Memphis Grizzlies vs. Utah Jazz Game 2 Prediction, Playoff Odds
The clubs meet again in Salt Lake City on Wednesday with the Jazz as 8-point favourites on the NBA odds and a total of 217 points.
Grizzlies vs. Jazz NBA Playoff Odds
We projected a 110-103 Jazz win in Game 1 – the Grizzlies prevailed 112-109 — but that was with the expectation that Utah leading scorer and All-Star Donovan Mitchell was going to return from a long injury absence. Mitchell was fully expected to play Sunday but then was ruled out about two hours before the tip.
He reportedly is furious with the team for scratching him after he was not listed on the Jazz’s injury report Saturday or early Sunday. The team’s training staff has the final say on player availability and apparently didn’t like what they saw in the shootaround earlier Sunday. Mitchell should play Wednesday, but obviously that needs to be monitored.
The Jazz closed as 8-point favourites for Game 1. They are -336 on the moneyline for Game 2 with Memphis at +276. Utah is still a -333 favourite on the series line with Memphis at +265. The favoured exact result is Jazz winning in both six and seven games at +240. An unlikely Grizzlies sweep is +2200.
Memphis Grizzlies
Even the guys calling the telecast in the USA on TNT thought the Grizzlies might run out of gas in the second half Sunday night considering they had played high-pressure games last Wednesday vs. San Antonio and then Friday at Golden State just to get into the playoffs. However, this writer watched all of Sunday’s matchup and the Grizzlies looked like the younger, more athletic team – which they are.
Dillon Brooks was fantastic with 31 points, setting a single-game franchise scoring record for a Memphis player making a playoff debut. The previous high was 24 points by Marc Gasol against the San Antonio Spurs on April 17, 2011. Reigning NBA Rookie of the Year Ja Morant added 26 points. He and Brooks became the fourth set of teammates in NBA postseason history to both score at least 25 points in their playoff debut and first since Chicago’s Ben Gordon & Andres Nocioni in 2005. Former Raptor Jonas Valanciunas had yet another double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Utah Jazz
Utah has now lost six straight playoff Game 1s of a series, the longest streak in franchise history. The Jazz became only the second franchise with multiple Game 1 losses as a No. 1 seed against an 8 seed. They lived and died by the three-pointer this season, leading the league in makes and setting a franchise record even though it was only a 72-game season. The Jazz were off most of Sunday night, though, hitting just 12-for-47 from deep.
Bojan Bogdanovic scored a team-high 29 points, all coming in the second half. He missed a three-pointer badly that would have forced OT. Mike Conley, a former Grizzlies franchise icon, had 22 points, 11 assists and six rebounds, and Rudy Gobert 11 points and 15 rebounds before fouling out for the first time this season. The Jazz turned the ball over 16 teams, leading to 15 points for Memphis.
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