NBA Picks & Predictions for Saturday, March 12, 2011
By Nate Steele
(The Spread) - The Miami Heat will try to keep its positive momentum going Saturday afternoon when it hosts the Memphis Grizzlies.
Miami improved to 44-21 overall and 23-9 at home Thursday night, while also ending a widely scrutinized five-game losing streak with a 94-88 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. Memphis is 36-30 overall and 14-20 on the road after a 110-108 loss at the New York Knicks in its last contest.
Oddsmakers and online sports book Bodog.com have made the Heat 7.5-point favorites, while the over-under sits at 196. According to the latest trends, the Heat are 2-6 ATS in their last eight versus the Southwest Division. The over is 5-0 in the Grizzlies' last five overall. Memphis is 1-6 ATS in the last seven meetings in Miami.
Memphis is an outstanding 41-24 ATS this season, while Miami is 29-34 ATS. The Grizzlies are 33-32 on over-unders and the Heat are 34-30 with over-unders.
Memphis Grizzlies vs. Miami Heat, 3:30PM EST (View Matchup)
NBA Free Pick: Perhaps too much is being made of Miami's one-game resurrection of sorts in defeating the two-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers. For one thing, the Lakers played an atrocious game that was well below their standards and Kobe Bryant attested to that afterwards. Second, it remains to be seen how much the Heat are committed long-term to keep Chris Bosh a focal point of the offense and how often Bosh can recreate his monster game against the Lakers. Another point to be made the Miami is still getting very little production from its bench, which is the lowest-scoring group in the NBA. Plus the Heat's offense still looks uncertain and usually whoever has the ball is being watched with very little movement by his four teammates. And in comes a Memphis squad that has played very solid basketball all season as its against the spread record sums up. The Grizzlies will be eager to send the Heat back to their losing ways. Maybe Memphis will not walk away with a victory and Miami will finally have that close win everyone has harped on it about, but expect this one to not be a Heat blowout by any stretch of the imagination.
FREE NBA PICK: MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES +7.5