Oklahoma City Thunder vs Memphis Grizzlies Prediction, 1/9/2026 Preview and Pick

Game: Oklahoma City Thunder vs Memphis Grizzlies

Date: Friday, January 9, 2026

Location: FedExForum in Memphis, TN

TV: NBA TV

FedExForum is the location where the Memphis Grizzlies (16-21) will take on the Oklahoma City Thunder (31-7) on Friday.

The Thunder stepped onto the hardwood against the Jazz and notched a win by a score of 129-125 in their last game. Concerning personal fouls, the Thunder finished with 21 and the Jazz accounted for 31 personal fouls. They also buried 11 of their 41 shots from 3-point range. Utah shot 76.2% at the charity stripe by burying 16 of 21 shots. In addition, Utah totaled 65 boards (19 offensive, 46 defensive) and got 11 blocked shots. Utah earned 33 dimes and had 8 steals for the contest. When talking about defense, Oklahoma City allowed the other team to go 44.1% from the floor on 49 out of 111 shooting. They also doled out 26 dimes for the game as well as forcing the other team into 20 turnovers and earning 14 steals. Regarding rebounding, they collected 51 with 12 of them being of the offensive sort. From the charity stripe, the Thunder knocked down 34 of 42 attempts for a percentage of 81.0%. Oklahoma City ended the contest having earned a 43.6% field goal percentage (44 out of 101) and knocked down 7 of 38 shots from beyond the arc.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is someone who was a factor in the game. Gilgeous-Alexander walked away from this one shooting 53.8% from the field and also totaled 6 assists. He was on the hardwood for 42 mins played and pulled down 6 boards. He left the arena with 46 points on 14 out of 26 shooting.

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Oklahoma City comes into this contest with a win-loss mark of 31-7 so far this year. They average 121.4 pts per contest (2nd in the NBA) while shooting 48.9% from the floor. The Thunder are connecting on 36.0% on three-point attempts (508 of 1,412) and 83.1% from the charity stripe. As a team, Oklahoma City is collecting 44.1 rebounds per game and has totaled 980 assists on the year, which is 14th in the NBA in terms of passing the ball. They are losing possession via turnover 12.4 times per contest and as a unit they commit 20.4 personal fouls on a nightly basis.

On the defensive end, the Thunder are forcing their opponents into 18.2 turnovers per game and they draw 21.3 fouls. They rank 5th in the NBA in allowing assists to the opposition with 918 conceded for the campaign. The Thunder are allowing a shooting percentage of 43.4% (1,434 of 3,304) and they relinquish 44.7 rebounds per game as a unit. They are giving up 37.3% on 3-point shots and they rank 1st in the NBA in points per game from their opponents (108.1).

In their last game, the Grizzlies took a loss by a score of 117-98 against the Suns. In regard to attacking the glass, Memphis permitted Phoenix to grab 51 in total (15 on the offensive glass). They finished shooting 39.3% from three-point range by going 22 of 56 and walked away from this one shooting 5 of 8 at the free throw line (62.5%). The Grizzlies allowed the Suns to make 45 out of their 97 attempts from the floor which gave them a rate of 46.4% in this matchup. When the game finished, the Grizzlies walked away from this one shooting 39 for 92 from the field which gave them a rate of 42.4%. When it comes to three-point shots, Memphis buried 12 of their 37 attempts (32.4%). They were able to bury 8 of those for a rate of 57.1%. The Suns were called for 17 fouls for the game which took the Grizzlies to the charity stripe for a total of 14 shots. They also turned the ball over 18 times, while getting 9 steals for the matchup. The Grizzlies recorded 32 defensive boards and 15 offensive rebounds totaling 47 for the game.

Jaren Jackson Jr. ended up being a major contributor for the Grizzlies in this game. He made 9 out of 19 for the contest for a rate of 47.4%, and tallied 4 rebounds. Jackson earned 19 points in his 29 mins on the court and added 1 assist in the game.

Memphis has a win-loss record of 16-21 on the year. The Grizzlies are committing 20.1 fouls per game and they go 79.3% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 28.9 times per game (6th in the league) and they cough up possession 15.4 times per contest. Memphis has totaled 4,263 points this season (115.2 per contest) and they average 46.3 rebounds per contest. When it comes to offense, the Grizzlies are shooting 45.4% from the floor, which ranks 26th in the league.

The Memphis defense allows 35.9% on 3-pointers (534 of 1,488) and their opponents are knocking down 78.6% of their shots from the free throw line. They allow 26.7 assists and 45.0 boards per contest, which ranks them 15th and 21st in the league. The Grizzlies on defense are ranked 17th in the league in points given up per game with 116.6. They are able to force 14.9 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 46.5% from the field (11th in the NBA).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Oklahoma City

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