Grizzlies Spurs Betting – Veteran San Antonio Look To Quiet Younger Memphis In Opening Round
It isn’t always about where you finish in the NBA standings, but how you go about it. That’s the mentality that the Memphis Grizzlies will take heading into their opening round playoff series against the first place San Antonio Spurs, a huge mismatch on paper. The Spurs finished the year with the second-best record in the association, but sputtered down the stretch with just four wins in their final 10 games, including consecutive losses to finish the season. Memphis wasn’t much better after they extended their lead over the Houston Rockets for the eighth and final playoff spot, also finishing the year with consecutive losses. The Grizzlies have not won a single playoff game in franchise history, but that’s a trend they feel they are ready to reverse this sports book season.
Memphis will be a popular underdog sports betting pick after taking two of four from the Spurs during the 2011 season series, a trendy pick as a determined young team. Similar to the way that the Oklahoma City Thunder surprised the two-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers and pushed them to the limit a year ago, the Grizzlies are expected to give a veteran San Antonio team all it can handle. It will hurt not having Rudy Gay in the lineup, but Spurs’ guard Manu Ginobili has battled with injury concerns as well and will miss at least the first game of the series. Center Zach Randolph has been on a tear since Gay went down, and will need to continue to elevate his game against Duncan and the rest of San Antonio’s big men.
Randolph has been dominant against the Spurs all season, including averages of 23 points and 15 rebounds. The Grizzlies will need to give him as many touches as he can handle every night, and hope that he and Marc Gasol can wear down an aging San Antonio front court. Getting the rock in the paint and using their size will be the key on offense, while on defense they will have to make sure they don’t allow Tony Parker and company the opportunity to run too often. That will mean overtime for Shane Battier and Tony Allen, two of the best defending guards in the association. Both will see time matched up against Parker and Ginobili throughout the series, and how well they can slow them down will make a huge impact on the sports betting bonus outcome.
It won’t be easy after the Spurs finished sixth in NBA scoring, and at times looked as though they can take down anyone. Nobody shot better from beyond the arc this season than San Antonio, and that will need to continue with Gasol and Randolph shutting things down inside. Richard Jefferson remains a key piece of the puzzle, and will need to prove that he can be a consistent threat for the Spurs to have any chance at making a run. Jefferson is perhaps the most underrated of the San Antonio starting five, and will need to play to his online sports betting potential.
