San Antonio Spurs at Memphis Grizzlies Betting Odds


Opening Betting Line : Spurs 1.5 / Grizzlies +1.5
Over/Under : 189

Game Time : 8:00 PM EST Monday April 25, 2011 on ESPN

The Grizzlies won Game 3 to take a 2-1 lead in this series and they did t by getting back to their game of getting the ball inside and by playing solid defense. The frontcourt duo of Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol were held in check in Game 2, but in Game 3 this duo combined for 42 points and Memphis held San Antonio to only 41.3% shooting from the floor. If the Grizzlies can win tonight they will take a 3-1 lead in this series and come closer to becoming only the 4th team in the history in the NBA to be an 8th seed taking out a top-seed in the first round of the playoffs.

Game 3 was won by Memphis 91-88 and they also covered the spread with the total going Under.

The Grizzlies have the best betting record in the NBA on the season at 55-29-1 ATS and the Spurs at 44-39-2 ATS. The Grizzlies have covered the spread in all 3 games in this series and in their last 8 games against the Spurs overall.

The Grizzlies out-scored the Spurs in the paint in Game 3 44-40, but the Spurs won the battle of the boards 48-37. Randolph scored 25 points in the game, but after the first half he only scored 7 when Tim Duncan was given the task of defending him. Look for the Spurs to use Duncan again on Randolph.

The Spurs are one of the better 3-point shooting teams in the league and in Game 3 they struggled only shooting a 3-pt FG% of 13.3% (2/14). Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, and Tim Duncan did combine for 52 points, but none of these guys shot over 50% from the field.

O.J. Mayo and Shane Battier are key off the bench for the Grizzlies and after this duo struggled mightily in Game 2 they came back to combine for 19 points in Game 3. On the other side of the coin the backup guard duo of George Hill and Gary Neal combined to score 15 points for the Spurs in Game 3, but they only connected on 1 of their 8 3-pointers.

The Spurs have been in pressure games like this before, but they do not have history on their side. San Antonio has never won a playoff series when they had home court advantage before the series and lost 2 of their first 3 games.

In some betting trends for this Western Conference playoff game:

San Antonio is 1-5 ATS in their last 6 road games, 7-3-1 ATS in their last 11 games as a road favorite of 0.5-4.5, and they have an Under record of 11-4 in their last 15 games.

Memphis is 20-8 ATS in their last 28 home games, 2-6-1 ATS in their last 9 games as a home underdog of 0.5-4.5, and they have an Under record of 5-1 in their last 6 home games.

The Spurs have only covered the spread one time in their last 5 games in Memphis.

Our Selection : The Grizzlies have covered the betting line in all 3 games in this playoff series and are on a 8-0 point spread streak in this match-up. Additionally, Memphis is on a 9-1 run at home with their only loss being by one point.
Take the Grizzlies +1.5 at Bodog.


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