NBA Playoffs
Western Conference - First Round
Tip-off: Wednesday, 9:35 p.m. ET
Line: Memphis -5.5, Total: 190.0

The Grizzlies look to advance to the next round with a victory over the Blazers in Memphis on Wednesday.

The Blazers were able to avoid being swept with a 99-92 victory as 4-point favorites versus the Grizzlies in Game 4 on Monday. The Blazers shot the ball terribly, going 36-for-87 from the field and 8-for-25 from three. They did, however, go 19-for-21 from the charity stripe and only turned the ball over nine times. They’ll need to limit their mistakes once again on Wednesday, as it will be extremely tough to fight off elimination once again in Memphis. This Grizzlies team is a miserable 14-26 ATS after four straight games committing 14 or less turnovers over the past two seasons. It is, however, 15-5 ATS as a home favorite of six points or less this season and gets to face a Portland team that is 4-13 ATS in road games where the total is between 190 and 199.5 points this season. The Blazers are without SF Dorell Wright (Hand) and SG Wesley Matthews (Achilles) for the season and PG Mike Conley (Facial) is out indefinitely for the Grizzlies. He underwent surgery and his return this series hasn’t been ruled out, but is not likely.

The Blazers did not want to go home on Monday and PG Damian Lillard (21.5 PPG, 5.0 APG, 3.5 RPG in playoffs) had his best performance of the postseason, finishing with 32 points and seven assists in 39 minutes of action. The Grizzlies are playing without Mike Conley and that means that Lillard will need to continue to attack. He is much quicker than the guys filling in for Conley and must use that to his advantage. SG C.J. McCollum (13.0 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 1.5 SPG in playoffs) played very well in both games in Portland, averaging 22.0 PPG at Moda Center. He is 4-for-6 from the outside over the past two games and must continue to hit big shots for this Blazers team. PF LaMarcus Aldridge (23.8 PPG, 11.8 RPG, 2.5 BPG in playoffs) had just 18 points on 6-for-22 shooting in Game 4. The Blazers were able to win the game, but they will need Aldridge to find his stroke on Wednesday. He has a major size advantage over Zach Randolph and needs to exploit it in order to send this series back to Portland. SF Nicolas Batum (16.3 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 4.8 APG in playoffs) also needs to find his stroke in this series. He’s shooting just 37.9% from the field and 37.5% from the outside so far and will not help his team with that type of inefficiency. C Meyers Leonard (7.5 PPG, 7.3 RPG in playoffs) had 13 points and 13 rebounds on 5-for-6 shooting from the field and 3-for-3 shooting from behind the arc in Game 4. If he can provide a spark off the bench then it will really help his team extend this series.

The Grizzlies are going to try to wrap this series up as fast as possible and that would mean a victory in Game 5 in Memphis on Wednesday. Memphis is playing without PG Mike Conley (16.0 PPG, 3.7 APG, 1.0 SPG in playoffs) for a second straight game in this postseason. The Grizzlies did not win Game 4, but PGs Nick Calathes (6.8 PPG, 1.5 APG, 1.0 SPG in playoffs) and Beno Udrih (14.3 PPG, 3.7 APG, 3.0 RPG in playoffs) combined for 25 points and six assists in the game. Both played very well and will need to step it up once again on Wednesday. C Marc Gasol (19.0 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 5.5 APG, 2.5 BPG in playoffs) has put up remarkable numbers in this series, but he has not shot the ball well. Gasol is shooting just 37.5% from the field in the series and he must start making a higher percentage of his shots. He’s getting good looks and just needs to bury them on Wednesday to get his team into the next round. PF Zach Randolph (13.5 PPG, 8.5 RPG in playoffs) also needs to find the bottom of the net. He is shooting just 34.3% from the field and was 6-for-20 in Game 4. Randolph needs to start finishing around the rim or he will not be helping this team much. He is counted on to be a scorer in the post and needs to play better soon.