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Memphis at San Antonio NBA Playoffs Betting Pick Game 1
When: Saturday, April 15th, 2017. 8pm ET Where: AT&T Center, San Antonio TV: ESPN Stream: NBA.tv Radio: Memphis / San Antonio NBA Odds: Spurs favored by TBA
Why Bet On Grizzlies?
Center Marc Gasol averaged 16 points, six rebounds and five assists in the four games since his return from a left foot strain. Gasol sat out five games to nurse the injury. He initially said the foot was weak after his return. Gasol now reports that he’s stronger.“I’m way better. I’m able to push every day a little more,” Gasol said. “I’m 100 percent pain free. I feel like I’m getting more of my strength back and I trust it more. I feel really good going into the playoffs.” Memphis has made 10‐or‐more threes in 39 games this season. That is 21 more than the 18 times the team had hit at least 10 triples in a game over the last six seasons combined (seven times in 2015‐16, five times in 2014‐15, three times in both 2013‐14 and 2012‐13; the team did not make 10 threes in a game during the 2011‐12 and 2010‐11 seasons.).
Memphis did beat the Spurs twice this year. On Feb. 6, the Grizz won 89-74 at home. Gasol and Zach Randolph scored 15 points each to lead Memphis. San Antonio was limited to 37 percent shooting overall and 21 percent from outside the arc — both are season-lows at the time. The Spurs had just nine points in the fourth quarter, converting only three field goals and allowing Memphis to pull away. Kawhi Leonard didn’t play, however.
On March 18 in Memphis, the Grizzlies won 104-96. Mike Conley had 19 points, and Randolph scored 18 points and recorded a +15 plus‐minus in 26 minutes off the bench. Gasol totaled 16 points, five rebounds and seven assists. Leonard scored 22 points, while LaMarcus Aldridge had 21 points and nine boards to lead San Antonio. The Grizzlies turned 15 Spurs turnovers into 17 points, while the Spurs only scored five points off 10 takeaways. The Grizzlies shot 13‐for‐30 from three‐point range (.433) while holding the Spurs, who entered as the NBA’s top three‐point shooting team (.396), to 9‐of‐28 shooting (.321) from the perimeter.
Why Bet On San Antonio?
The Spurs swept the Grizzlies in last year’s playoffs and the games weren’t close. Memphis was really banged up, though. San Antonio won the last two regular-season meetings this year.On March 23, the Spurs won 97-90 at home. Aldridge scored 23 points and Leonard had 19 for the Spurs, who committed only six turnovers. Patty Mills scored 15 points and hit three three‐pointers off the bench. Memphis trailed by nine at halftime but fought back to tie the game at 74 with 9:30 left in the game. However, San Antonio responded with 11 straight points as part of a 13‐2 run.
On March 4, the Spurs won 95-89 in OT to earn their seventh 60-win season in franchise history, joining the 1994-95, 2002-03, 2005-06, 2010-11, 2013-14 and 2015-16 San Antonio teams. This is their first time to have back-to- back 60-win seasons and gives them six of the 31 total 60-win seasons in the NBA in the last 20 years. Gregg Popovich was at the helm for six such seasons, making him one of three NBA coaches with at least as many.
Leonard led the Spurs with 32 points and 12 rebounds in that one, while Aldridge had 15 points and Pau Gasol totaled 12. The game featured three baskets in the final six seconds to send the game into overtime. Leonard tied the game at 82 with 4.9 seconds left. Randolph answered with a turnaround jumper with 2.7 seconds on the clock to put Memphis back up two, but Aldridge put in a game‐tying alley‐oop lay‐up off an inbounds pass from Gasol with 1.6 seconds remaining. San Antonio held Memphis to 1‐for‐8 shooting in overtime to earn a split in the season series. Memphis finished its regular season road schedule with a record of 19‐22.
San Antonio leads the league in three-point percentage (.391). This is also gives them the fourth-best long-range average on the season in Spurs history as the best is when they went .407 from beyond the arc in 2000-01.
