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Red-hot Clippers host Grizzlies Monday
By: Zach Cohen - StatFox
Published: 2/23/2015  at  10:34:00 AM
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MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES (40-14)

at LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS (37-19)

Tip-off: Monday, 10:30 p.m. ET
Line: Los Angeles -4.0, Total: 203.0

The Clippers go for their fifth straight victory when they host the Grizzlies on Monday.

The Grizzlies went into Portland on Sunday and won 98-92 as a road underdog, outscoring the Blazers 34-15 in the fourth quarter. Memphis has now won three of its past four games SU and 11 of its past 13 as well. The Clippers, meanwhile, have now won-and-covered in four straight games after a 126-99 victory over the Kings as 10-point home favorites. This team is on fire offensively, averaging 117.5 PPG over the past four games. Los Angeles has also held three of its past four opponents under 100 points. The Grizzlies and Clippers have met just once this season and Memphis won that game 107-91 as a 2-point favorite in FedExForum. The Grizzlies have now won-and-covered in two straight against the Clippers and they are also 8-6 SU and 9-5 ATS when facing Los Angeles over the past three seasons. They are 3-3 SU and 4-2 ATS when playing the Clippers at Staples Center over the past three seasons as well. Five of those six games have gone Over the total. Memphis is 22-9 ATS in road games when playing six or less games in 14 days over the past three seasons. The Grizzlies are also facing a Clippers team that is 22-44 ATS after successfully covering the spread in four or more consecutive games since 1996. The Grizzlies are also, however, just 15-36 ATS after three straight games committing 14 or less turnovers over the past two seasons. PG Mike Conley (Wrist) and C Marc Gasol (Illness) are both probable for the Grizzlies after playing through their respective mishaps on Sunday. SG Vince Carter (Ankle) is still out indefinitely for the Grizzlies and PF Blake Griffin (Elbow) will be out a few more weeks for the Clippers.

Can the Grizzlies beat the Clippers in Los Angeles Monday? For the answer, connect to The Platinum Sheet for all the Expert picks throughout the entire 2014-15 season. StatFox Forecaster has a strong 55% ATS record (150-121-1) in featured games this season. In terms of Best Bets, the experts have a huge 65% ATS (51-28) record since Feb. 1, led by StatFox Brian who has a stellar 67% ATS (26-13) mark in Best Bets since Dec. 31, and is now 59% ATS (50-35) in season Best Bets. StatFox Scott is sizzling with a 67% ATS (30-15) in Best Bets since Dec. 21, improving his record to 58% ATS (49-36) for the season. StatFox Gary is also hot with a 61% ATS (23-15) record in NBA Best Bets since Jan. 1, and 57% ATS (48-37) this season. StatFox Zach is 63% ATS (24-14) in NBA Best Bets since Jan. 2, while StatFox Dave is 63% ATS (12-7) in NBA Best Bets since Jan. 28.

The Grizzlies are coming off of a solid road victory over the Blazers on Sunday, dominating the fourth quarter for what was a rather improbable comeback win. Memphis’ defense is the reason it is able to win so many games, allowing just 95.7 PPG (1st in NBA). The team will need to do a solid job of stopping a Clippers offense that has been scorching hot as of late. C Marc Gasol (18.3 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 3.7 APG, 1.7 BPG) played very well against the Blazers on Sunday, finishing with 21 points, six rebounds, four assists and three blocks in 36 minutes. Gasol dominated Los Angeles the last time he faced the team, scoring 30 points with 12 rebounds and two blocks. He’ll need to do more of the same against C DeAndre Jordan (11.0 PPG, 13.9 RPG, 2.3 BPG), who has been on a tear recently. One player who should be able to dominate the Clippers in this one is PF Zach Randolph (16.8 PPG, 11.9 RPG, 1.0 SPG). Randolph had just 10 points and eight rebounds in 29 minutes of action the last time he faced Los Angeles this season, but now the team will be without PF Blake Griffin (22.5 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 5.1 APG). Without the size of Griffin inside, Randolph should be able to get things going offensively. PG Mike Conley (16.8 PPG, 5.4 APG, 3.2 RPG, 1.2 SPG) will really need to be at his best in this one. Conley had 15 points, eight assists, six rebounds and two steals against the Blazers on Sunday. He finally looks healthy after dealing with a wrist injury before the break and he’ll have to find a way to hold his own against PG Chris Paul (17.6 PPG, 9.8 APG, 4.8 RPG, 1.9 SPG) on Monday. SF Jeff Green (15.8 PPG, 4.1 RPG) has not faced the Clippers once this season. He should give the Grizzlies a big boost in this one, as the Clippers are weakest at the small forward position. SG Courtney Lee (10.9 PPG, 2.1 APG, 1.0 SPG) came up big against the Blazers, finishing with 19 points, three assists, three rebounds and a steal in 30 minutes of action. He is an x-factor heading into this game, as a solid performance from him could make a major difference in determining the outcome of this contest.

The Clippers have played very well recently, winning four straight games behind some outstanding play on both ends of the floor. One of the biggest reasons this team is winning games is the play of C DeAndre Jordan. The big man has been an absolute terror inside for Los Angeles, averaging 18.2 PPG, 18.0 RPG and 1.8 BPG in 35.2 MPG over the past five contests. He had 11 points, 15 rebounds and two blocks in just 20 minutes of action in a blowout victory over the Kings last game and he’ll need to be at his best against C Marc Gasol in this one. PG Chris Paul has also been playing very well for Los Angeles. Over the past five games, Paul is averaging 16.2 PPG, 13.0 RPG and 1.4 SPG in just 34.2 MPG. He’s distributing the ball extremely well and should find some success scoring against Memphis. He had 22 points the last time these teams met and will need to be in attack mode from the opening tip. SG Jamal Crawford (16.3 PPG) has played by far his best basketball of the season over the past few weeks. He had 23 points and six assists in just 21 minutes of action against the Kings on Saturday and has now scored 20+ points in each of the past six contests. Crawford had 19 points when he faced Memphis earlier in the year and will need to provide some instant offense in this one as well. SG J.J. Redick (14.8 PPG) will also need to get hot for the Clippers. He had 24 points and three assists in 26 minutes against Sacramento and will need to continue to shoot the ball well from behind the arc. He is Los Angeles’ best shooter (44% 3PT) and should be able to keep the Grizzlies defense honest throughout this one.


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