Grizzlies vs Knicks | Prediction & Pick

NBA Free Pick – Thursday March  17, 2011

vs.

Memphis Grizzlies at New York Knicks
Thursday, March 17, 2011 at 7:30 pm EST on NBA TV

Pointspread: New York -4.5
Over/Under: 213.5

The Memphis Grizzlies travel to Madison Square Garden this Thursday night to take on the New York Knicks in a battle of two teams trying desperately to improve their current position for the postseason. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. (ET) and the game will be available on NBA League Pass.

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Memphis is currently in the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference with a two-game edge over Utah. The Grizzlies are coming off a 105-82 romp over the LA Clippers this past Monday night as a 5 ½-point home favorite. This followed a 118-85 drubbing at the hands of Miami as a 7 ½-point road underdog last Saturday. They are currently 37-31 straight-up on the year and 42-25-1 against the spread.

Injuries are the main concern for Memphis not only this game but for the stretch-run as Jason Williams and Marc Gasol remain questionable while its second leading scorer, Rudy Gay is out indefinitely with a shoulder injury. Look for Zach Randolph and Mike Conley to try and fill the void against New York if Williams and Gasol cannot go. Randolph leads the team with 20.3 points and 12.7 rebounds a game while Conley is the third leading scorer with 13.9 points and has a team-high 6.6 assists a game.

The Grizzlies are averaging 100 points a game and shooting 46.7 percent from the field. They have been one of the worst teams in the league from three-point range; hitting just 33 percent of their shots. Memphis is also in the bottom third of the NBA from the free-throw line; converting on 75.6 percent of its attempts.

New York continues to try and gain ground in the Eastern Conference standings, but three losses in a row has it just a half a game ahead of Philadelphia for sixth-place. The Knicks’ slide started with a 127-109 loss to Dallas as a five-point road underdog followed by back-to-back losses to Indiana. First, they were hammered 106-93 last Sunday as a nine-point home favorite and then they dropped a 119-117 decision as a five-point road favorite on Tuesday. New York is now 34-32 SU overall and 39-25-2 ATS.

The excitement over the arrival of Carmelo Anthony from Denver has subsided as the reality that they are still an average team at best even with Amar’e Stoudemire is starting to set in. Both Anthony and Stoudemire are averaging around 26 points a game and Chauncey Billups, who was also acquired in the trade with the Nuggets, is chipping in close to 20 points a game, but the lack of a solid defense is keeping all this scoring from translating to wins.

The Knicks are second in the NBA in points per game with 106.6, but they are ranked 29th in the league in points allowed; giving up an average of 106 a game. They are shooting 46 percent from the field and 36.8 percent from beyond the arc, but have struggled under the boards with one of the worst rebounding differentials in the league.

Memphis is 3-1 ATS in its last four road games and 3-2 ATS in its last five games overall. The total has gone ‘over’ in six of its last seven games.

New York is 2-2 ATS in its last four games at home and 3-3 ATS in its last six games overall. The total has gone ‘over’ in four of its last five games overall.
Head-to-head, the Grizzlies have won two of the last three games SU, but the Knicks won 110-108 as a 4 ½-point road underdog just this last Wednesday. The total went over the 210 ½ point line in that game.

The odds makers have the New York Knicks as a -4.5 point favorite with an over/under of 213.5.

Check out the latest NBA Basketball Odds here.

This time around stick with New York to win again as it should be able to take advantage of the Grizzlies’ injury situation as well as its own desperate need for a victory.

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