Portland Trail Blazers vs Memphis Grizzlies betting tips and predictions for Wednesday’s NBA Game on ESPN. After losing a pair of games in Utah, the Memphis Grizzlies are looking to avoid their 3rd loss in a row as they take on Dame Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers. Read on for all our free predictions and betting tips.
Portland Trail Blazers
I’m willing to bet not even the most optimistic Blazers fans had their team this high up after 6 games played. At 5-1 Portland currently occupies 2nd place in the West, just behind the Phoenix Suns who went to 6-1 last night. Damian Lillard is making an early case for MVP honors averaging 31 points per game on almost 50% shooting which is really impressive for a point guard.
However, he will not be available for tonight’s game due to a calf issue, but head coach Chauncey Billups is hoping to get him back in the next couple of games after tonight. That’s a big blow to the ambitions of the Blazers in this game, as Lillard is pretty much the focal point of their offense. Even though they’ve beaten Memphis in 6 of the last 10 meetings, they’ve only covered the spread once in their last 5 against them at Moda Center.
Memphis Grizzlies
Memphis has also had their fair share of issues with injuries as their best player Ja Morant missed a game in Utah a couple of nights ago. He returned to the line-up on Monday, but it didn’t help as the Jazz ran them over once again 121-105. The loss spoiled the good start to the season the Grizzlies have had so far, but with a win tonight their confidence will be back up. This team has only 2 wins in their last 8 road games dating back to last season, but playing the Blazers who will be without their best player is a welcome sign.
Danny Green, Steven Adams, Desmond Bane, and Ziaire Williams are all questionable with various knocks, which means Morant could be in line for another high-scoring game. As a unit the Grizzlies shot just 41% from the field against Utah, that will need to get back over 50% tonight if they want to get the win here.
Without Lillard in the line-up the Blazers are only 3.5 point underdogs here which is a bit surprising, considering they were 15-38 last season in games in which he didn’t play. This should be all Memphis, so let’s give them the benefit of the doubt and back them to cover on the road.
Portland Trail Blazers vs Memphis Grizzlies Predictions & Odds
We’ve seen quite the improvement from the Blazers on defense so far this season. They rank only 8th in opponent points per game allowing 110.5 a night, which is significantly down from the 115.1 per game they were allowed last season. With Lillard missing tonight’s game they will most likely opt to slow things down a bit as they simply aren’t equipped to hang with the Grizzlies in a high scoring game.
The 3 most recent meetings between the two teams have averaged 221 points per game and the under has cashed in 2 of those games. Memphis also has a habit of going under the total against Northwest Division teams, which has happened in 5 of their last 7 such games. The Blazers have also gone under in 6 of 7 games played on a Wednesday, and with both teams shooting around 45% from the field in the last 10 meetings I think going with the under is the way to go here.
