Grizzlies vs. Clippers, Raptors vs. Pelicans Betting Odds
Carrie Stroup here with your Grizzlies vs. Clippers and Raptors vs. Pelicans betting odds.
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES (40-14) at LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS (37-19)
Sportsbook.ag Line: Los Angeles -3.5, Total: 202
The Clippers go for their fifth straight victory when they host the Grizzlies on Monday.
The Grizzlies went into Portland on Sunday and won 98-92 as a road underdog, outscoring the Blazers 34-15 in the fourth quarter. Memphis has now won three of its past four games SU and 11 of its past 13 as well.
L.A has now won-and-covered in four straight games after a 126-99 victory over the Kings as 10-point home favorites. This team is on fire offensively, averaging 117.5 PPG over the past four games. Los Angeles has also held three of its past four opponents under 100 points.
The Grizzlies and Clippers have met just once this season and Memphis won that game 107-91 as a 2-point favorite in FedExForum. The Grizzlies have now won-and-covered in two straight against the Clippers and they are also 8-6 SU and 9-5 ATS when facing Los Angeles over the past three seasons. They are 3-3 SU and 4-2 ATS when playing the Clippers at Staples Center over the past three seasons as well, with five of those six games have gone Over the total.
Memphis is 22-9 ATS in road games when playing six or less games in 14 days over the past three seasons. The Grizzlies are also facing a Clippers team that is 22-44 ATS after successfully covering the spread in four or more consecutive games since 1996. However, the Grizzlies are just 15-36 ATS after three straight games committing 14 or less turnovers over the past two seasons.
PG Mike Conley (Wrist) and C Marc Gasol (Illness) are both probable for the Grizzlies after playing through their respective mishaps on Sunday. SG Vince Carter (Ankle) is still out indefinitely for the Grizzlies and PF Blake Griffin (Elbow) will be out a few more weeks for the Clippers.
The Grizzlies are coming off of a solid road victory over the Blazers on Sunday, dominating the fourth quarter for what was a rather improbable comeback win. Memphis’ defense is the reason it is able to win so many games, allowing just 95.7 PPG (1st in NBA) and they'll need to do a solid job of stopping a Clippers offense that has been scorching hot as of late.
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C Marc Gasol (18.3 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 3.7 APG, 1.7 BPG) played very well against the Blazers on Sunday, finishing with 21 points, six rebounds, four assists and three blocks in 36 minutes. Gasol dominated Los Angeles the last time he faced the team, scoring 30 points with 12 rebounds and two blocks. He’ll need to do more of the same against C DeAndre Jordan (11.0 PPG, 13.9 RPG, 2.3 BPG), who has been on a tear recently.
One player who should be able to dominate the Clippers in this one is PF Zach Randolph (16.8 PPG, 11.9 RPG, 1.0 SPG). Randolph had just 10 points and eight rebounds in 29 minutes of action the last time he faced Los Angeles this season, but now the team will be without PF Blake Griffin (22.5 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 5.1 APG). Without the size of Griffin inside, Randolph should be able to get things going offensively.
PG Mike Conley (16.8 PPG, 5.4 APG, 3.2 RPG, 1.2 SPG) will really need to be at his best in this one. Conley had 15 points, eight assists, six rebounds and two steals against the Blazers on Sunday. He finally looks healthy after dealing with a wrist injury before the break and he’ll have to find a way to hold his own against PG Chris Paul (17.6 PPG, 9.8 APG, 4.8 RPG, 1.9 SPG) on Monday.
SF Jeff Green (15.8 PPG, 4.1 RPG) has not faced the Clippers once this season. He should give the Grizzlies a big boost in this one, as the Clippers are weakest at the small forward position. SG Courtney Lee (10.9 PPG, 2.1 APG, 1.0 SPG) came up big against the Blazers, finishing with 19 points, three assists, three rebounds and a steal in 30 minutes of action. He is an x-factor heading into this game, as a solid performance from him could make a major difference in determining the outcome of this contest.
The Clippers have played very well recently, winning four straight games behind some outstanding play on both ends of the floor. One of the biggest reasons this team is winning games is the play of C DeAndre Jordan. The big man has been an absolute terror inside for Los Angeles, averaging 18.2 PPG, 18.0 RPG and 1.8 BPG in 35.2 MPG over the past five contests. He had 11 points, 15 rebounds and two blocks in just 20 minutes of action in a blowout victory over the Kings last game and he’ll need to be at his best against C Marc Gasol in this one.
PG Chris Paul has also been playing very well for Los Angeles. Over the past five games, Paul is averaging 16.2 PPG, 13.0 RPG and 1.4 SPG in just 34.2 MPG. He’s distributing the ball extremely well and should find some success scoring against Memphis. He had 22 points the last time these teams met and will need to be in attack mode from the opening tip.
SG Jamal Crawford (16.3 PPG) has played by far his best basketball of the season over the past few weeks. He had 23 points and six assists in just 21 minutes of action against the Kings on Saturday and has now scored 20+ points in each of the past six contests. Crawford had 19 points when he faced Memphis earlier in the year and will need to provide some instant offense in this one as well.
SG J.J. Redick (14.8 PPG) will also need to get hot for the Clippers. He had 24 points and three assists in 26 minutes against Sacramento and will need to continue to shoot the ball well from behind the arc. He is Los Angeles’ best shooter (44% 3PT) and should be able to keep the Grizzlies defense honest throughout this one.
TORONTO RAPTORS (37-18) at NEW ORLEANS PELICANS (28-27)
Sportsbook.ag Line: Toronto -7.5, Total: 196
A depleted New Orleans Pelicans club hosts one of the best teams from the Eastern Conference, as the Toronto Raptors come into town tonight.
The Raptors continue to sit near the top of the Eastern Conference as they have grabbed SU victories in 10 of their past 13 contests (6-7 ATS). They open their second half with a four-game road trip and had a tough first two matchups as they able to get a nice 105-80 win as 5.5-point underdogs against Atlanta last Friday. Unfortunately, they were never in line to contend in their game against the Rockets in their most recent contest on Saturday, when they lost 98-76 as two-point ‘dogs and shot a putrid 32.5% from the field. Toronto was dominated in all aspects of the sloppy game in which each team turned the ball over 23 times as it was outrebounded 52-39 and had nine of its shots blocked.
New Orleans has been all over the place this year and just pushed its record over .500 with a victory on Saturday night; the first in its last five attempts. In their past five contests, the offense has averaged a mere 90.0 PPG as they are 1-4 ATS and have taken losses by an average of 15.8 PPG. The Pelicans most recent bout came against the Miami Heat on Saturday night and they were able to win by a score of 105-91 as 2.5-point underdogs behind 17 forced turnovers. The team shot just 35-of-83 (42%) in the victory but the solid defense was the difference in the 14-point win.
The Raptors have done a solid job when they hit the road and overall are 16-9 SU (14-10-1 ATS) in away games as they face a New Orleans group which is a solid 17-10 SU (15-11-1 ATS) at home. These clubs already met once on the year and it was a close one as the Pelicans were 95-93 victors on the road as big 11-point underdogs. It was a solid showing by the young New Orleans group as they got out to a nice 50-36 lead at halftime and held off a late surge from Toronto behind 47.6% shooting as a team. Before that it was all Raptors in this series as they had won the previous six meetings by an average of 8.5 PPG and were 5-0-1 ATS.
Trends show us that Toronto is 14-4 ATS (78%) after having won three of its last four games this season as the Pelicans have gone 15-5 ATS (75%) after failing to cover two of their last three games ATS on the year. On the injury front, the Raptors have SG Louis Williams (Ankle) as questionable while the omissions on New Orleans side are much more devastating. PF Anthony Davis (Shoulder) and PG Jrue Holiday (Ankle) will certainly be out the next few weeks and PF Ryan Anderson (Knee) is out for at least a month.
Toronto has had such a successful season due to its tremendous offense which ranks fifth overall in the league and first in the Eastern Conference with 105.1 PPG behind 45.4% shooting (13th in league). On the other hand, the defense hasn’t been at its best, allowing 100.3 PPG (12th-worst in league) as opponents make 45.5% of their shots (10th-worst in league).
SG DeMar DeRozan (18.2 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 1.4 SPG) has scored in double-digits in each of the past 12 games, putting up at least 20 points six times as he comes off a rough performance (10 points) on 4-of-14 shooting against Houston. He wasn’t too efficient in the loss to the Pelicans back in January, making just 7-of-18 shots (39% FG) as he scored 22 points.
PG Kyle Lowry (18.3 PPG, 7.2 APG, 4.7 RPG, 1.5 SPG) has taken a backseat to DeRozan since his return and has put up a mere 11.3 PPG on 16-of-50 shooting (32% FG) in his last four performances. He was a big reason that his club lost to New Orleans this year, going 4-for-10 with eight points as he added five rebounds and five assists.
C Jonas Valanciunas (11.9 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 1.2 BPG) has been on the fence throughout the year with his coach, but has done a nice job on the boards (10.0 RPG) and as a rim protector (1.4 BPG) over seven February contests. He did little against this team in a loss this season with six points and seven rebounds.
Just like their record, the Pelicans sit near the middle of the pack with 99.7 PPG and 45.2% shooting. It is a similar scenario on the defensive end with opponents scoring 99.5 PPG against them behind 46.1% shooting (5th-worst in league).
SG Tyreke Evans (16.7 PPG, 6.1 APG, 5.4 RPG, 1.2 SPG) will be playing a huge role with the other two stars of the team out and has been the primary ball handler without Holiday as he’s dished out double-digit assists in two of the past four games. He came up big against the Raptors in the last meeting, going for 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting as he added five rebounds, five assists and a steal.
SG Eric Gordon (12.9 PPG, 3.9 APG) will get a ton of run in the near future and is coming off a 24-point, six-assist performance over 40 minutes on Saturday. He had a nice all-around game (14 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal) in the win over Toronto last month.
PG Norris Cole (6.4 PPG, 3.5 APG) had a nice first game with his new team with 12 points, six rebounds, three assists and a steal over 30 minutes against his former club on Saturday. He faced the Raptors as a member of the Heat earlier in the year and did little (5 points, 3 assists) over 29 minutes on the floor.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
