NBA Sunday Tips: Celtics out to tame the Grizzlies and cash their Super Bowl bet

It’s Super Bowl Sunday, but plenty of eyes will be on the basketball as the Boston Celtics look for a piercing touchdown pass to muscle past the ailing Memphis Grizzlies.

Memphis Grizzlies @ Boston Celtics

Tipoff: 7pm Sunday GMT

Memphis has long been anointed as the NBA’s future, but achieving greatness is no linear path. Off to a 33-21 start following an 11-game winning streak, which began in December and ended well into 2023, the Grizzlies have been declawed in a vicious fashion in recent weeks. 

Eight losses in nine games prior to some much-needed relief in midweek against the Chicago Bulls. A tough schedule stretch, no doubt, including a road trip to the west coast. Still, for a team with two NBA All Stars and designs on acquiring championships sooner rather than later, this is not the form that title dreams are made of.

That past equity acquired has kept the Grizz in second place in the NBA Western Conference - for now - a spot strengthened by Friday night’s 128-107 defeat of Minnesota. 

In close contests, they have been off the pace. During their 1-8 stretch, they either led during the fourth quarter or lost by a single possession in five of those defeats. And their offensive production was a league-worst 107.3 points per game during that spell, a drop of a staggering 8.7 from their seasonable average.

It has tipped their road record into the red with an 11-16 mark heading into Sunday’s trip to Boston. That’s one more road loss than the Grizzlies sustained in all of the 2021-22 season and they are shipping seven points more on their travels than at base.

A bad sign when the Cs won the previous clash between these two in early November when Jayson Tatum’s 39 points, including a pair of free throws with two seconds left, sealed a 109-106 victory in a rollercoaster game. 

Another narrow reverse. No longer can Memphis simply point to inexperience. They have learnt enough to close out. Ja Morant continues to be must-see TV, averaging 27.4 ppg this term. That dipped to 25.1 on some off-key three-point shooting in December although there has been a recovery since. 

The Celtics have gone through their own bumps lately to seek although retain the shortest NBA Championship odds at 5. They are now 22-7 at home and have won five out of six following Friday’s ousting of Charlotte. Jaylen Brown may sit out Sunday with a facial injury, however, putting a potential dent in their points production.

Prediction: Under 225 points @ 2.24

Detroit Pistons @ Toronto Raptors

Tipoff: 8pm Sunday GMT

As the trade deadline loomed, it is always worth eyeing up The North. Under-achievers by some distance, there was an inevitability of some shake-up by British-born supremo Masai Ujiri – with more to come in the summer.

Adding Austria’s one-man Alp Jakob Poetl is only the smallest of upgrades. Sneaking into the play-in spots is not the Raps ambition. But a win over Memphis last weekend was the tough obstacle overcome in a soft schedule stretch on either side of the All Star break. 

A loss on Friday against the Jazz broke a rare three -game winning streak for Toronto who conceded 112.4 points while holding opponents to 49% from the field. Pascal Siakam, promoted into the All-Star line-up, is averaging 23.4 points over his previous ten games in which his team has gone 6-4 to move within one spot of the Play-in places.

The Pistons can view no such respite as they plummet towards the Lottery draw but they did pick up only a second win in ten with a double overtime victory over fellow strugglers San Antonio two days ago. It was the fourth consecutive time the Eastern Conference’s worst squad has scored 100 points or less in regulation.

Past history points to another reverse on their travels. Toronto defeated Detroit 115-111 in October despite fielding a short-handed line-up. And the Pistons have only recorded back-to-back triumphs once all season - on the road at Denver and Utah back in November. 

Prediction: Raptors -8 @ 1.5

NBA Sunday Tips 

Memphis Grizzlies @ Boston Celtics: Under 225 points @ 2.24
Detroit Pistons @ Toronto Raptors: Raptors -8 @ 1.5