NBA Playoffs 2022 on Saturday, 04/16/2022
The time has finally come! The postseason begins and, fittingly for the occasion, we betting aficionados have put together an easy-to-follow NBA Playoffs schedule that’s a mouthful! Thickly entered for tonight: Memphis Grizzlies vs. Minnesota Timberwolves!
Basketball fans are in for a real treat as we’ll get to see young, talented players on both sides provide plenty of entertainment. Meanwhile, I discuss why I see the home side with the advantage in my Grizzlies Timberwolves tip ….
Three weeks their wonder weapon was injured and even though the Grizzlies could have gotten him back sooner, they patiently waited until the penultimate day of play before giving Ja Morant the starting nod again.
After all, such a huge talent has to be handled with care, and given the strong performances the Dark Blues put up even without their best man, there was no reason to take unnecessary risks anyway.
Memphis remained on track for success even without their wonder boy and in the end even managed to knock the Warriors off 2nd place. Incidentally, this also enabled them to win the right to now compete with an “indirect” play-off participant.
The fact that the first game of this series will be played in front of a home crowd is at least as important for Memphis as the return of Ja Morant. To that end, the statistics provide simply unmistakable data.
For in the entire NBA, only the Suns (32), Warriors (31) and Grizzlies (30) have celebrated at least 30 home victories this season! The dark blue even managed to win ten games in a row before that streak snapped on the last matchday.
However, the Grizzlies could have possibly won that game against the Celtics if they were serious about it.
But second place was already secured for them at that point and so Ja Morant was spared directly after his comeback game against the Pelicans along with several other players – freely following the motto: Safety first, at any price!
Not only do the Dark Blues go into this first match with their own crowd behind them, but unlike the Timberwolves, they were also able to replenish their own energy reserves a little bit.
While the Timberwolves have prevailed, they have too much trouble on the perimeter when the game is made fast. Here is a near golden opportunity for Ja Morant, who seems tailor-made by his game profile to pick apart this defence.
We can expect a high-quality duel in any case, but I don’t want to commit myself to a high-scoring game – even if the visitors can also offer a lot of offensive potential with D’Angelo Russell, Anthony Edwards.
According to NBA statistics, the Grizzlies (115.6) and Timberwolves (115.9) are actually the two franchises that have scored the most points per game league-wide. However, this does not automatically mean that there “must” be a lot of two- and three-pointers.
Memphis also leads the NBA in three other important defensive categories: rebounds, steals and blocks. This again expresses why I see the home side as the more complete of the two teams in the advantage.
According to you, the victory of the dark blue is only worth betting odds of currently 1.35! For the opposite case, on the other hand, an average of 3.50 is offered, even though I personally would strongly advise against this betting alternative.
Conclusion: It is the first game of one of the most exciting series of this first playoff round! In the end, however, there can only be one winner for me – and it’s the home side for good reason.
Home court advantage, the return of Ja Morant and the fact that they lead the NBA league-wide in rebounds, steals and blocks makes them a complete team, unlike the Timberwolves.
Moreover, Minnesota could hardly live up to its clear role as favourites in the seven-eight game against the Clippers! These gaping holes in the half court could cost them dearly against Ja Morant …
My Grizzlies Timberwolves tip: The hosts will win by at least four points!
