Cavs vs. Grizzlies Betting Line
Carrie Stroup here with your Cavs vs. Grizzlies betting line for Wednesday night’s big NBA game slate.
Sportsbook.ag Line: Cleveland -1.0, Total: 195
As the playoffs inch closer, two postseason-bound teams, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Memphis Grizzlies, do battle on Wednesday night.
Cleveland has continued to improve as the season moves along and has won seven of its past eight games SU (5-3 ATS) as it has scored 115+ points four times in that period. The offense was certainly clicking with 50% or more of its shots dropping in four of those contests as it defeated opponents by an average of 15.3 PPG. Most recently the Cavs traveled to Milwaukee as 8-point favorites and grabbed an easy 108-90 victory. The team made half (42-of-84) of its shots in the win and forced the Bucks to cough up the rock 23 times.
The Grizzlies were a little shaky following the All-Star break, but have seemed to get it together with wins in five of their past six outings. They have won their past four games at home coming into this one and have held opponents under 90 points in all but one of their most recent five victories. Memphis earned an easy draw on Monday as the team headed to New York while giving 14 points and was able to cover in a 103-82 game. The Grizzlies nailed 51.9% of their shots in the game, including 7-of-12 from long range, and forced the putrid Knicks into 17 turnovers.
The road has actually not been good to Cleveland this year with a record of 20-17 SU (17-20 ATS) when away as they face a Grizzlies crew which has gone 27-7 SU (17-16-1 ATS) in front of their hometown fans. This is the second meeting between these groups as they first met in late December when the Cavs hosted and gave five points before winning 105-91. They built up a large 11-point halftime lead, shooting 46-of-76 from the field (61% FG) and allowing Memphis to make a meager 1-of-16 three-pointers (6% 3PM). Overall in the past three years, the Grizzlies have a slight 3-2 SU edge (2-3 ATS) and have won five games when at home in this series dating back to the 2009-10 campaign.
Some trends to watch include that Memphis is a poor 9-22 ATS (29%) in home games after playing a game as a road favorite over the past three seasons while Cleveland has gone 5-13 ATS (28%) after two straight games where it was called for 18 or less fouls this year. The injury report will continue to have C Anderson Varejao (Achilles) out for the rest of the season for the Cavs as Memphis has SG Courtney Lee (Wrist) listed as questionable.
Cleveland’s offensive output has been consistently improving throughout the year and is averaging 103.5 PPG (6th in league) with the team shooting 45.9% from the field (7th in league). Defensively the Cavaliers have allowed opponents to put up 98.7 PPG (12th in league) behind 45.5% shooting (10th-worst in league).
SF LeBron James (25.9 PPG, 7.3 APG, 5.8 RPG, 1.6 SPG) has continued his all-around dominance and is coming off another big stat line (28 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 steals) against the Bucks. He also had a double-double in the first meeting with Memphis, going for 25 points and 11 assists in the win.
PG Kyrie Irving (21.8 PPG, 5.3 APG, 1.4 SPG) has scored fewer than 20 points in two of his past three contests, but is coming off a solid effort (20 points, 7 assists, 2 steals) on Sunday night. Just like his teammate James, Irving put up a double-double (17 points, 11 assists) in the game against the Grizzlies in December.
PF Kevin Love (16.5 PPG, 10.1 RPG) has shot a putrid 35.5% from the floor in his three games since returning from a two-game injury absence but still managed a double-double in two of those contests. He was not much of a factor against Memphis the last time they played as he had eight points to go with eight rebounds and a block.
Memphis is not exactly known for its offense and is scoring 99.1 PPG (14th-worst in league) as it makes 45.9% of shots (8th in league). Of course the team does excel on defense and has given up just 95.2 PPG (2nd in league) with the opposition hitting on 44.2% of their shots (11th in league).
C Marc Gasol (17.8 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 1.7 BPG) has shot a poor 43.9% over the past five games but has still produced with 16.0 PPG, 9.2 RPG and 1.2 BPG in that time. Despite his team losing, Gasol was huge against the Cavs in December with 23 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and a block.
PG Mike Conley (16.2 PPG, 5.3 APG, 1.3 SPG) had a horrible showing against the Knicks with seven points on 3-of-10 shooting as he added four assists. He also performed poorly against Cleveland this year with 11 points and five assists.
PF Zach Randolph (16.6 PPG, 10.9 RPG, 1.0 SPG) has been great of late and dominated his old team on Monday with 23 points, seven rebounds and five assists. He wasn’t on the court when these teams met this year but went for 18.5 PPG (52% FG) and 11.0 RPG against them in two opportunities last season.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
