The Memphis Grizzlies are 0-6 to start the season. They will face the Portland Trailblazers on Sunday, November 5th, 2023 in the NBA’s late game (6 PM PT). The Trailblazers are coming in at +2.5 and will have to be taken based on where the two teams are at right now. Memphis is winless while Portland has won three straight. My Grizzlies vs Trailblazers prediction is that Portland will win this game. However, I think there are also good futures bets to be made on each team.
Memphis vs Portland Prediction: Latest NBA Headlines
Memphis has had all sorts of trouble to start the season. A big part of it is that their best player is still suspended. Ja Morant is in the midst of a 25-game suspension. But Morant aside, you can expect persistent problems in the low-block positions for Memphis. Steven Adams is not expected back until the 2024-25 season. He was to be the team’s starting center this season. That leaves this team thin on big men with Jaren Jackson Jr. the only decent one.
With Portland, the team started 0-3 in the post-Lillard era. However, they have responded well to improve to 3-3. Shaedon Sharpe, a second-year player, is performing better than most would have thought. So far he is averaging 20.5 points per game. Meanwhile, DeAndre Ayton is doing his thing with 13.7 boards per game so far and 2.3 steals per game.
Portland has injury problems as well but they’ve done well despite losing Anfernee Simons, a starter. Scoot Henderson will miss Sunday’s game, according to RoseGardenReport.com, but he isn’t critical to Portland’s success this season.
Grizzlies vs Traiblazers Prediction: Betting Tips
There are three good futures bets involving these teams. Firstly, bettors could hammer Portland to beat 24.5 wins this season at -125 (bet365). They’ve been 50/50 so far and they are just an injury to Ayton or Sharpe away from a huge losing streak. But you have to gamble on something with futures betting. The correct gamble on Portland is for them to go at least 22-54 for the balance of the season, which is all they need to do to beat 24.5.
Also, a small dabble at +1600 to make the playoffs isn’t a bad move, not with the play-in tournament available. If they finish 10th or 9th, then you would probably be in a cash-out-for-profit situation late in the season.
With Memphis, you should take them to win UNDER 41.5 games this season. They would need to go 41-35 for the balance of their games or worse to stay UNDER 41.5. An 0-6 team is a team to bet against for sure when it comes to futues betting. If you are worried that Morant will return and save them, then it’s a semi-valid concern. But he certainly isn’t the most mature player in the NBA. There’s a chance this season crumbles in Memphis for more reasons than one.
For the game at hand, my recommendation is the spread on Portland.
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