Tip-off: Thursday, 7:00 p.m. ET
Line: Memphis -1.0, Total: 185.0

The Wizards will be looking to make a statement with a home victory over the Grizzlies on Thursday.

The Grizzlies went into Boston last game and lost 95-92 as 6.5-point road favorites. Memphis has now lost two of its past three games and the team has failed to cover the spread in seven of its past 10 contests. The Grizzlies turned the ball over 21 times in their loss to the Celtics and they will need to take much better care of the ball moving forward. The Wizards, meanwhile, went into Charlotte Monday and beat the Hornets 95-69 as 2-point road underdogs. Washington has won three of its past five games SU, but the team’s cover against Charlotte was its first in its past 10 games. These teams last met on Mar. 3, 2014, when the Grizzlies won 110-104 as 2-point favorites in Washington. Over the past three seasons, Memphis is 3-1 SU but just 2-2 ATS when facing Washington. The Wizards had won-and-covered in two straight home games against the Grizzlies before losing both SU and ATS versus Memphis at the Verizon Center last season. Washington is 0-8 ATS after three straight games outrebounding an opponent by five or more over the past two seasons. The team is, however, 75-51 ATS as an underdog over the past three seasons. PG Mike Conley (Leg), C Marc Gasol (Rest) and PF Zach Randolph (Rest) are out for the Grizzlies in this game and PF Kris Humphries (Groin) is questionable for the Wizards.

Can the Wizards win a big home game against the Grizzlies on Thursday? 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 (170-139-1) in featured games this season. In terms of Best Bets, the experts have a huge 63% ATS (96-57) record since Feb. 1, led by StatFox Brian who has a stellar 62% ATS (31-19) mark in Best Bets since Dec. 31, and is now 57% ATS (55-41) in season Best Bets. StatFox Scott is also sizzling with a 63% ATS record (36-21) in Best Bets since Dec. 21, improving his record to 57% ATS (55-42) for the season. StatFox Gary is also hot with a 61% ATS (31-20) mark in NBA Best Bets since Jan. 1, and is 57% ATS (56-42) this season. StatFox Zach is a robust 66% ATS (33-17) in NBA Best Bets since Jan. 2, while StatFox Dave is a red-hot 69% ATS (22-10) in NBA Best Bets since Jan. 28.

The Grizzlies are coming off of a rough loss in Boston and will need to turn things around against the Wizards Thursday. SF Jeff Green (15.3 PPG, 4.2 RPG) is a guy that will really need to come up big for the Grizzlies in this game. Green is averaging 15.6 PPG over the past five games and has been more aggressive in this offense lately. While he hasn’t faced the Wizards as a member of the Grizzlies, he did average 25.3 PPG against Washington with the Celtics this season. With all of the Grizzlies’ scorers sitting this game out, the team can’t afford to get a poor performance from Green. SG Courtney Lee (10.4 PPG, 1.0 SPG) will have a bigger role in the offense in this game. Lee is a very good shooter from the outside (43% 3PT) and can also put the ball on the floor to finish at the rim. He is usually playing off of his big men, but he will have to create for himself in this one. PG Nick Calathes (4.1 PPG, 2.5 APG, 1.2 SPG) will see some big minutes with Conley resting in this one. He’ll need to play good defense while also taking care of the ball in this game. C Kosta Koufos (4.9 PPG, 5.0 RPG) and SF Tony Allen (8.4 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 2.0 SPG) will also be counted on to make up some of the production lost by the Grizzlies’ resting starters in this game.

The Wizards are coming off of an impressive road victory over the Hornets and C Marcin Gortat (11.9 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 1.3 BPG) was huge in that game. Gortat played just 28 minutes and finished with 20 points (9-for-11 FG) and seven rebounds. He’ll need to be ready to play in this one, as he’ll be going up against the very skilled Marc Gasol. PG John Wall (16.9 PPG, 10.0 APG, 4.5 RPG, 1.8 SPG) had 15 points, nine assists, five boards and three steals against the Hornets. Wall has the size and speed to give Mike Conley a lot of problems on Thursday. He’ll also be able to completely dominate this game if Conley ends up sitting out. One guy who will need to get himself going is SG Bradley Beal (14.8 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 3.0 APG, 1.3 SPG). Beal is an outstanding outside shooter (42% 3PT), but he is shooting just 20% from behind the arc over the past five games. He has really struggled to find his outside shot since returning from a leg injury and the team is counting on him to turn it around. SF Paul Pierce (12.6 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 2.0 APG) is another excellent shooter for this Wizards team (39% 3PT). Pierce has been on fire as of late, shooting 44% from the outside over the past five games. He’ll need to come ready to defend Jeff Green in this one as he had trouble with him when Green was in a Celtics uniform.