Free NBA Picks Today: Memphis Grizzlies vs Denver Nuggets 2/25/23

Defense meets offense when the Memphis Grizzlies (35-23, 24-5 Home) welcome the Denver Nuggets (42-18, 15-14 Away) Saturday. Denver beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 115-109 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Thursday, their fourth win in a row. Michael Porter Jr. was the scoring leader with 25 points.

Nikola Jokic had a triple double with 24 points, 18 rebounds, and 13 assists. The Nuggets are five games ahead of the Grizzlies atop the Western Conference, currently sitting in first.

Memphis fell short on Thursday at Wells Fargo Center, falling to the Philadelphia 76ers 110-105. Desmond Bane had 25 points and eight rebounds in the loss to lead the team.

The Grizzlies are second in the Western Conference. The teams are meeting for the final time this season. After taking the only prior season game against Memphis 105-91 at Ball Arena in December 2022, Denver will be pursuing a season sweep.

Aaron Gordon led the Nuggets with 24 points and seven rebounds. Ja Morant had 35 points and 10 assists in the loss. The Nuggets have been led this season by Jokic, who is averaging 24.7 points per game. Jokic also is contributing 11.6 rebounds and 10.2 assists per game, placing him fourth and third in the NBA, respectively.

Morant (27.1 ppg) has been the primary provider of the Grizzlies’ offense. He has the ninth-best scoring average in the league. Morant also has distributed 8.2 assists per game, fifth-most in the league. Steven Adams has averaged 11.5 rebounds per game.

The Grizzlies are No. 1 in defensive efficiency in the NBA, while the Nuggets rank second in offensive efficiency. The Grizzlies have found success in recent matchups between the teams at FedExForum, winning six of the last 10.

Denver is seeking a fourth consecutive road win this season. Memphis is seeking a fourth successive win at home this season. Denver is 8-2 in the last 10 games with an average margin of +7.2 (119.6-112.4). Memphis has gone 4-6 over the last 10, averaging 110.3 points per game both for and against.

NUGGETS HOT/COLD

(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Aaron Gordon: 53.0 | 27.0 | +26.0
Thomas Bryant: 8.3 | 18.6 | -10.3
Points per game:
Aaron Gordon: 37.0 | 17.3 | +19.7
Rebounds per game:
Aaron Gordon: 13.0 | 6.9 | +6.1
Thomas Bryant: 3.3 | 6.5 | -3.2
Assists per game:
Jamal Murray: 9.0 | 5.9 | +3.1

GRIZZLIES HOT/COLD

(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Tyus Jones: 6.2 | 16.4 | -10.2
Points per game:
Dillon Brooks: 8.8 | 14.7 | -5.9
Assists per game:
Tyus Jones: 3.0 | 4.6 | -1.6