basketball | Thursday, December 15, 2022 2:10 PM

Memphis Grizzlies vs Milwaukee Bucks Best Bet: Grizz Continue Winning at Home

Milan Stanojic

Memphis Grizzlies vs Milwaukee Bucks Best Bet: Thursday, December 15th

The Memphis Grizzlies welcome the Milwaukee Bucks tonight at FedEx Forum for their first encounter of the 2022/23 NBA regular season. Both teams are in excellent shape and coming off huge wins, but the Grizzlies have shown incredible form at home this year.

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Memphis Grizzlies vs Milwaukee Bucks Preview
Memphis Grizzlies vs Milwaukee Bucks Best Bet

Memphis Grizzlies vs Milwaukee Bucks Preview

Fri, Dec 16th. 01:00 (UK time)

The Memphis Grizzlies are finishing up a 5-game homestand at FedEx Forum tonight and hoping to extend their winning streak to 7 games in a row. They are on the verge of securing the 1st seed in the Western Conference if the Pelicans lose again in Salt Lake City tonight. The Grizzlies have been phenomenal at home this year, winning 12 whilst losing just 2 games, and are now coming off a 128-103 beatdown against the Atlanta Hawks. That said, Desmond Bane and Danny Green continue to sit out due to a toe and knee injury respectively.

The Grizzlies have been in amazing shape this season, taking down some of the best teams in the league, including the current leaders in the west. They have averaged 115.5 points per game whilst ranking 9th in offensive rating. They play a fast-paced style of basketball and are currently 3rd in fastbreak points per game with 17.5. Their defence has also been superb this year, ranking 5th in defensive rating and blocking 5.8 shots per game. Their perimeter defence has been subpar at times, but they’ve fixed this part of their game over their last 5, keeping opponents to 34.6% from beyond the arc. Add this to their 102.6 points allowed over the same period, and you get a pretty good idea of why they have been so successful.

Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Bucks have also been dominating in the east this season, occupying 2nd place in the Eastern Conference with 20 wins and 7 losses so far. The biggest reason behind their success has been their smothering defence which ranks 1st in defensive rating whilst allowing just 107.6 points per game. Giannis Antetokounmpo is having an incredible season for them, averaging 31 points. 5.1 assists and 11.3 rebounds per game. However, their form on the road hasn’t been as dominant as at Fiserv Forum, and despite having a positive 7-4 record, they covered the spread in just 4 of those games. In fact, they’ve only covered the spread in 1 of their last 5 road games, and they will be facing one of the hottest teams in the league. Joe Ingles continues to sit out, whilst Jrue Holiday will also miss tonight’s game due to illness.

Memphis Grizzlies vs Milwaukee Bucks Best Bet

The Memphis Grizzlies are only slightly favoured to take this one despite having a terrific home record of 12-2. They have also been the second-best home team ATS this year, covering in 10 of their 14 (1 push) games. Yes, the Bucks are also a formidable team, but the Grizzlies have convincingly won all 4 of their games during their homestand and I have no problem backing them to get 1 more.