The Memphis Grizzlies are so decimated by injuries that they are using players on hardship contracts as they play out the string one season after finishing second in the Western Conference.

Marcus Smart, Ja Morant and Desmond Bane are on the shelf for the foreseeable future. In Tennessee nobody is paying much attention to any team other than the Volunteers, who are ranked fifth nationally heading into the Southeast Conference Tournament, which might get them a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament if they win it.

The Grizzlies, meanwhile, have 22 wins and 43 losses and have won twice as many road games (15) as home games (7). Tonight, they entertain the Washington Wizards, who are having problems of their own with an 11-53 record that is tied with Detroit for worst in the NBA.

Despite that record, the Wizards are 2.5-point favorites. This is the first time all season they have been road favorites.

Because one team is down so many players and the other team has seasoned NBA players who are merely having a tough season, this particular “dud” game presents interesting wagering opportunities. It is the game we want to key on first as we come at you with four NBA picks on Tuesday, a.k.a. “get things done” day.

NBA Player Props Today for Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Tyus Jones 14+ assists

Tyus Jones has 468 assists and 63 turnovers for a league-leading 7.43 assists-to-turnover ratio, ahead of Chris Paul’s 6.06 and Mike Conley’s 5.29. He went for 16 assists last time out in a surprising win against Miami, breaking a string of four games with single-digit assists: Prior to that, he had double-figure assists in six of seven games, including outputs of 14, 15, 16 and 17. With the Wizards having defeated a decent Miami team in their last game, we can assume that they will take their chances against Detroit and San Antonio in the NBA draft lottery and are not playing for ping-pong balls. We should expect Jones to put a few mojo games together because he will be an unrestricted free agent this summer who will be very much in demand.

The Pick: Tyus Jones to have at least 14 assists (+900)

Josh Giddey double-double

Giddey had 10 rebounds in just 19 minutes against the Grizzlies last time out in a game that did not stay competitive through the first half. This is a young player whose off-the-court issues have impacted his play this season after he was a triple-double machine two seasons ago before an injury prematurely ended his season. He had nine rebounds in 23 minutes the previous game, and the Thunder need him to be hyper-productive the rest of the way if they are going to be a true championship contender and maintain the top seed in the West. This should be a competitive game that keeps Giddey on the court longer than what we have seen recently, and as a result this is quite an enticing line.

The Pick: Josh Giddey to record a double-double: +350

Jaylen Brown to score 35+ points

Check out the shot attempt totals for Brown over the last four games: 29, 21, 29, 20. Yes, he is icing his right elbow after the games. Brown attempted eight 3-pointers against Portland and made only one, keeping his point total down to 22. He also did not get to the free throw line a single time after taking 14 of them against Denver when he scored 41 points. Brown has gone for 35 points or more four times this season, with three of them coming on the road. It is always a guessing game whether it will be Brown or Tatum leading the offense for the Celtics, and Tatum’s shot attempts have totaled 21, 18, 28 and 33 the last four games. The thinking here is that coach Joe Mazzulla will encourage Brown to get to the free throw line more than zero times, which should be a difference-maker.

The Pick: Jaylen Brown to score at least 35 points +375

Antetokounmpo/Fox/Lillard to all score 30+ points

Giannis had 34 and Lillard had 35 last time out, and we should expect both of them to continue firing away at the rate each of them always does. Fox is the tricky one, because he averages 27.0 ppg and has had at least 30 in five of the last nine games. He should be stoked to have a strong comeback game after scoring just 18 in the loss to the Rockets, his worst game since Feb. 11. With the second-best team in the East in town and the game a sellout, we expect the Kings to get spectacular outings from both Fox and Domantis Sabonis, who has a double-double in 46 consecutive games. His point totals are too unpredictable to use him in this wager.

The Pick: Giannis Antetokounmpo, De’Aaron Fox and Damian Lillard to all score 30 points +800

Odds are subject to change*

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