The Memphis Grizzlies head to Madison Square Garden to take on the New York Knicks on Wednesday night.
Memphis is one of the hottest teams in the league right now with only four losses in their last 20 games. However, the Grizzlies are coming off a close 122-119 loss to a Sixers team that played without Joel Embiid. Despite the loss, the Grizzlies are still 3rd in the West with their 35-18 SU record and are four games ahead of 4th place Utah.
New York is having a disappointing campaign after last season’s success. The Knicks are just 24-27 SU and in 11th place in the Eastern Conference. If the playoffs began today, the Knicks would miss the play-in tournament. New York is just 4-6 SU in their last 10 games played but is coming off a win over the Sacramento Kings in their last outing.
This is the first meeting between these teams this season. They have split their last 10 head-to-head meetings at 5-5 with the Knicks winning the most recent one, 118-104, in Memphis last May 3, 2021.
The Grizzlies lost a back-and-forth game against the Sixers in overtime on Monday night. Ja Morant had another monster game with 37 points, his seventh consecutive game with 30+ points. Desmond Bane poured in a career-high 34 while Jaren Jackson Jr. added 17 points and 17 rebounds in a losing effort.
Memphis ranks 14th in scoring defense at 108.5 points per game allowed. The Grizzlies are the no. 1 rebounding team in the league at 48.3 boards grabbed per contest. They are also 9th in passing at 24.9 assists per game and 4th in scoring at 112.1 points per contest.
Alec Burks scored 21 points and Evan Fournier 18 points to lead the Knicks to a 116-96 win over the Sacramento Kings, only their second win in their last eight games played. Julius Randle added 17 points 9 rebounds while Obi Toppin and Quentin Grimes each scored 14 off the New York bench.
New York is just 27th in the league in scoring at 104.1 points per game. They are 10th in rebounding at 45.6 boards grabbed per contest, and 29th in passing at 21.3 assists per game. The Knicks have the league’s 5th best scoring defense at 104.6 points per game allowed.
Memphis is 16-4 SU in their last 20 games played. The Grizzlies are 16-9 SU in 25 road games played this season, 8-2 SU in their last 10 games against the Eastern Conference, and 4-2 SU in their last six games against the Atlantic Division.
New York is 2-6 SU in their last eight games played. The Knicks are 13-1 SU in their last 14 games played against the Southwest Division, and 4-1 SU in their last five February games.
Head to head, the Grizzlies are 12-6 SU in their last 18 games played against the Knicks.
The Knicks are in a bad spot here as not only is Memphis a terrific road team this season, but they are also coming off a road loss to the Sixers. The Grizzlies have not lost back-to-back road games since October 28th and they have not lost back-to-back games overall since before Christmas Day.
New York is one of the league’s worst teams when it comes to defending the three-point shot. With Memphis coming off a 6-30 three-point shooting game against the Sixers the last time out, expect their guns to be blazing against a lackluster 3-point defense from the Knicks.
Once Memphis starts hitting from the outside, the lanes will be very wide open for Ja Morant to operate. When that happens, it will be hard to stop the Grizzlies. Memphis bounces back with a win here.
Prediction: Memphis Grizzlies
The Grizzlies are 13-4 ATS in their last 17 games played. Memphis is 14-4 ATS in their last 18 games played on the road, 5-0 ATS in their last five games after an ATS loss, 4-0 ATS in their last four games after a straight-up loss, 4-0 ATS in their last four road games against an opponent with a losing home record, 6-0 ATS in their last six games against an opponent with a losing straight up record, and 10-3 ATS in their last 13 games when their opponent scores 100 or more points in their previous game.
The Knicks are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 home games. New York is 25-26 ATS in 51 games played this season, 2-5 ATS in their last seven Wednesday games, 8-21 ATS in their last 29 games when playing on one day rest, 1-5 ATS in their last six games against an opponent with a winning percentage better than .600, 1-7 ATS in their last eight games against an opponent with a winning road record, and 0-5 ATS in their last five home games against a team with a road winning percentage better than .600.
This has been a historically close matchup with both teams splitting their last 10 meetings and Memphis outscoring New York by just 1.7 points per game during that span. The scoring margin is even just +1 in favor of the Grizzlies in their last three games played.
However, the Memphis team that’s playing on Wednesday isn’t the team that the Knicks beat by 14 points in their last meeting back in May 2021. The Grizzlies are the 3rd best team in the West right now and are playing their best basketball of the season. For as long as Ja Morant suits up, nothing is impossible for the Grizzlies.
The Knicks though have the league’s 5th best scoring defense and that should keep this game close, just as the oddsmakers are predicting it. However, the Grizzlies are just too good offensively for this Knicks team to handle. I expect a big bounce-back night from Ja Morant and company as the Grizzlies get back on track.
Prediction: Grizzlies -3.5
The under is 5-4-1 in Memphis’ last 10 games played. The total has gone under in four out of their last five Wednesday games. The under is also 5-2 in Memphis’ last seven games against an opponent with a losing straight-up record, 9-4-1 in their last 14 games when their opponent scores 100 or more points in their previous game, and 5-1 in their last six February games played.
The total has gone under in 10 out of the last 14 home games played by the Knicks. The under is 5-2 in the Knicks’ last seven games when playing on one day rest, 8-3 in their last 11 games after an ATS win, 9-3 in their last 12 Wednesday games, 4-1 in their last five games after a straight-up win, 4-0 in their last four games after scoring 100 or more points in their previous game, and 4-1 in their last five home games against an opponent with a road winning percentage better than .600.
The only way the Knicks are going to keep up with the Grizzlies is that they impose their Top 5 defense. The Knicks are allowing just 104.6 points per game this season and have conceded 102 or fewer points four times in their last six games.
Memphis has an explosive offense spearheaded by Ja Morant. But with the Knicks ranked 11th overall in fastbreak points allowed, the Knicks should be able to keep him in check here, at least as far as speeding up the game. Morant is too gifted though that he will find ways to score and give the Grizzlies the win. However, it won’t be easy against this tough NY defensive unit.
Prediction: Under 217
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