In a season of firsts in NBA history, we’ll see the newest milestone – a play-in series in order to determine the No. 8 in the Western Conference playoffs. The Memphis Grizzlies and Portland Trail Blazers are the teams that’ll be making the history afternoon. In order for Memphis, the No. 9 seed in the West, to advance they’ll need to win two games in this best-of-three series while Portland only needs to win once.
The winner of this series has a meeting with the No. 1 seed out West – the Los Angeles Lakers, led by LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
In this article, we’ll take a look at the best value bets from the Grizzlies-Trail Blazers matchup on Saturday. Let’s take a look to see what we have in store.
Memphis Grizzlies at Portland Trail Blazers
Western Conference Play-In, Game 1
12:30 p.m. EST | Watch: ABC
Records in NBA Bubble
Grizzlies: 2-6
POR: 6-2
Odds by DraftKings
Total: 233 | Over: -110 | Under: -110
MEM | Spread: +6 (-107) | Moneyline: +245
POR | Spread: -6 (-114) | Moneyline: -305
Where’s the Money Going?
Spread: POR, 55% of bets made | MEM, 51% of money wagered
Moneyline: POR, 69% of bets made | POR, 97% of money wagered
Total: Over, 75% of bets made | Over, 56% of money wagered
Betting Pick: Grizzlies +6 (-107)
It’s incredible to see the amount of money heading toward the Trail Blazers, but we can make the argument that it’s more an indictment on the Grizzlies. Not to mention, everyone is falling head over heels for the performance of Damian Lillard during the reboot. Ja Morant would love to have something to say about that.
These two teams met once during the reboot, with Portland getting a 140-135 overtime victory. There was only one meeting during the regular season, a 110-104 Memphis victory back in February.
This time, however, Jaren Jackson Jr. will of course be out for a long time with a torn meniscus. He was injured during a recent game and, while that may seem like a huge detriment for the Grizzlies, this is a do-or-die situation that will give them a lot more motivation.
We’re seeing the total drop a bit, in addition to the team totals falling -0.8 for each side. I believe that bodes well for Memphis, considering they’ll be doing literally anything they can to stop Lillard from shooting the basketball. Look for the Grizz to play a grind-it-out style that wears Lillard down and keeps this game close. We just saw the Trail Blazers struggle rebounding the basketball against a very small Nets team, and that certainly won’t fly today.
