Oklahoma City Thunder vs Memphis Grizzlies Prediction, 2/17/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Oklahoma City Thunder vs Memphis Grizzlies

Date: Wednesday, February 17, 2021

Location: FedExForum in Memphis, TN

TV: Fox Sports Southeast

Odds/Point Spread: Oklahoma City (+1.5)

FedExForum is the site where and the Memphis Grizzlies (11-11) will play the Oklahoma City Thunder (11-15) on Wednesday. Memphis opens this contest as 1.5-point favorites. The total opens at 227.

The Oklahoma City Thunder played the Milwaukee Bucks and notched a win by a score of 114-109 in their last game. Oklahoma City wrapped up the contest with a 47.4% FG percentage (45 out of 95) and knocked down 15 of their 36 three-point attempts. When they shot from the free throw line, the Thunder knocked down 9 of their 16 tries for a percentage of 56.3%. In the matter of hauling in boards, they collected a total of 49 with 12 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 32 assists in the game as well as having 8 steals and 2 blocked shots. With regard to the defense, Oklahoma City let their opponent shoot 46.4% from the floor on 45 out of 97 shooting. Milwaukee earned 24 assists and had 9 steals in this matchup. In addition, the Bucks pulled down 47 boards (12 offensive, 35 defensive) and added 5 blocks. Milwaukee ended up shooting 66.7% at the charity stripe by making 6 of their 9 tries. They knocked down 13 out of their 38 attempts from 3-point land.

Justin Jackson is one player who was a major contributor for the contest. He ended up finishing with 22 points on 9 of 16 shooting. He played 33:52 mins and snagged 3 boards. Jackson finished the contest at 56.3% from the floor and distributed 5 assists. Another guy that was a factor in this contest for the Thunder was Al Horford. He grabbed 7 rebounds and also totaled 9 dimes. He went 50.0% from the field in this matchup by going 8-of-16 (20 points). When all was said and done, Horford played 30:21 minutes.

Oklahoma City enters this matchup with a mark of 11-15 on the season. The Thunder are hitting 33.9% on shots from distance (331 of 975) and 73.1% from the free throw line. They are averaging 107.6 points per game (26th in the NBA) while connecting on 45.0% from the floor. They lose possession via turnover 14.6 times per contest and as a team are committing 18.0 personal fouls per game. As a unit, Oklahoma City is grabbing 45.0 rebounds per contest and has accumulated 610 assists for the year, which has them ranked 28th in the league in terms of passing the rock. Defensively, the Thunder are forcing 13.4 turnovers every game while drawing 18.5 personal fouls. They currently rank 11th in the NBA in giving up assists to the opposition with 649 conceded for the year. The Thunder defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 46.3% (349 of 481) and they surrender 48.3 boards per game as a group. They give up 34.8% on shots from downtown and they are 22nd in the league in points per game from their opponents (113.2).

The last time they took the court, the Memphis Grizzlies went home victorious with a score of 124-110 against the Sacramento Kings. The Grizzlies were able to snag 34 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive boards for a total of 43 for this contest. They turned away 2 tries while getting 10 steals in this contest. The Kings were called for 19 fouls for this contest which got the Grizzlies to the free throw line for 19 attempts. They were able to knock down 15 of the free throw tries for a clip of 78.9%. In relation to 3-point attempts, Memphis converted 9 of 21 attempts (42.9%). When the final whistle blew, the Grizzlies went 50 for 94 from the floor which had them shooting 53.2%. The Grizzlies allowed the Kings to convert 41 out of their 82 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 50.0% for this contest. They finished 24.2% from downtown by hitting 8 out of 33 and walked away from this one shooting 20 out of 26 from the free throw line (76.9%). In reference to how they cleaned up the glass, Memphis allowed Sacramento to grab 33 overall (5 on the offensive side).

Jonas Valančiūnas ended up being a major contributor for the Grizzlies in the matchup. He buried 11 of 14 in the matchup giving him a rate of 78.6%, which had him sitting at 25 points. Valančiūnas pulled down 13 rebounds in his 26:24 minutes of playing time and had 2 dimes in this contest. An additional guy that ended up playing a role for Memphis was Dillon Brooks. He ended up finishing with 22 points in his 28:52 minutes on the court via 10 out of 20 from the floor in the game. Brooks walked away from this one going 50.0% from the field while totaling 2 dimes and 2 total rebounds.

Memphis has a win-loss mark of 11-11 on the campaign. The Grizzlies commit 19.0 personal fouls every game and they shoot 78.3% from the charity stripe. They are assisting teammates 28.6 times per game (1st in the league) and they are giving up possession 14.1 times per game. Memphis has accumulated 2,448 points this season (111.3 per contest) and they pull in 44.4 rebounds per game. When it comes to executing on offense, the Grizzlies are shooting 46.6% from the floor, which ranks 13th in the league. The Grizzlies on the defensive side of the court are 10th in the NBA in PPG given up with 111.0. They are able to force 16.3 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 47.4% from the field (23rd in the league). The Memphis defense gives up 38.0% on 3-point shots (276 of 726) and opponents are knocking down 76.2% of their shots from the free throw line. They have relinquished 25.5 dimes and 43.7 boards on a nightly basis, which is ranked 24th and 11th in basketball.

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Oklahoma City (+1.5)

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