Grizzlies vs. Nuggets: NBA odds, Picks and Predictions
Grizzlies vs. Nuggets Odds
| Grizzlies Odds | +5.5 |
| Nuggets Odds | -5.5 |
| Over/Under | 234.5 |
| Date | Fri, Mar. 3 |
| Time | 10:00 p.m. |
| TV | ESPN |
Tonight, the Memphis Grizzlies and Denver Nuggets will meet at Ball Arena in the altitude at 10:00 p.m. EST on ESPN. Entering play, Memphis (38-23) and Denver (44-19) own the two-best records in the Western Conference. In this marquee matchup, oddsmakers are anticipating a victory for the Nuggets, pricing Denver as 5.5-point home favorites on the spread.
Memphis Grizzlies
Adams OUT
Steven Adams will be on the sidelines once again this evening for the Grizzlies. Since he last played on January 22, Memphis has struggled mightily on the glass – ranking 27th in rebound percentage and 29th in opponent rebounds per game across their last 15 contests.
Adams has been one of the team’s most important players this season. Per Cleaning the Glass, the Grizzlies rank in the 90th percentile in offensive efficiency and the 90th percentile in defensive efficiency when Adams is on the floor this year, compared to the 37th percentile in offensive efficiency and the 88th percentile in defensive efficiency when he is on the sidelines.
Memphis is 28-14 with Adams in uniform this season. They are 10-9 when he is in street clothes.
Road woes
The Grizzlies have been a completely different team this season, depending on where the game takes place. At home, Memphis is 26-5 and has outscored their opponents by 10.6 points per 100 possessions. On the road, they are 12-18 and have been outscored by 2.1 points per 100 possessions.
Since Adams last played, Memphis is 1-6 overall on the road and ranks 25th out of 30 teams in Net Rating.
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Denver Nuggets
NBA best at home
Ahead of tip-off on Friday night, the Denver Nuggets own the best home winning percentage in the entire league, winning 28 of 32 games at Ball Arena this year. At home, Denver has outscored their opponents by 11.7 points per 100 possessions, primarily due to the fact that they are scoring a league-best 121.6 points per 100 possessions. The Nuggets also rank sixth in the NBA in defensive efficiency in their home building, proving that they are intimidating on both ends of the floor for their opponents.
Jokic comfortable in his home gym
Nikola Jokic, the front-runner for MVP, has been elite no matter where he has played basketball this season. However, he has been at his best at home, where he is averaging 24.9 points, 12.8 rebounds, and 11.3 assists, compared to averages of 24.3 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 8.5 assists on the road.
Grizzlies vs. Nuggets – Picks & Predictions
Despite the fact that this matchup seems lopsided on paper, there is reason to believe that bettors could see a competitive game script between these two teams on Friday. If Denver wins this evening, they will extend their conference lead in the standings to six games with only 18 games remaining in the regular season – likely an insurmountable deficit for Memphis to overcome. However, the Grizzlies could make things extremely interesting for the 1-seed if they are able to pull an upset this evening, considering that 10 of their next 16 games are at home – a place where they have thrived.
Effort should be near 100 percent on both sides tonight, which should lead to a closely-contested affair. Take the underdogs in this spot, and buy a point at BetMGM to increase the margin of error here slightly.
PICK: Grizzlies +6.5 (-130, BetMGM)
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