The Memphis Grizzlies made sports betting history on Sunday when they upset the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA playoffs. The Grizzlies beat the Spurs 101-98 for their first playoff win in franchise history. The Spurs were 6.5 point favorites in online sports betting but it was the Grizzlies who outplayed San Antonio to take a 1-0 series lead.
Grizzlies Dominate Inside
The San Antonio Spurs have a major problem in this series and his name is Zach Randolph. The Spurs got pushed around all afternoon on Sunday as Randolph scored 25 points and pulled down 14 rebounds. Randolph scored nine points in the fourth quarter and Shane Battier hit a big 3-pointer as Memphis pulled off the Game 1 upset. The Grizzlies began 16 years ago in Vancouver but they never won a playoff game until Memphis stunned the top-seeded Spurs on Sunday.
The Spurs had a chance to tie the game and force overtime but Richard Jefferson missed a wide-open 3-pointer at the buzzer. The Spurs have serious matchup problems in their frontcourt. They can’t handle Randolph who had 25 points or Marc Gasol who had 24 points and nine rebounds. Tim Duncan is a future Hall of Famer but his best days are behind him. He still had 16 points and 10 rebounds on Sunday.
Ginobili Was Out
The Spurs badly missed All-Star Manu Ginobili who did not play due to a sprained right elbow. Ginobili lobbied hard to play on Sunday but head coach Gregg Popovich decided to rest Ginobili. There should be little question that Ginobili will be back for Game 2. George Hill was just 2 of 7 from the field in place of Ginobili.
Grizzlies are No Fluke
The Spurs are no guarantee to win this series. They were more than a 3-1 favorite in sports betting to beat the Grizzlies but for a 1vs8 matchup those odds are not that high. Chicago was as high as 30-1 favorite to win their series against the Pacers and the Lakers were about a 20-1 favorite at the Sbg global sportsbook to beat New Orleans so you can see that the oddsmakers believe San Antonio is beatable. Memphis is the 8th seed but they are now 3-2 against San Antonio this season.