The Memphis Grizzlies go on the road to Mile High to face the Denver Nuggets in a game between two Western Conference teams hoping to get back to the winning circle.
The Grizzlies and Nuggets are among the surprise teams in the Western Conference this season but as of the moment, they are on the wrong side of things. Memphis lost by 23 points at home to the Los Angeles Lakers last Saturday while the Nuggets find themselves in a two game losing streak.
The Memphis Grizzlies had won two games in a row since acquiring free agent Joakim Noah. The Grizzlies rattled off solid wins over the Los Angeles Clippers and New Orleans Pelicans before taking on LeBron’s Lakers last Sunday. But the Grizzlies came out flat against Los Angeles and were blown out at home , with the Lakers breaking the game wide open by halftime. The final score was 111-88 and Memphis turned in their second lowest scoring output of the season.
Mike Conley struggled on 4-12 shooting for the Grizzlies while Marc Gasol only scored 11 points for Memphis who shot just 41% on the evening against a Lakers team that made 16-41 from behind the three point area. Memphis was outrebounded 57-36 in the game and the Lakers’ 19 offensive rebounds was the most allowed by Memphis this season. That led to 20 second chance points for the Purple and Gold. Noah had six point and five boards but was a -20 in 19 minutes of action for Memphis.
The Denver Nuggets are going home walking wounded. But it could have been worse really and Denver is somehow lucky despite having a two game losing skid. All-Star forward Paul Millsap will be out for a couple of weeks with a fractured right big toe while the recovery of shooting guard Gary Harris hasn’t gone well as expected. Then in their last game against the Atlanta Hawks, the Nuggets dodged a bullet when Jamal Murray wasn’t seriously hurt when he was accidentally kicked in the shin area during their Saturday loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
With their injuries, Trey Lyles was promoted to starter against the Hawks but he struggled, going 2-13 from the floor. His contributions off the bench was also missed as Denver lost to one of the worst teams in the NBA in the Hawks. With the injuries, Coach Mike Malone played just eight players on Saturday as Denver was on the second of a back to back and playing their fifth road game in a row. The Nuggets finished their road trip with two straight losses and a two days rest plus a home game should help them find their rhythm again.
The Grizzlies and Nuggets have played a total of 87 times in the NBA regular season and the Nuggets have won 52 of those games. Memphis though has won five out of the last eight meetings between these teams including the last two. The Grizzlies beat the Nuggets 89-87 in their first meeting this season last November 7th in Memphis
The Grizzlies are 3-2 SU in their last 5 games played and are 7-6 SU in 13 road games played so far. The Nuggets are also 3-2 SU in their last five games played and Denver is 9-3 SU in 12 home games played so far. Head to head, the Grizzlies have won six out of the last 10 meetings between these teams.
The Nuggets were off to a great start, trying to make the postseason this time around after narrowly missing the last two years. However, the injuries to this team is piling up. After Will Barton it was Gary Harris and now it’s Paul Millsap. Jamal Murray avoided serious injury, thank goodness, but he may not be 100% for this game. Meanwhile, the Grizzlies are relatively healthy except for Conley who was bothered with a finger injury when he shot 4-12 against the Lakers. But if Marc Gasol gets going against Denver, then Jokic and company could have a long night. Denver is 9-3 at home this season and Memphis is just 7-6 on the road. However, the key stat here is that Denver is 0-2 in the last two games that Millsap has missed. That may be the key to this game. We’re picking the Memphis Grizzlies to beat the Denver Nuggets on 12/10/18.
Memphis is 15-10 ATS in 25 games played this season and the Grizzlies are also 7-6 ATS in 13 road games played so far. Denver is an equally good 15-11 ATS in 26 games played this season and the Nuggets are 8-4 ATS in 12 home games so far. Head to head, the Grizzlies are 6-4 ATS in their last 10 meetings.
Denver’s injuries will hurt its depth against the Grizzlies and despite playing on the road, Memphis has been good against the spread. The Grizzlies are 5-2 ATS in their last seven road games and 5-2 ATS in their last seven games against the Nuggets. I’ll take the plus points and the underdog to cover the spread here. Prediction: Grizzlies +2
The total has gone under in 15 out of the last 25 games played by the Grizzlies. The under is also 8-5 when Memphis is playing on the road. The total has gone under in 16 out of the 26 games played by the Denver Nuggets this season. The under has also hit in seven out of their 12 home games played.
The under is 19-7 in the last 26 meetings between these teams. Denver is playing without three of its starters from opening night while Mike Conley is still bothered by a dislocated right pointing finger. Memphis also has the 2nd best scoring defense in the NBA, allowing opponents to score just 102.7 points per game. This has the makings of a low scoring affair. Prediction: Under 198.5
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