Oklahoma City Thunder vs Memphis Grizzlies Prediction, 3/16/2024 Preview and Pick
Game: Oklahoma City Thunder vs Memphis Grizzlies
Date: Saturday, March 16, 2024
Location: FedExForum in Memphis, TN
TV: Bally Sports Southeast-Memphis
The Memphis Grizzlies (23-44) will compete against the Oklahoma City Thunder (46-20) at FedExForum on Saturday.
The Thunder faced the Mavericks and went home with a win by a final score of 126-119 in their last contest. Oklahoma City finished the contest with a 52.3% FG percentage (45 of 86) and knocked down 16 of their 39 shots from 3-point land. When they shot from the free throw line, the Thunder made 20 of their 23 attempts for a rate of 87.0%. In the matter of grabbing boards, they collected a total of 34 with 8 of them being offensive. They also distributed 28 assists for this contest as well as creating 19 turnovers and having 10 steals. Pertaining to defending, Oklahoma City allowed their opponent to shoot 51.2% from the floor on 43 of 84 shooting. Dallas totaled 25 dimes and had 6 steals for this game. In addition, Dallas had 40 rebounds (10 offensive, 30 defensive) and got 7 rejections. Dallas finished the contest at 80.8% when shooting free throws by making 21 of their 26 shots. They made 12 of 29 attempts from three-point range. With respect to fouls, the Thunder walked away with 24 and the Mavericks accumulated 20 fouls.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is one player who played a role for the contest. Gilgeous-Alexander finished 56.3% from the field and also dished out 5 assists. He played 37 mins played and also collected 9 rebounds. He ended up finishing with 31 points on 9 of 16 shooting.
Oklahoma City heads into this game with a win-loss record of 46-20 on the season. They lose possession by turning the ball over 12.5 times per contest and as a group are committing 19.3 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Oklahoma City is snagging 41.7 rebounds per contest and has racked up 1,777 dimes on the campaign, which is 11th in basketball in terms of passing the ball. The Thunder are shooting 39.5% on shots from downtown (890 of 2,256) and 83.3% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 120.8 points per outing (3rd in the league) while going 50.0% from the field.
On defense, the Thunder are forcing their opponents into 15.7 turnovers per contest while drawing 18.9 personal fouls. They are conceding 36.4% from 3-point land while they are 13th in the NBA in points per game allowed (113.1). The Thunder defensively are allowing a FG percentage of 45.4% (2,680 of 5,899) and they surrender 44.9 boards per game as a squad. They rank 18th in the NBA in giving up assists to their opponents with 1,773 conceded for the year.
In their last game, the Grizzlies took a loss by a score of 110-98 when they faced the Hornets. The Grizzlies snagged 30 defensive rebounds and 16 offensive rebounds totaling 46 for the matchup. They coughed up the ball 21 times, while earning 12 steals in this matchup. The Hornets earned 11 fouls in the matchup which took the Grizzlies to the free throw line for a total of 11 attempts. They were able to knock down 10 of them for a percentage of 90.9%. When talking about shots from 3-point land, Memphis made 16 of 40 tries (40.0%). When the final whistle blew, the Grizzlies went 36 out of 85 from the floor which had them shooting 42.4%. The Grizzlies allowed the Hornets to bury 44 out of 82 tries from the floor which had them shooting 53.7% in this contest. They finished shooting 36.1% from distance by going 13 of 36 and finished the game at 9 out of 13 from the charity stripe (69.2%). In reference to attacking the glass, Memphis allowed Charlotte to snag 35 in total (6 on the offensive side).
GG Jackson II was important for the Grizzlies for this game. Jackson II totaled 26 points in his 37 minutes on the hardwood, but wrapped up this contest with no dimes. He buried 8 of 17 for this game for a field goal rate of 47.1%, and tallied 4 rebounds.
Memphis has a win-loss mark of 23-44 for the year. The Grizzlies commit 19.3 personal fouls every game and they go 76.2% from the charity stripe. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 24.8 times per contest (23rd in the NBA) and they are giving up possession 15.1 times per game. Memphis has earned 7,083 pts on the season (105.7 per contest) and they collect 42.1 rebounds per game. As an offensive unit, the Grizzlies are hitting on 43.7% from the field, which ranks them 30th in the league.
The Grizzlies on the defensive side of the court are 9th in the league in points allowed per game with 112.2. They are able to force 15.0 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 47.2% from the floor (13th in basketball). The Memphis defense allows 37.8% on three-point shots (891 of 2,358) and their opponents are knocking down 77.9% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have conceded 26.1 dimes and 45.4 boards per game, which is ranked 10th and 27th in the league.
Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?
Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Memphis
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