads Memphis with 20.5 points and 6.5 assists per game. Marc Gasol leads the team with 8.6 rebounds while scoring 16.1 points per contest. Rookie Jaren Jackson Jr. is the team’s best shot blocker at 1.7 blocks per game while also contributing 12.9 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.
Memphis is the second lowest scoring team in the league at 101.8 points per game. However, they are also the second best defensive team in the NBA at 102.3 points per game allowed. The Grizzlies are also ranked 20th in assists at 23.1 per game and are dead last in rebounding with their 39.4 boards per game average.
The Pistons are 1-4 SU in their last five games played and Detroit is 5-10 SU on the road this season. The Grizzlies are 2-3 SU in their last five games played. Memphis is 10-7 SU at home this season. Head to head, the Grizzlies are 7-3 SU in their last 10 meetings against the Pistons.
Both these teams were off to a fine start this season but in the last month or so, the wheels have fallen off. As we said earlier, Detroit has lost 11 of 14 while the Grizzlies have been beaten in 7 of 10. The Pistons are coming off a blowout loss to the Milwaukee Bucks last night and will not only be playing their second game in as many nights but will be on the road for the fourth straight game.
The Pistons have lost three in a row and while Memphis hasn’t been excellent at home, they have been over the .500 mark at the FedExForum. Meanwhile, the Pistons have struggled SU on the road this season. I don’t like the Grizzlies because they don’t have any consistent offense. However, Memphis has elite defense and against a Detroit team which is in the bottom 10 in several offensive categories, I’ll roll with the home team here. We’re picking the Memphis Grizzlies to beat the Detroit Pistons on 1/2/19.
Detroit is 16-17-1 ATS in 34 games played this season. The Pistons are 8-7 ATS on the road this season. On the other hand, the Grizzlies are 17-19 ATS in 36 games played this season and Memphis is 9-8 ATS in 17 home games played so far. Head to head, the Grizzlies are 6-4 ATS in their last 10 meetings.
The Pistons are 2-5 ATS in their last seven road games played and 1-5 ATS in their last 6 meetings against the Grizzlies. Memphis is 5-2 ATS in their last seven Wednesday games. Memphis has struggled to score, even at home but so have the Pistons. I think the team with the better defense covers the spread and that’s the Grizzlies. Prediction: Grizzlies
The under is 18-16 in Detroit’s 34 games played so far this season. The total has gone over in 8 out of the 15 games played on the road by the Pistons. The Grizzlies have seen the total hit in 21 out of 36 games played. The under is 9-8 in Memphis’ 17 home games played so far. Head to head, the over is 6-4 in their last 10 meetings.
The offensive woes of both squads is well documented and don’t have to be explained in detail. Plus, Memphis plays grit and grind basketball which slows down the pace of the game. The under is 11-5 in the Pistons’ last 16 overall and the under is 5-2 in the Grizzlies’ last seven overall. Prediction: Under 199
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