What a response we saw from the San Antonio Spurs. After falling behind the Memphis Grizzlies in the first quarter of Game 1, San Antonio responded by holding Memphis to under 20 points for the last three quarters and secured a big first win of the series. The Spurs will look to match that result in Game 2 to take full control of the series, while the Grizzlies will look for an upset win that would snatch away home court advantage.
This war on the floor will go down Monday, April 17, 2017, at 9:30 p.m. ET at AT&T Center. The game will be televised live on TNT and FSSW. We'll have NBA odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the NBA playoff schedule.
Odds Analysis
San Antonio -10.5, O/U 188.5
Memphis has got to be tired of playing San Antonio in the playoffs. The Grizzlies were blown out by the Spurs in the first round last year, losing by an average of 21 points a game in a sweep for San Antonio. The Grizzlies only covered once in the series and didn’t cover on Saturday, but there is hope. Memphis was 4-0 ATS against San Antonio in the regular season.
San Antonio ended the season on a down note, but the last few games didn’t mean much to them as the Spurs were locked into the No. 2 seed. This time is trying to avenge crashing out of the postseason against the Thunder last year and virtually everyone is expecting them to eventually take on Golden State to decide the West.
Player to Watch
Kawhi Leonard was on fire Saturday night and sparked the Spurs to their win against the Grizz. Leonard went 11 of 14 from the floor and was able to consistently get to the line as well as Memphis was unable to contain him with its best defensive player, Tony Allen, out with an injury.
Where Leonard really makes his mark though is on the defensive end. He is the lynchpin for a team that ranks in the Top 5 in every major defensive category and can guard anyone on the court. Leonard helped shut down Marc Gasol after a strong first half and came out to help with Mike Conley Jr. too. For Memphis to have a chance in this series, Zach Randolph or someone else has to take him out of the game.
Coaching Angle
Gregg Popovich has been the best coach in the NBA for some time now and put on a clinic in Game 1 with his adjustments. Gasol and Conley were getting good looks against the Spurs early on with a pick-and-roll game, but after Pop made some changes, that stopped. Popovich made some tweaks to deny Gasol easy entry passes while rotating fresh bodies on Conley to stop his dribble penetration and Memphis couldn’t counter these effectively.
Memphis parted ways with coach Dave Joerger in the offseason and hired a long-time assistant coach to face him in David Fizdale. Fizdale had been an assistant in Miami for eight seasons, but Memphis was his first coaching gig and he led this team to the postseason for its seventh straight year. He got thoroughly outcoached in Game 1 and needs to take those lessons learned into Game 2.
Free NBA ATS Picks
San Antonio wasn’t a great ATS team at home this season, but this is the playoffs, and the Spurs have always shined here. They are a veteran, seasoned team with tons of postseason experience and know what it takes to get wins.
Until Memphis finds a way to stop Leonard, you have to keep backing the Spurs. He is a matchup nightmare and the Grizzlies had no answer for him in the first game of the series. Without Allen, it’s hard to see how they can shut him down.
NBA Odds: Spurs 106, Grizzlies 90
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