basketball | Thursday, January 5, 2023 11:25 AM (Revised at: Thursday, January 5, 2023 11:26 AM)

Orlando Magic vs Memphis Grizzlies Best Bet: Grizzlies second unit to speed the things up

Aleksa Drobnjak

Orlando Magic vs Memphis Grizzlies Best Bet: Thursday, January 5th

The Magic host the top team in the Western Conference tonight at Amway Center. The Grizzlies are coming off the second game of their back-to-back and are expected to rest some players, which will shift the balance of the game to a faster-paced offence. The Magic have played a lot of high-scoring games lately, though they haven’t had much success when it comes to winning games.

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Orlando Magic vs Memphis Grizzlies Preview
Orlando Magic vs Memphis Grizzlies Best Bet

Orlando Magic vs Memphis Grizzlies Preview

Fri, Jan 6th. 00:00 (UK time)

The Grizzlies, who lead the Western Conference with a record of 24 wins and 13 losses, are exceeding everyone’s expectations this season. They are the best rebounding team in the competition at nearly 50 boards per game, and they have a very high AST% baskets in transition, which shows us how quickly they transition from defence (defensive rebounding) to offence. That’s what we are looking for tonight, as we do not think there will be much positional play.

The Grizzlies are ranked 3rd defensive team this year, but they are coming to this 2nd game in their back-to-back and are expected to play less intense defensively and shorter on offence while resting key players. The difference in quality is good enough that the Grizzlies’ second unit can keep the tempo up and control the game against a weak Magic team that will also be dealing with a lot of absences. As for the injured list, B. Clarke is listed as “questionable” for the Grizzlies.

The Magic are dealing with a lot of injury problems and will have to do without C. Okeke and J. Isaac, both with knee injuries, whilst J. Suggs is out due to an ankle injury. The Magic are the 24th defensive team in the league, allowing an average of 116.2 points per game. The Grizzlies’ young and dynamic team will likely be able to compound that problem on defence because of their athleticism and speed. We are staying off the handicap as it is 2nd game of a back-to-back for the favourites, whilst the Magic have been able to cover most of the spreads against them on at home.

Orlando Magic vs Memphis Grizzlies Best Bet

If you take the average total points scored in the Magic’s last few games, it comes out to 231.1 points per game, so it’s safe to say they have sped things up. The Grizzlies will accept this game plan and try to run them over with the quality mentioned above. We believe the game can easily go to 240+ points tonight, no matter who takes the victory.