Miami with the next away win?
The Grizzlies from Memphis are expecting the visit of Miami Heat. The visitors have only won two of the past seven meetings with the home side.
The Grizzlies have also been very weak away from home, with only four teams behind head coach Erik Spoelstra’s squad in the Eastern Conference.
However, a more impressive victory at the top of the table in Boston was the latest sign of a possible turnaround.
Memphis Grizzlies – Statistics & current form
The basketballers from the “Bluff City” rank a respectable third in the Western Conference, but the comparatively good ranking also results from the lack of consistency of other top teams.
A look at Memphis’ win percentage makes this clear. 60.9 percent is undoubtedly a good interim record for the franchise from Mississippi, but normally this would not necessarily be enough for such a high ranking in the West.
By comparison, the Warriors finished third in the final standings of last year’s regular season with a win percentage of around 65 per cent.
Memphis is strong at home
At least head coach Taylor Jenkins’ team can count on home court advantage, though: Only two of the ten completed home games were lost from the Grizzlies’ point of view. Moreover, Ja Morant is once again performing strongly.
Last season’s MIP and 2019 second pick is averaging 28.2 points, which is nearly one point better than his best regular-season finish last year.
This is also true for his improved rebound and assist totals. This shows that the guard can still improve and that he is nothing less than a “superstar in the making”.
Miami Heat – Statistics & current form
Things are looking less sunny for the team from the Sunshine State at the moment. The season is going extremely difficult for the three-time champion of the NBA, last in 2013. But now there are signs of improvement for the ninth-placed team in the East.
In the last game, Jimmy Butler was able to play again for the first time after missing seven games due to injury. With the particularly powerful small forward on board, the Celtics, as described at the beginning of this article, won the game after overtime.
Boston had only lost once before at home to TD Garden this season! “Jimmy Buckets” posted a handsome double-double in the game with 25 points and 15 rebounds, proving that his knee injury is out.
In addition, Bam Adebayo has played himself into better and better shape during his time without Butler. The centre has scored at least 28 points in each of the last four games.
Memphis Grizzlies – Miami Heat Tip
In the clash in Memphis between the Grizzlies and Miami Heat, the prediction on an away win seems profitable.
The visitors have their franchise player back on board in Jimmy Butler and his positive influence was already evident in the recent away win against the top of the table in the East from Boston.
Furthermore, the home side will have to play a back-to-back after last night’s visit to Detroit, which will make them a little more tired than their opponents. In addition, they are still missing a powerful scorer in Desmond Bane.
