The San Antonio Spurs will be gunning for a sixth consecutive straight-up win over Memphis when they play host to the Grizzlies on Sunday in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series as big 15.5-point favorites at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
San Antonio takes an impressive 40-1 SU home record into Sunday night’s Grizzlies vs. Spurs betting matchup at AT&T Center, lifting them to 67-15 on the year, second only to the defending-champion Golden State Warriors.
But the Spurs were a major betting disappointment in the final month of the campaign, going 6-16 against the spread down the stretch, covering in just one of their final eight games, and are a dismal 3-13 ATS in their past 16 games as double-digit favorites, according to the OddsShark NBA Database.
The Grizzlies ended the season in freefall, with just three SU wins in their final 17 contests, a slide that almost eliminated them from playoff contention. The Grizzlies also have lost five straight to San Antonio, including both ends of a home-and-home in late March, and sport a 16-25 SU road record, tying them with Portland as the worst road teams in the playoffs.
The Trail Blazers also open the postseason on the road on Sunday, visiting the Los Angeles Clippers as eight-point underdogs at the sportsbooks.
Portland finished strong, posting a 7-2 SU record in its final nine games, including a 6-1 SU mark on home court, and claimed a 115-107 win in Sacramento in its final road contest. However, it has not recorded consecutive road victories since winning six straight during a torrid 18-4 SU run that started in early January.
The Clippers enter the playoffs on a 10-2 SU tear which they hope to ride toward a first-ever Western Conference Finals appearance.
Los Angeles has averaged 55.5 wins per season over the past four years, but has needed seven games to get past the first round in each of the past two years. However, the Clippers have enjoyed recent success against the Blazers, going 12-5 SU in their past 17 meetings, denying Portland back-to-back wins since 2011.
The Warriors begin their title defense on Saturday afternoon when they host the Houston Rockets as 13-point betting favorites. Golden State is coming off its record-setting 73rd regular-season win and it’s set as huge favorites to get past the Rockets in the first round.
Oklahoma City also is a huge favorite in its first-round series against Dallas. It’s the two teams’ first playoff matchup since 2012. That series gets underway Saturday night, with the Thunder pegged as 11.5-point favorites for Game 1.
Thumbnail photo via Soobum Im/USA TODAY Sports Images
