Memphis Grizzlies vs Phoenix Suns Prediction, 12/31/2024 Preview and Pick

Game: Memphis Grizzlies vs Phoenix Suns

Date: Tuesday, December 31, 2024

Location: Footprint Center in Phoenix, AZ

TV: AZ Family Sports Network

The Memphis Grizzlies (22-11) are hitting the road to Footprint Center on Tuesday where they will attempt to beat the Phoenix Suns (15-16).

The Grizzlies took the court against the Thunder and went home with a loss by a final score of 130-106 in their last contest. With respect to fouls, the Grizzlies ended up with 15 while the Thunder totaled 24 fouls. They also made 14 of their 44 attempts from downtown. Oklahoma City shot 100.0% at the charity stripe by making 12 of their 12 shots. In addition, Oklahoma City collected 45 rebounds (9 offensive, 36 defensive) and earned 4 rejections. Oklahoma City dished out 35 dimes and had 10 steals in this game. In the matter of defense, Memphis allowed their opponent to shoot 50.5% from the floor on 52 of 103 shooting. They also doled out 30 assists in the game while forcing 10 turnovers and having 6 steals. In reference to grabbing rebounds, they collected 51 with 16 of them being of the offensive variety. At the free throw line, the Grizzlies knocked down 18 of their 21 shots for a rate of 85.7%. Memphis finished the game having earned a 38.1% FG percentage (37 of 97) and knocked down 14 out of their 51 shots from 3-point land.

Desmond Bane is a guy who came through for the game. He recorded 22 points on 7 of 15 shooting. He saw the court for 29 minutes and also pulled down 9 boards. Bane finished the game at 46.7% from the field and also totaled 4 assists.

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Memphis will enter this matchup with a win-loss mark of 22-11 on the season. They are averaging 123.4 points per game (1st in the NBA) while hitting 48.4% from the floor. The Grizzlies are hitting 36.9% on three-point attempts (467 of 1,266) and 77.8% from the free throw line. As a team, Memphis is snagging 48.5 rebounds per contest and has accounted for 1,010 assists on the campaign, which is 1st in basketball in terms of passing the rock. They are turning it over 17.2 times per contest and as a team they commit 21.2 personal fouls per contest.

When they are on the defensive end, the Grizzlies are forcing 16.5 turnovers per contest while drawing 21.7 fouls. They are currently ranked 18th in basketball in giving up assists to their opponents with 836 relinquished so far this season. The Grizzlies defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 44.2% (1,349 of 3,055) and they relinquish 43.9 rebounds per game as a squad. They give up 33.2% on shots from beyond the arc and they rank 20th in the NBA in PPG from their opponents (114.2).

In their last game, the Suns walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 109-105 when they faced the Warriors. The Suns were able to corral 32 defensive rebounds and 14 offensive boards for a total of 46 for the matchup. They turned it over 14 times, while recording 7 steals in the game. The Warriors were called for 17 fouls in this game which got the Suns to the charity stripe for 22 attempts. They were able to make 18 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 81.8%. When talking about shooting from downtown, Phoenix knocked down 9 out of 35 attempts (25.7%). Overall, the Suns finished 39 for 92 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 42.4%. The Suns allowed the Warriors to knock down 41 out of their 98 attempts from the floor which had them shooting 41.8% in the game. They finished 26.7% from beyond the arc by connecting on 12 out of 45 and finished the game at 15 out of 19 from the free throw line (78.9%). Concerning rebounding, Phoenix permitted Golden State to pull down 49 in total (18 on the offensive side).

Kevin Durant pitched in for the Suns in this matchup. Durant tallied 31 points in his 37 minutes of playing time and earned 3 assists in the matchup. He knocked down 10 out of 24 in the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 41.7%, and had 6 rebounds.

Phoenix has a record of 15-16 for the campaign. The Suns have committed 17.9 fouls per game and they go 79.5% from the free throw line. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 26.8 times per game (11th in basketball) and they turn it over 14.1 times per game. Phoenix has totaled 3,479 points on the year (112.2 per contest) and they average 42.8 boards per game. On the offensive side of the court, the Suns are shooting 46.8% from the field, which ranks them 12th in the NBA.

The Suns on the defensive end are ranked 17th in basketball in PPG given up with 113.9. They have forced 12.9 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 47.0% from the field (18th in the NBA). The Phoenix defense surrenders 36.7% on shots from 3-point land (424 of 1,156) and opponents are knocking down 79.5% of their free throw shots. They relinquish 26.7 assists and 43.8 rebounds per game, which ranks them 21st and 13th in the league.

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Memphis

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