Memphis Grizzlies (26-21 26-19-1) vs. Cleveland Cavaliers (38-11 25-24 ATS) Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, OH 7 PM EST Tuesday February 2, 2010 on Fox Sports Ohio
by Jason Green at Predictem.com
Point Spread: Grizzlies +10.5 / Cavaliers -10.5
Over/Under: 201.5
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Tonight the red-hot Cleveland Cavaliers host the upstart Memphis Grizzlies. The Cavs are on an 8-game winning streak, are 9-1 in their last 10 games, and have a huge 13 game lead over the Chicago Bulls in the Central Division. The Grizzlies are coming off a win, are a solid 7-3 in their last 10 games, and trail the Dallas Mavericks by only 3.5 games in the Southwest Division.
This season the Cavs are 19-3 at home and the Grizzlies are only 8-15 on the road.
Last night the Grizzlies beat the best team in the West, L.A. Lakers, but that game was at home, so can they beat the best team in the East tonight on the road where they are 7 games under .500?
The Grizzlies are currently tied with the Oklahoma City Thunder for the 8th position in the Western Conference.
The Cavs have the best record in the NBA one game ahead of the defending champion L.A. Lakers.
In the first match up between these 2 teams this season LeBron James (29.4 ppg) dropped 43 points on the Griz, but Memphis won the game in OT.
The Grizzlies have lost 4 of their last 5 games on the road.
The Cavs have one of the best defensive teams in the league and they will have to play solid D against Memphis, who has a great inside-outside game with all 5 starters averaging in double figures. They also have to body up on PF Zach Randolph (21 ppg 11.7 rpg), who is averaging a double-double this season and has 5 in his last 5 games.
LeBron’s new mate Shaq (11.6 ppg 6.8 rpg) is averaging career lows in both scoring and rebounding, but even though Memphis C Marc Gasol (15.1 ppg 9.8 rpg) has better numbers he gives up 60 pounds to the Diesel.
In their last game the Cavs beat the L.A. Clippers 114-89 on Sunday. King James was the high scorer for Cleveland in the game going for 32 points on 10/20 shooting. For the game the Cavs shot 40/79 from the floor for a legit FG% of 50.6%. On D the Cavs held the Clippers to 35/83 from the floor for a FG% of 42.2%.
The Grizzlies looked solid last night beating the L.A. Lakers 95-93. The high scorer for Memphis in the game was Rudy Gay going for 25 points on 10/19 shooting. For the game the Grizzlies shot 34/82 for a FG% of 41.5%. On defense the Grizzlies allowed the Lakers to shoot 34/73 from the floor for a FG% of 46.6%.
This season the Grizzlies rank 5th in the league in scoring (103.4 ppg) and the Cavs rank 10th (101 ppg). On defense the Cavs rank 2nd in the league in points allowed (93.9 ppg) and the Grizzlies only ranks 23rd (103.3 ppg). These teams are 2 of the best teams on the boards this season, as the Cavs have a rebounding differential of +4.5 rpg and the Grizzlies are at +4.7 rpg.
According to the Sagarin NBA ratings the Cavs rank 1st (97.10) and the Grizzlies rank 16th (90.83).
Cleveland is 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games, 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games as the favorite, and 4-9 ATS in their last 13 home games against teams with a losing road record.
Memphis is 7-2 ATS in their last 9 road games, 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games as an underdog of 5.0-10.5, and 5-2 ATS in their last 7 road games against teams with a home winning percentage of greater than 60%.
Cleveland has an Over record of 5-1 in their last 6 home games and has an Over record of 9-4 in their last 13 games as a home favorite of 5.0-10.5.
Memphis has an Over record of 10-4 in their last 14 games as an underdog and has an Over record of 12-5 in their last 17 games against teams with a winning percentage above 60%.
In this match up the total has gone Over in 6 of the last 7 games and the Grizzlies are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games against the Cavs.
On the injury front SG Delonte West is day-to-day for Cleveland while Memphis is not reporting any significant injuries.
Jason’s Pick: OK, so the Grizzlies are playing well and did beat the Lakers last night, but they are not a good road team and tonight face the best home team in the league. The Cavs will win this game with their good defense and catch the Grizz in what should be a huge letdown spot. Take Cleveland to cover the spread BLOW OUT the Grizzlies.
