Posted:
#1
What's up fellas, skipped action on Sunday. Read all posts from the Saturday thread, really appreciate all the kind words. New week in the association, starting to get a better read and feel for most teams. Close to the end of this week I may start taking some calculated risks and gambling a bit more. Got 2 for Monday, all 4 team previews have already been posted. As always gents wishing you all the best of luck. Peace out - - - MAK
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES + 10 (-120) - - - Not giving up on the Griz so easily. They fought to the end vs Boston. Forced an OT but could not overcome the mental aptitude of a veteran squad. I am still very impressed with this roster and will continue to ride the Griz all season long. I think by mid season all value will be gone with the Griz, right now it is not clearly evident to the betting public how good the Memphis Grizzlies are, and can be. I actually read on a thread today that the Griz do not have the size to compete with Dwight Howard down low? Honestly if anyone truly states that I doubt they have a lot of pure NBA knowledge. First off no team can really contend with Dwight. He is the most dominant big man in the NBA. His sheer presence on the floor changes the landscape of the game and the Orlando Magic. However, there are a select few teams that have enough size, length and strength to contend with the Magic front-line. Howard, Bass and Gortat are the 3 bigs in the current rotation. For the Grizzlies they will counter with Zach, Gasol, Arthur and a few minutes from Thabeet. Now Gasol may not be a dominant big man, but he has a lot of strength and can contain offensive post presence. Zach is just a beast, a walking 20/10 who will dominate if Lewis starts at 4 and has enough talent to obliterate Bass on the block or even Ryan Anderson if they dare to put him on Zach. The 5 position may be dominated in this game by the Magic, but the 4 spot belongs to Memphis any way you look at it. Rudy Gay has really impressed me thus far in the season, his decision making and maturity have vastly improved. The best thing about his game this year is his focus to drive to the lane and try to score rather then falling in love with his jump shot. He is a star in this league and will prove it this year. O.J Mayo is really struggling, if he can just find his game which has alluded him thus far in the season, Memphis will be a powerhouse. Mike Conley has underrated quickness and his defense has not allowed a point guard to exploit him yet this season. Off the bench I named all the potential payers that will make an impact on the Griz in their team preview, and boy are there a lot young guns on this bench. One guy I forgot to mention was their rookie Vasquez. If you all remember he was the last player to be drafted in the 1st round, came down from the 2nd deck and he and his supporters were ecstatic for him. Great story and a great talent. He shined vs Boston and really gave them a spark in limited minutes. The one spot I was worried about for the Griz was the backup point since I do not like A.C Law. Well this Venezuelan born youngster is the answer to their only depth problem. He can play the point to perfection, has great court awareness and a long range shot. Darell Arthur and Tony Allen will affect the game tonight as well. I still believe the Magic are one of the best teams in the NBA. I do think Van Gundy needs to find an identity for this team and quick. Right now Nelson, Carter and Lewis are not shooting well. None of them have been consistent offensively as a collective unit for one game and neither of them has had 2 consecutive solid offensive games in a row in terms of production. The biggest enigma is J.J Redick. They dished out a lot of money to match the Bulls offer in the off season and J.J is struggling immensely. He is shooting a horrific 13 of 48 from the field this season good for 27%. Even more horrific and baffling is his 12% mark from 3pt range as he has gone 3 for 25. That is just ridiculous. His offense off the bench was a big key to their success over the last 2 seasons. His improvements have been wide spread throughout his career. I am sure he will get it together sooner or later but without consistent offensive production from J.J, Vince, Lewis and Nelson...this Magic team is just not as dominant as they once were. Quentin is proving to be a bit of a bust, Duhon is not doing what I thought he would backing up Nelson and Dwight just keeps picking up silly fouls which reduce his minutes. When Dwight is not on the floor drawing double teams and creating open shot opportunities, this Magic team is just not dangerous. Orlando could easily come out fired up and hit everything tonight, but because of the Grizzlies underrated strength and immense depth coupled with Orlando's recent struggles, I think Memphis staying within single digits is a good gamble.
4 UNITS SHAREEF ABDUR-RAHIM - - -
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES + 10 (-120) - - - Not giving up on the Griz so easily. They fought to the end vs Boston. Forced an OT but could not overcome the mental aptitude of a veteran squad. I am still very impressed with this roster and will continue to ride the Griz all season long. I think by mid season all value will be gone with the Griz, right now it is not clearly evident to the betting public how good the Memphis Grizzlies are, and can be. I actually read on a thread today that the Griz do not have the size to compete with Dwight Howard down low? Honestly if anyone truly states that I doubt they have a lot of pure NBA knowledge. First off no team can really contend with Dwight. He is the most dominant big man in the NBA. His sheer presence on the floor changes the landscape of the game and the Orlando Magic. However, there are a select few teams that have enough size, length and strength to contend with the Magic front-line. Howard, Bass and Gortat are the 3 bigs in the current rotation. For the Grizzlies they will counter with Zach, Gasol, Arthur and a few minutes from Thabeet. Now Gasol may not be a dominant big man, but he has a lot of strength and can contain offensive post presence. Zach is just a beast, a walking 20/10 who will dominate if Lewis starts at 4 and has enough talent to obliterate Bass on the block or even Ryan Anderson if they dare to put him on Zach. The 5 position may be dominated in this game by the Magic, but the 4 spot belongs to Memphis any way you look at it. Rudy Gay has really impressed me thus far in the season, his decision making and maturity have vastly improved. The best thing about his game this year is his focus to drive to the lane and try to score rather then falling in love with his jump shot. He is a star in this league and will prove it this year. O.J Mayo is really struggling, if he can just find his game which has alluded him thus far in the season, Memphis will be a powerhouse. Mike Conley has underrated quickness and his defense has not allowed a point guard to exploit him yet this season. Off the bench I named all the potential payers that will make an impact on the Griz in their team preview, and boy are there a lot young guns on this bench. One guy I forgot to mention was their rookie Vasquez. If you all remember he was the last player to be drafted in the 1st round, came down from the 2nd deck and he and his supporters were ecstatic for him. Great story and a great talent. He shined vs Boston and really gave them a spark in limited minutes. The one spot I was worried about for the Griz was the backup point since I do not like A.C Law. Well this Venezuelan born youngster is the answer to their only depth problem. He can play the point to perfection, has great court awareness and a long range shot. Darell Arthur and Tony Allen will affect the game tonight as well. I still believe the Magic are one of the best teams in the NBA. I do think Van Gundy needs to find an identity for this team and quick. Right now Nelson, Carter and Lewis are not shooting well. None of them have been consistent offensively as a collective unit for one game and neither of them has had 2 consecutive solid offensive games in a row in terms of production. The biggest enigma is J.J Redick. They dished out a lot of money to match the Bulls offer in the off season and J.J is struggling immensely. He is shooting a horrific 13 of 48 from the field this season good for 27%. Even more horrific and baffling is his 12% mark from 3pt range as he has gone 3 for 25. That is just ridiculous. His offense off the bench was a big key to their success over the last 2 seasons. His improvements have been wide spread throughout his career. I am sure he will get it together sooner or later but without consistent offensive production from J.J, Vince, Lewis and Nelson...this Magic team is just not as dominant as they once were. Quentin is proving to be a bit of a bust, Duhon is not doing what I thought he would backing up Nelson and Dwight just keeps picking up silly fouls which reduce his minutes. When Dwight is not on the floor drawing double teams and creating open shot opportunities, this Magic team is just not dangerous. Orlando could easily come out fired up and hit everything tonight, but because of the Grizzlies underrated strength and immense depth coupled with Orlando's recent struggles, I think Memphis staying within single digits is a good gamble.
4 UNITS SHAREEF ABDUR-RAHIM - - -
good luck Mak, your a top capper in my book. 
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