Total of the Month - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #571 Wednesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Boston Celtics vs Memphis Grizzlies @ 7:35 ET - Do you remember run and gun basketball you played in the games that didn't matter? For example, those on the playground for fun and for the right to brag about how you "went off" and poured in bucket after bucket? The point is that this game has the look and feel of "playground basketball". Why is that? Well it is a back to back for Boston. It is a non-conference game. The Celtics are coming off a win. The Grizzlies are also coming off a win but now don't have Ja Morant for this game. Of course he is a playmaker and their leading scorer and is a fantastic player. But his absence has resulted in the posted total on this game plummeting from its opener. That means we have been afforded great line value here with the over in this one. The Grizzlies will not have their usual structure in this game. So what happens then? Half court sets are out the window! This one will play out as a very wide open affair with a lot of points in my transition. We should see some turnovers and some sloppy play as the Celtics are in a back to back and Memphis will be a little unstructured without Morant. I like overs in spots like this. It is a contrarian approach but yet it makes perfect sense and with this being a non-conference match-up and both teams off wins it sets it up been better for plenty of lapses on the defensive end. The focus just won't be there for a match-up like this and Boston is likely to naturally "let up" on defense just because of knowing the fact that Morant is out. It is almost an unconscious reaction but it is a real one and happens often in situations like this. 10* OVER the total in Boston