Grizzlies Look To Withstand The Heat

The Memphis Grizzlies will look to get back on track tonight as they take on the Miami Heat in an away game at 7:30 p.m. on NBA TV.

The PR answer to the Grizzlies woes is that they are struggling on defense. However, the Grizzlies four-game losing stream coincides with the absence of Zach Rangolph who may miss is fourth consecutive game.

The Grizzlies got off to a hot start going 21-8. They took a loss to the Chicago Bulls back on Dec. 19 after Randolph suffered a knee injury late in the third quarter. They have still not recovered.

Without their veteran big man, Memphis has struggled to pull down rebounds by getting out-rebounded by more than 25 over its last two contests.

The Heat are riding high at the moment despite being 14-16 overall. On Christmas LeBron James returned to Miami with his new team, Cleveland. They won 101-91.

The Heat have also been without their big man Chris Bosh, and Bosh will be out against the Grizzlies today.

Luol Deng has stepped up in Bosh’s absence. He shot 11 of 16 and had 25 points against the Cavs. Dwyane Wade also did his part with 31 points.

The Grizzles are road favorites by 3 points. They are 1-4 against the spread over their last five and are looking to recover. Miami, though, does not play well against Memphis. They are 1-5 against the spread in its last six games when playing Memphis.

The total is set at 190. The OVER has been hit in six of Memphis’ last nine games. Miami, though, favors the UNDER. They are 16-22 on the UNDER.