The Memphis Grizzlies and the Dallas Mavericks collide at the American Airlines Center on Saturday night.
The Memphis Grizzlies will be aiming for a third straight victory and they will be eager to stay hot after last night’s 129-122 road win at Houston. Ja Morant led the way with a season-high 49 points and eight assists on 17 of 26 shooting, John Konchar added 17 points while Desmond Bane chipped in with 14 points and seven assists. As a team, the Grizzlies shot 45 percent from the field and 19 of 42 from the 3-point line as they got off to a sloppy start and leaked 70 points in the first half to fall behind by 16 points, but they hung in the contest and made their move in the fourth quarter where they outscored the Rockets by 34-22 to escape with the comeback victory.
Meanwhile, the Dallas Mavericks will be hoping for a better showing after coming up painfully short to the Suns in a 107-105 road loss on Wednesday. Luka Doncic led the team with 35 points, nine rebounds and six assists, Christian Wood added 25 points on nine of 15 shooting in 24 minutes off the bench while Spencer Dinwiddie chipped in with 15 points. As a team, the Mavericks shot 46 percent from the field and 14 of 35 from the 3-point line as they dominated the first half to lead by as many as 22 points, but they couldn’t put away the Suns and it cost them in the end as the Suns rallied to snatch the game from them late.
Looking at the betting trends, the Grizzlies are 19-7 ATS in their last 26 games against a team with a losing record and 9-3 ATS in their last 12 games against a team below .400. The Mavericks are 19-7 ATS in their lats 26 home games and 1-4 ATS in their last five games against a team with a winning record.
Head to head, the under is 4-0 in the last four meetings overall and the under is 4-0 in the last four meetings in Dallas.
The Grizzlies are starting the season with a bunch of injuries, but they’ve had the luxury of a red-hot Ja Morant to lead them in their first two wins of the season. The Mavericks looked like they were set for a perfect start to the season before the Suns ambushed them. It’s tempting to take the Grizzlies with the hot hand of Morant, but they are on playing on zero days’ rest, while the Mavericks haven’t played since Wednesday. This should be a close one, but I’m leaning towards the Mavericks to get their much-needed win at home.