The Memphis Grizzlies host the Oklahoma City Thunder tonight, Monday May 9th, for Game 4 of the Western Conference semi-finals. The Grizzlies lead the series 2-1. NBA oddsmakers have the Grizzlies as -2.5 point home favourites over the Thunder with the over/under set at 198 points. Be sure to check the Thunder vs Grizzlies NBA Point Spreads and get your predictions in early.
Oklahoma City (5-3, 1-2 V) came out strong and jumped out to a 16 point lead on Memphis in game three of their NBA playoff series but couldn’t hold down the resilient Grizzlies on Saturday night. Over the last 17 minutes of the game, Oklahoma City blew their lead, ended up in overtime and lost to Memphis 101-93. They went eight straight minutes without scoring a point, missing 11 straight shots. They only scored 17 points in the final 17 minutes of the contest, including overtime. While many people are pointing their fingers once again at point guard Russell Westbrook, there is plenty of blame to go around this Oklahoma City Thunder team. For the first three periods of the game, Westbrook was amazing, hitting beautiful shots and dishing the ball around with 12 assists in those first three quarters. The problem is that, in the fourth quarter, he had no assists nor did he have any in overtime. Russell Westbrook tried to win the game all by himself again, making ugly shots and dishing the ball to the wrong people at inopportune times. He also started playing sloppy, turning the ball over with ill-advised plays down the stretch. Russell Westbrook is 22 years old and the style of ball that the Thunder tried to play was something even a seasoned veteran would have trouble capitalizing on. The Oklahoma City Thunder were trying so hard not to lose that they couldn’t find a way to win.
Memphis (6-3, 4-0 H) won behind Zach Randolph’s 21 points and a franchise-record 21 rebounds. The Grizzlies are trying to do something no NBA team has done in climbing from the No. 8 seed all the way to the Western Conference finals. They moved two wins away from that by remaining undefeated on their home court this postseason. Guard Mike Conley said the Grizzlies just didn't come with effort the first three quarters. "I think once we looked up at the clock and saw how many points we were down, a little bit of desperation hit," Conley said. "We were like, 'Man, we cannot lose this game.' And guys amped up their game, made some changes here and there, and we were able to just be scrappy and play our game, and fortunately we got the win. Some of the credit for the Memphis comeback can go to Hollins switching to a small lineup in the second half, trying something different with Oklahoma City packing the paint to contain Randolph and Gasol. Hollins told his smaller Grizzlies that those big men had carried them to this point and that the time had come for the perimeter players to step up. Hollins went with Shane Battier, Allen, Mayo, Conley and Darrell Arthur for a stretch with Randolph and Gasol on the bench. "Our guards took that challenge and were just aggressive," Mayo said. Look for the same tonight.
Recent Trends to Consider:
Over is 7-1 in the last 8 meetings.
Home team is 6-2 ATS in the last 8 meetings.
Thunder are 1-4 ATS in the last 5 meetings.
Grizzlies are 13-3 ATS in their last 16 games as a home favorite of 0.5-4.5.
Grizzlies are 12-3-1 ATS in their last 16 games following a ATS win.
Grizzlies are 16-4-1 ATS in their last 21 vs. NBA Northwest.
Thunder vs Grizzlies
When: Monday, May-09-11, 9:30 PM ET
Pick: Grizzlies -2.5
Point-Spreads.com recommends you check out NBA Point Spreads before Thunder vs Grizzlies game.
The Bottom Line: The Grizzlies haven’t lost at home in these playoffs. Be sure to check Thunder vs Grizzlies Basketball Point Spreads and get your predictions in early.
