Sacramento Kings vs. San Antonio Spurs In-Season Tournament: 3 Best Bets
The San Antonio Spurs get no rest as they prepare to take on the Memphis Grizzlies tonight at the Frost Bank Center. After a losing effort last night to the Sacramento Kings, the young Spurs remained positive about their performance.
The Grizzlies sit at 2-9, the worst record in the Western Conference and third-worst record in the NBA. Clearly struggling without Ja Morant, Memphis enters the game as the slight favorites, which makes some sense considering they haven’t played since Wednesday, so fatigue won’t be a factor.
The Spurs are more healthy than they were last night, Tre Jones returns to the lineup. Devin Vassell remains out. Memphis is pretty depleted, with Morant, Marcus Smart, Steven Adams, Luke Kennard, and Xavier Tillman all listed as out. Derrick Rose is questionable.
In all honesty, the only good players available for Memphis are Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane. Jackson Jr., the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, will try to stop Victor Wembanyama, but the rookie posted an impressive 27-point game last night and looked to be playing his brand of basketball, especially on the offensive end. Jackson Jr. will face a tough matchup tonight.
Keldon Johnson scored 21 points in the loss last night.
© Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports
The Spurs looked like they were playing with new energy last night, and we kept that in mind when we made our picks based on the odds provided by SI Sportsbook.
The Lines
Point spread: Grizzlies -2.5 (-118)/Spurs +2.5 (-110)
Moneyline: Grizzlies (-152)/Spurs (+120)
Over/under: 226.5
Our Picks
Player prop: Victor Wembanyama OVER 19.5 points (-133)
In three games without Devin Vassell, Wemby is averaging 20 points. However, in the back half of the only back-to-back so far, he only scored 13 points. That game was on the road against the Indiana Pacers, so travel could have been a factor. Last night, Wembanyama scored 27 points. He looked confident from deep and his teammates were finding him with plenty of lobs. If he can keep playing with the joyous energy he brought to the floor last night, this is an easy bet to hit.
Opponent pick: Jaren Jackson Jr. UNDER 6.5 total rebounds (+100)
Suggesting that an All-Star center will fail to nab seven boards is usually a very bad pick to make, but Jackson Jr. has failed to cover this number in the last four games. Zach Collins, Charles Bassey, Keldon Johnson, and Wembanyama are all better rebounders than Jackson Jr., who isn’t even the best rebounder on his own team. Wembanyama will have him play all over the floor tonight, so he won’t be under the basket a lot to even get the chance to grab some boards.
Team pick: Spurs to win (+120)
The Spurs have played poorly this season, which makes betting the moneyline risky, but Memphis has been downright awful. Both teams are in the bottom five of net rating and offensive rating, so home-court advantage will really come through tonight. Plus, the Spurs should still be riding the high from last night, so we’re really banking on that for this pick.
