Memphis Grizzlies vs. Portland Trail Blazers Predictions, Odds, Picks

VegasInsider Staff Sports Betting Expert

5 minute read

Oct. 27, 2021

Eytan Shander
VI Betting Expert
VegasInsider.com

Rip City will be booming Wednesday night, but a couple of concerns still linger with both the Grizzlies and Blazers. Memphis is in Portland for a 10:00 p.m. ET tip on ESPN at the Moda Center.

Score Prediction

Grizzlies 128, Blazers 110

Best Bets

Grizzlies ML

Memphis Grizzlies vs. Portland Trail Blazers Predictions

Both teams are waiting for help but in completely different fashion. The Grizzlies are the top scoring team in the league but are seeing Ja Morant handle most of the scoring. Jaren Jacksonisn’t where he should be but both Desmond Bane and De’Anthony Melton have been solid contributors. But that’s it. Memphis is still weak off the bench, but incredibly successful relying on Morant to dominate. The good news for Memphis against Portland is that small issues like Jackson not being a great post player – yet – won’t hold back the Grizzlies from torching Portland. The Blazers give up a lot of points and it should be open season for Memphis – especially Morant.

Damian Lillard hasn’t truly arrived yet. Maybe it was the offseason drama holding over him, but the Blazers All-NBA guard is still struggling out of the gate. Portland is surely relieved CJ McCollum has stepped up – and then some – during Lillard’s struggles, but the team still lacks potent offense without domination from Dame. There was a rotating third scorer when both guards were in sync, so no shock the Blazers aren’t themselves right now on offense.

Morant is averaging 35 PPG through three games and is leading the highest-scoring team in the NBA. That’s as simple as it gets in this matchup. Add Lillard’s struggles and how poor the Blazers have looked on defense and it gets even uglier.

While they lack firepower up front, the Grizzlies have been fine defensively with Steven Adams pacing the squad at 13 RPG. If both Bane and Melton are on Wednesday night, it’s going to make it near impossible for the Blazers to keep up.

It hasn’t been easy watching one of the most dynamic scorers in the game struggle like Lillard has, but it can’t last forever. Having McCollum take over games helps but they are still dealing with a knee injury sidelining Norman Powell. Jusuf Nurkic and Cody Zeller just aren’t giving the Blazers enough at the C position – an area of strength against the Grizzlies. Memphis is also without Dillon Brooks, so there’s a little depth issue with both teams.

Memphis Grizzlies vs. Portland Trail Blazers Betting Odds

More Odds | Futures Odds

Odds Provided by DraftKings - Subject to Change

Grizzlies +110
Trail Blazers -130
Grizzlies +2 (-110)
Trail Blazers -2 (-110)
Over 234 (-110)
Under 234 (-110)

Memphis Grizzlies vs. Portland Trail Blazers Betting Resources

Matchup: Southwest vs. Northwest
Date: Wednesday, October 27, 2021
Venue: Moda Center
Location: Portland, Oregon
TV-Time: ESPN - 10:00 p.m. ET

Injury Report

Memphis Grizzlies Betting Analysis

Straight Up - SU, Against the Spread - ATS, Over-Under (O/U)

SU: 2-1
ATS: 3-0
O/U: 3-0
ATS - Home: 1-0
ATS - Away: 2-0

Memphis watched Morant pour in 40 – despite a loss – against the Lakers. This is just going to get better as Memphis is scoring points around Morant too. Incredibly, the team leads the NBA in scoring yet only has one player averaging north of 20 PPG. There’s been some balance but also guys like Bane and Melton contributing 19 and 18 PPG, respectively.

The guard play is too much for Portland currently, especially with Lillard having early issues. Adams should win the rebounding battle over Nurkic, and McCollum is going to be left looking around again for more help. Neither team is great defensively but only Memphis seems to have figured out their offensive identity.

Portland Trail Blazers Betting Analysis

Straight Up - SU, Against the Spread - ATS, Over-Under (O/U)

SU: 1-2
ATS: 1-2
O/U: 2-1
ATS - Home: 1-1
ATS - Away: 0-1

Dame is amazingly only at 17 PPG through the Blazers first three contests. McCollum is only just above 27 PPG, and then it gets worse. Not having Powell takes a huge chunk out of an already struggling offense – Powell is the team’s third leading scorer averaging 15 PPG.

Robert Covington has been mostly “D” in the “3 and D” role he serves, and it’s too early to askAnfernee Simons to shut down Melton/Bane. Overall Portland is a decent to struggling team right now – until Lillard wakes up – and must try and slow down an offensive juggernaut in Memphis.

Lillard has just been ice cold from both the floor and behind the arc, shooting 36% from the field and just 8.3% from three! It could be a long night for Blazers fans.

The Memphis Grizzlies have covered the spread in three straight games. (AP)

Memphis Grizzlies vs. Portland Trail Blazers Head-to-Head

Key Players to Watch

MEM: Ja Morant - PG (35 ppg, 8 apg)
MEM: Steven Adams - C (13 ppg, 13 rpg, 4.7 apg)
POR: Damian Lillard - PG (17 ppg, 7.3 apg)
POR: C.J. McCollum - SG (27.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg)

Injuries

MEM: Dillon Brooks - SF (Out)
POR: Tony Snell - SF (Out)
POR: Norman Powell - SF (DTD)

Memphis Grizzlies vs. Portland Trail Blazers Betting Conclusion

Morant is simply playing on another level. Ironically, it’s the level we’ve all grown accustomed to seeing Lillard play. The difference in this game, why the Blazers get blown out, is consistent scoring. The game should go over its projected total with both teams struggling on defense, so where is the difference?

Backcourt scoring. The Grizzlies are down a player and still adding the necessary support for their superstar. Meanwhile the Blazers must deal with their main superstar barely adding role-player lever support. This key difference will be evident on the court after the Grizz get one on the road.

Memphis Grizzlies vs. Portland Trail Blazers Betting Trends

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