The NBA is back following a 7-day break as the All-Star Weekend festivities are now behind us. A total of 18 teams are in action this Thursday and my focus is on the Memphis Grizzlies vs Philadelphia 76ers clash. Tip-off is at 7.30 pm ET on TNT, I've prepared a Same Game Parlay which you can find below.
We also have predictions on the side and total for the rest of Thursday’s 9-game slate on our NBA Predictions page, feel free to check those out as well!
Let's dive into my SGP bet now.
Memphis Grizzlies ML (+140)
Although they won the first meeting of the season fairly convincingly and are 6-4 SU over the past 10 meetings (including 4-1 SU over the last 5), the Grizzlies enter this game as 4-point underdogs. That's probably due to the fact they've lost 7 games in a row away from home, but after seeing them head into the All-Star break with 3 wins in 4 games I really believe they have a solid chance at ending that run in Philadelphia. They've beaten 14 of their last 17 Eastern Conference opponents and they're also the healthier team entering this game. Joel Embiid is still bothered by a foot injury that has slowed him down a bit over the recent couple of weeks, he did participate in the ASG but he clearly wasn't himself. He did have 35 points in the first meeting in Memphis, but the Grizzlies are one team against which he hasn't produced big numbers over the years. Both teams might come out a bit rusty after not playing for so long, but I think overall the Grizzlies have the better team here and they should edge out the Sixers in a tight one.