NBA Betting – Memphis Grizzlies vs Houston Rockets

Memphis Grizzlies (-1, 187.5 o/u) at Houston Rockets 

The Memphis Grizzlies are not only the top team in the Southwest Division but, at 15-2, they are also tied for the best record in the NBA (with Golden State). Tonight, the Grizzlies will face a stiff test when they meet the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center (8:00 p.m. Eastern).

Houston is tied for second in the Southwest with a mark of 13-4 and would move just one game back of the division lead with a win tonight.

Memphis will rely on its solid defense to keep that from happening. The Grizzlies have the best defense in the Association, allowing only 92.4 points per game.  Big-men Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol swallow up the boards, averaging 19.8 rebounds per game, combined. Tony Allen has been a thief in the backcourt all year, averaging 2.1 steals per game.

While many expected Memphis to be a solid defensive team, Houston was projected to play a more run-and-gun style and win games on the offensive end. So far, that has not played out. The Rockets, surprisingly, have the second best defense in the NBA (92.8 PPG), but are averaging well under 100 points per night (97.5 PPG). The stingy defenses are reflected in the low over/under (187.5).

On offense, Memphis is just into triple digits, posting 100.4 points per night. Again, it’s Gasol and Randolph leading the charge; they combine to produce 36.4 points per game for the Grizz.

The Grizzlies may have an easier time on the offensive end tonight than most teams do against Houston, as the Rockets will be missing center Dwight Howard for another game. Howard has missed the last six with a knee injury and is listed as out indefinitely. Howard is the rock of the Rockets defense, and three of Houston’s four losses on the year have come without D-12 on the floor.

Their lone loss with Howard came against the Grizzlies in Memphis when the Rockets were run off the court, 119-93.

Bet Memphis to keep rolling.

(Photo credit: Jose Garcia (Flickr: Dwight Howard And Chandler Parsons) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. Photo has been cropped.)