Memphis at Sacramento
Time: 10 PM ET, Jan 29, 2014
Spread: MEM -5
M/L: MEM -200; SAC +170
Total: 194

Betting odds courtesy of 5dimes

Sacramento is dead last in the Western Conference at 15-29 and the Kings have oat four straight entering tonight’s contest. The Kings are 9-15 at home and will host the Memphis Grizzlies in a game NBA oddsmakers at 5dimes are favoring the Grizzlies by 5-points.

Memphis is 23-20 and trails the Dallas Mavericks by 1.5 games for the eighth seed in the West. The Grizz have won three straight though, and eight of its last ten, as the team is functioning much better now that Marc Gasol is back. To illustrate that, the Grizzlies knocked off the red hot Trail Blazers last night 98-81 in Portland.

Zach Randolph went toe-to-toe with LaMarcus Aldridge and came away with 23 points and 10 boards in the victory. Point guard Mike Conley had a sound game with 19 points, seven assists and just two turnovers. Memphis shot 51.8 percent from the floor while holding Portland to 34.5 percent shooting. The Grizzlies rank 3rd in scoring defense, allowing just 95.4 points per game.

The Grizzlies are gaining momentum, especially looking at the way the team has been playing the tougher opponents. The win over Portland, and back-to-back victories over Houston, not to mention a victory over OKC on Jan 14, have served notice to the league that the Grizzlies are not fading quietly into the lottery this season.

Sacramento, barring a miraculous turnaround, is headed to the lottery. The Kings lost 106-99 to Utah on Monday night, and the four-game skid has also included losses to Houston, Indiana and Denver. The Kings are in a tough stretch of schedule, though, with its next four games coming against plus-.500 teams.

The Kings have a talented offensive unit highlighted by DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay and Isaiah Thomas. All three average near or over 20 points per game, but the Kings still rank third-to-last in the NBA in defense.

Cousins is posting a 26.5 PER, but is not playing very good defense and he’s not much of a rim protector, despite leading the team in blocks with 1.2 per game. Thomas has certainly looked to have the makings of a star, but the Kings are so dysfunctional so often, it’s tough to say just how good he, Cousins or the wandering Rudy Gay can be. What’s more is that only Thomas is expected to play, while Gay is questionable and Cousins is doubtful. Cousins hasn’t played since Jan 22 and is rehabbing an ankle injury, while Gay has sat since Jan 22nd with an Achilles injury. A team as bad as Sacramento can’t afford to be without its best three players, if any team could.

MEM Trends: UNDER 6-0 in last 6 following SU win; UNDER 4-0 in last 4 following ATS win; UNDER 7-0 in last 7 overall.

SAC Trends: Kings 9-0 ATS in last 9 home games vs teams with winning road records; 5-0 ATS in last 5 home games vs teams with road winning percentage over .600; OVER 4-0-1 in last 5 Wednesday games.

Head-to-head: UNDER 4-1 in last 5 meetings.