San Antonio Spurs at Memphis Grizzlies Betting Odds


Opening Betting Line : Spurs +2 / Grizzlies -2
Over/Under : 191.5

Game Time : 7:30 PM EST Saturday April 23, 2011 on ESPN

The Spurs won Game 2 to tie this series at one game apiece and their defensive performance could not have been more different than Game 1. In Game 1 San Antonio allowed Memphis to shoot a scorching 55.2% from the field and in Game 2 they held them to 39.8%. Manu Ginobili did not play in Game 1 and he came back in Game 2 and was key, as the high scorer for the Spurs. Interior D was the key to the Spurs’ win in Game 2 and if they play defense tonight like they did in that win they will take back home court advantage in this series.

In Game 2 San Antonio beat Memphis 93-87.

Memphis has the best betting record in the league this season going 54-29-1 ATS and the Spurs have been a pretty good betting team at 44-38-2 ATS. The Grizzlies have covered the spread in both games in this series and in their last 7 games against the Spurs overall.

The Spurs lost both of their games against the Grizzlies in Memphis during the regular season.

Interior defense was the decisive factor in Game 2, as the Grizzlies’ Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol combined to score only 23 points on 7/23 shooting after scoring 49 points in Game 1. The Spurs bodied up on this duo and did not give them any easy buckets in the paint and they will keep up their physical play on them in this game.

With Randolph and Gasol shut down in Game 2 the Memphis backcourt of Mike Conley, Tony Allen, and Sam Young picked up the scoring slack combining for 45 points, but their bench really let them down. Shane Battier and scorer O.J. Mayo really struggled in Game 2 combining to score 8 points on ice-cold 3/18 shooting and between them they missed 8 of 9 of their 3-pointers. These have to give the Grizzlies some production in Game 3, especially if their frontcourt is shut down again.

San Antonio did not have a great shooting night in Game 2 at 43.8%, but they used a well-balanced attack with Ginobili going for 17 and Tim Duncan, Richard Jefferson, and George hill all scoring 16 points and Tony Parker chiming in for 12.

The Grizzlies settled for jumpers in Game 2 with Randolph and Gasol failing to score down low and they have to get back to physical play and attacking the basket to win Game 3. In Game 2 they only took 20 free throws while the Spurs took 32.

In some other betting trends for Game 3 of this Western Conference playoff series:

The Spurs have only covered the spread one time in their last 5 games on the road, 1-8 ATS in their last 9 playoff games as an underdog, as has an Over record of 5-0 in their last 5 games as a road underdog.

Memphis is 7-2 ATS in their last 9 home games, 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games as a home favorite of 0.5-4.5, and have an Over record of 4-1 in their last 5 home games.

Both the road team and the underdog is 6-2 ATS in their last 8 meetings between these 2 teams.

Our Selection : The Grizzlies shocked the top seed Spurs in game 1 and keep it close until late in game 2 despite not shooting well from the field. Memphis will have plenty of confidence now with home-court advantage after beating the Spurs both times in March during the regular season. Take the Grizzlies -2 at Bodog.


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