These two West Division teams have met each other twice this season, with each team winning once. Strangely enough the home side lost in both of the fixtures. Will this trend continue today?
Memphis Grizzlies were able to win 3 out of their last 5 games, which is decent, but there is one match we simply cannot look pass. And that is their recent win against Golden State Warriors. Yes, as strange as it sounds, Grizzlies did in fact win as a huge underdogs against Golden State and with that caused them to lose their 6th match of the season. This was one of the matches not many people dared to predict Grizzlies winning, but they did, despite going into 2nd half 12 points behind (67:55). Even after 3rd quarter, it seemed like the match was over, as Memphis were trailing by 19 points (98:79), but Grizzlies showed us that it’s not over until the final whistle is blown. Despite all odds they managed to close the gap with superb 4th quarter performance, outscoring Warriors by exactly 19 points (13:32). The game then proceeded into the OT, where Grizzlies once again outscored the home side (8:17) and took home the win with the final score of (119:128). Memphis shot 48.5% from the field with 12 turnovers and 13 steals, the home side however shot 49.4% from the field with 16 turnovers and 7 steals. Top scorer of the match was Curry with 40 points, followed by Randolph (27pts) and Conley (27pts), as well as Durant (27pts). Memphis Grizzlies ended their 2 game losing streak with a bang and after a game like that you can expect their morale going through the roof, which I expect to be seen in the upcoming fixture.
The visiting side today, Utah Jazz are holding the same record of (3-2) in the past 5 games as their opponents. In their recent match against Minnesota Timberwolves, Utah Jazz managed to end their 2 game losing streak with a narrow win (92:94). The match was great to watch, as the lead was changing each quarter. 1st quarter ended with a 1 point lead for Jazz, the second quarter ended with a 1 point lead for the Timberwolves. Then came the 3rd quarter, in which Timberwolves extended their lead by 10 points, leaving the Jazz with a tough job in the last 12 minutes of the match. But with an excellent performance from the Jazz, they managed to close the gap of 11 points and went on to win the match with 2 points to spare. We could see Jazz shooting the ball with 41.6% accuracy, committing 8 turnovers and stealing the ball 12 times. Their opponents, Timberwolves shot 43.8% from the field with 15 turnovers and 3 steals. LaVine was leading the score line with 24 points, with Hill (19pts) in 2nd place and Towns (18pts) in the 3rd.
Verdict & Prediction
The match between Memphis and Utah turned out to be quite similar to the GSW-Memphis one. Both of the teams which are facing against each other today managed to turn around the game and win, despite trailing by double digit. So in that regard, both teams can and should be proud of their performance. However, Memphis Grizzlies did win a game no one imagined they could. Winning against GSW is a tough job. In addition, Memphis home record is 13-7, which is slightly better than Jazz with 11-8 record on the road. There is also a factor of fatigue, as Jazz are coming directly from the match against Minnesota, whereas Memphis had a day to rest. With all that in mind, I expect Grizzlies to add another win to their record today at FedEx Forum.
Prediction: Memphis Grizzlies -3.5
Odds: 1.98 SBOBET
