- What: NBA Regular Season Game
- When: March 5, 2025
- Who: OKC Thunder vs. Memphis Grizzlies
- Time: 6:40 p.m. PST
- Where: FedEx Forum (Memphis, TN)
Two of the top teams in the Western Conference are set to clash in Wednesday night’s matchup between the Thunder and the Grizzlies. This third encounter kicks off at 6:30 p.m. PST at FedEx Forum.
Oklahoma City comes into this game riding a seven-game winning streak against Memphis.
OKC
The Thunder currently hold an impressive 11-game lead in the conference standings and are riding a four-game winning streak that has them just half a game away from the best record in the NBA.
Oklahoma City is enjoying a remarkable season, anchored by the league’s top defensive rating.
They excel at forcing opponents to miss shots, whether at the rim or from beyond the three-point line, and they are also the best in the league at creating turnovers. Against this strong defense, getting a quality shot becomes quite challenging for any team.
However, when the Thunder struggle, it tends to be due to their 24th rank in defensive rebounding rate and 28th in free throw attempts allowed. Luckily for them, these issues have not been problematic when facing the Grizzlies this season.
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On the offensive side, Oklahoma City ranks fifth in offensive efficiency. All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads the NBA in scoring with an impressive 32.6 points per game.
The Thunder are first in free throw percentage, ninth in efficiency at the rim, and 12th in three-point shooting accuracy. Overall, they hold the 10th position in true shooting percentage.
Oklahoma City boasts the lowest turnover rate in the league, but they are 28th in free throw attempts allowed and rank 19th in offensive rebounding rate.
Memphis
The Grizzlies find themselves in a competitive battle for the second seed in the conference.
Unfortunately, they have dropped three consecutive games by a narrow margin of just five points, with each loss coming down to the final moments.
While Memphis is struggling to finish games, they still rank sixth in offensive rating. Their high-paced play has propelled them to lead the league in points per game.
The Grizzlies boast a sixth-place rank in true shooting percentage thanks to their top-10 efficiency across various scoring levels.
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They also rank first in free throw attempts per game and second in offensive rebounding rate. However, their turnover rate is a concern, sitting at 25th in the league. Can they overcome OKC’s defense in their third matchup?
On the defensive side, Memphis has slipped to 11th in defensive rating due to their recent struggles. Three of their last four opponents scored at least 130 points, all during home games.
Despite this downturn, the Grizzlies remain a top-10 team in defending all three scoring levels and rank sixth in turnovers forced per game.
However, they rank 29th in free throw attempts allowed and 23rd in defensive rebounding rate.
Thunder-Grizzlies Best Bet
This feels like an ideal spot for the Grizzlies to get out of their rut. I don’t think the Grizzlies are able to pull off the upset in this one, but they will keep it closer than 7.5 points.
They are at home and have Ja Morant returning tonight. Take the Grizzlies and the 7.5 ponts at home in this one.
Best Bet: Grizzlies +7.5 points at -105 odds
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Tony Reyes is a sports betting analyst and reporter for Dice City Sports. You can follow him on X @TonyParlay.
