NBA Play of the Day for January 10, 2020

by Raju Byfield |
Jan 10, 2020

The San Antonio Spurs are set to take on the Grizzlies in Memphis for the second time in 21 days. The last contest ended in a 30-point victory for the Spurs, but the consensus point spread for this contest is just -1 on San Antonio. Both teams have been enjoying strong play in their recent games. The Grizzlies have won four of their last five, a stretch that includes a 26-point victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. San Antonio at 14-20 has won two straight games over teams with a combined 60-16 record. This should be an interesting contest between two teams that are in good form and fighting for eighth place in the Western Conference.

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Details

Opening Lines: The consensus point spread for this contest opened as a pickâ€™em. The consensus over/under total opened at 234 points. The point spread has moved to -1 on San Antonio. The over/under total has seen a sharp drop to 231.5.
Current Line: San Antonio -1
O/U: 219.5
Location: FedEx Forum, Memphis, Tennessee
Start Time: 8:00 PM EST, Friday, January 10
Last Meeting: San Antonio defeated Memphis 145-115 â€“ December 23, 2019

Overview

The 16-20 San Antonio Spurs are on a roll. Their winning streak stands at only two games, but they have beaten the top two teams in the Eastern Conference and will be looking to tighten their grip on the eighth seed in the West with a win over the ninth-place Memphis Grizzlies. DeMar DeRozan has sparked the Spursâ€™ recent run of upset victories with his continued strong play, but heâ€™s been helped out by LaMarcus Aldridge, who dropped 40 points and nine rebounds on the Grizzlies on December 23.

San Antonio has won 10 of their last 17 games, a stretch that now includes victories over the Los Angeles Clippers, the Houston Rockets, the Boston Celtics, and the team with the best record in the NBA in the Milwaukee Bucks. The Spurs have made the playoffs for an NBA record 23 years in a row (since 1997, the year they drafted Tim Duncan), and will be looking to keep up their strong play as they fend off the likes of Minnesota, Portland, Sacramento, and tonightâ€™s opponent, the Memphis Grizzlies.

The 16-22 Memphis Grizzlies are one of the most exciting young teams in the league. Led by their promising young lottery pick duo of Jaren Jackson Jr. and Ja Morant, the Grizzlies are competing for a playoff spot a season earlier than expected. Being bad enough to get high in the draft order and land two talents like Jackson and Morant is a tankerâ€™s dream come true. Memphis did not actually expect to be competing for a playoff spot in January, but will happily take it as they realize that Jackson and Morant combined with Jonas Valanciunas, Brandon Clarke, Dillon Brooks, and Jae Crowder make them more competitive than even the Grizzliesâ€™ brass believed they could be in 2019-20.

Of course, the utter collapse of the bottom of the Western Conference has played a part here, as this season projects to be the first time in 23 years that a team with a losing record may make the playoffs in the conference. Whether they make it or not, this is going to prove to be an exciting second half to the season â€” one that should hasten the development of their future superstars.

Trends

Memphis is 5-2 ATS in their last seven contests against San Antonio.
Over is 7-2 in the last nine contests between these two teams.
San Antonio is 14-21-1 ATS on the season.
San Antonio is 8-7-1 ATS on the road this season.
Memphis is 19-18-1 ATS on the season.
Memphis is 10-10 ATS at home this season.
San Antonio is 5-0-1 ATS in their last six road contests.
San Antonio is 6-2 ATS in their last eight contests.
San Antonio is 8-3-1 ATS in their last 12 contests as a road favorite.
San Antonio is 2-5-1 ATS in their last eight contests against teams with losing records.
Memphis is 5-1 ATS in their last six home contests.
Memphis is 5-1-1 ATS in their last seven contests.
Memphis is 6-2-1 ATS in their last nine contests as an underdog.
Memphis is 4-1 ATS in their last five home contests against teams with a losing road record.
Over is 5-1 in San Antonioâ€™s last six contests.
Over is 5-2 in San Antonioâ€™s last seven road contests.
Over is 6-1 in San Antonioâ€™s last seven contests as a favorite.
Over is 6-1 in San Antonioâ€™s last seven contests played on one day of rest.
Over is 8-0 in Memphisâ€™ last eight home contests.
Over is 5-1 in Memphisâ€™ last six contests.
Under is 5-1 in Memphisâ€™ last six Friday contests.
Over is 8-2 in Memphisâ€™ last 10 contests as an underdog.

Prop Bets

DeMar DeRozan over 21.5 points (-116)
This juice on this player prop is currently on the over. DeRozan has cleared the 21.5 point total in eight of his last nine contests. He has averaged 26.22 points over those nine games and has bumped his scoring average up to 22 points per game due to his recent surge, while showing no signs of slowing down. How hot has DeRozan been? He has scored over 20 points at over .520 shooting from the field in nine straight contests. Only three other players have achieved this feat since the year 2000: LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Dwyane Wade. DeRozan has the highest true shooting percentage of his career this season and continues to be efficient not only from the field, but from the charity stripe as well. The Grizzlies have surrendered the fourth-most points per game to opposing defenses, which should help propel DeRozan to an easy cover. Lock this one in as a multiple unit play at FanDuel before the juice rises.

Bottom Line

The San Antonio Spurs have been rolling and as long as they donâ€™t drink their own Kool-Aid and believe they are in a position where they can afford to play down to their opponent, they should be able to cruise to an easy win. San Antonio demolished the Grizzlies by 30 points in Memphis just eight games ago and barring an utter collapse from the field, they should be able to easily cover the -1 spread. The Grizzlies have a strong chance to pull out a victory in this contest, but the Spurs still have the higher win probability on a tiny spread.

Both teams have been hot against the spread with the Spurs 5-0-1 ATS in their last five road contests and the Grizzlies 5-1 ATS in their last six home contests. The Spurs are the lean here due to the strength of their recent victories and their utter dominance of their Southwest Division foes a few weeks back. This contest started as a pick â€˜em and may continue to see unfavorable movement, so lock this in as a one-unit play before the spread rises.

Pick: San Antonio Spurs -1 (-110)