Houston Rockets vs. Memphis Grizzlies Preview and Prediction (3/24/23)
Moneyline: Grizzlies -950, Rockets +650
Spread: Grizzlies -13, Rockets +13
Total: 233.5
Houston Rockets vs. Memphis Grizzlies Betting Odds Breakdown
The Houston Rockets and the Memphis Grizzlies will be finishing off a two game set between each other on Friday.
Memphis is coming into this game as the favorite at -13, and the over/under is sitting at 233.5 points. Along with that, the moneyline is sitting at -950 for Memphis and +650 for Houston.
Houston Rockets Preview
The Rockets are coming into this game at 18-55, which has them sitting at the bottom of the western conference.
In their last game, the Rockets fell to the Grizzlies by the score of 130-125, and the biggest problem for them in this one was that their bench did not play well at all. The Rockets had only seven points from their bench, which was led by Tari Eason with five points. The Grizzlies’ bench performed much better, with them being able to get 42 points from their bench in the first game of their two game set. That just can’t happen if Houston wants to win some games, but their starting lineup really did put on a show.
Houston’s starting lineup was carrying the Rockets in this game, as four of their five starters had at least fifteen points. They were led by Jalen Green with 32 points, and Kenyon Martin Jr. also had 31 points. Alperen Sengun also had a very solid game with 25 points, eight rebounds, and four assists. That is going to be difficult to continue, but if they can do anything close to that again, they could have a chance to steal a win over Memphis. But for the most part, this game might come down to how Houston’s bench performs.
Memphis Grizzlies Preview
Memphis is sitting at 45-27 on the season, and that is good enough to have them sitting at second in the western conference.
In their last game, Memphis was finally able to see the return of Ja Morant after his eight game suspension, and in his return, Morant was able to put up 17 points, five assists, and four rebounds in 24 minutes. The Grizzlies really do need him, especially with the playoffs around the corner, but the Grizzlies are missing another key player in Steven Adams, who is out with a knee injury. Adams has been a huge piece for Memphis on defense, as he has a defensive rating of 107.3 on the season. On top of that, the Grizzlies have a defensive rating of 112.9 when Adams is out, but they’re defensive rating is 110.5 while Adams is active. He’s a big piece for Memphis, so hopefully he is back before the playoffs.
Another thing that Steven Adams does very well is rebound the ball. He averages close to 12 rebounds per game this season, and you could tell that he was missing in their last game. The Grizzlies were out-rebounded by 12, and that is a reason why this game ended up being so close. They also let the Rockets shoot close to 52% from the field in their last game, and that just can’t happen to a team that only shoots 45.5% from the field. Their defense definitely needs to be cleaned up, so we’ll see if they can change something in this game.
Winner Prediction: Memphis Grizzlies -13
Going into this one, it just seems like the Grizzlies are a much better team than the Rockets, so it wouldn’t be surprising if they got the win.
Memphis is also 31-5 at home this season, and they should be able to continue their success at home in this game.
