Memphis Grizzlies vs. Utah Jazz Prediction, NBA Odds

Payton Matthews | Updated Oct 22, 2024

Former Purdue star and Torontonian Zach Edey is the clear NBA Rookie of the Year favourite ahead of the 7-footer’s regular-season debut on Wednesday for the Grizzlies as they visit the Jazz.

Memphis
36-18
AT
October 23, 2024, 9:00 PM ET
Vivint Smart Home Arena
Utah
13-41
Pointspread -2.5 -105
Moneyline -140
Over / Under o +229.5
Pointspread +2.5 -115
Moneyline +115
Over / Under u +229.5

The Jazz are 3-point home dogs on the NBA odds. 

Grizzlies vs. Jazz NBA Betting Odds

There were a record 28 Canadians are on 2023-24 NBA opening day rosters. We don’t have that official number for this season yet, but at least a few more will make their league debuts in openers around the league early this week led by Memphis Grizzlies centre Zach Edey on Wednesday. 

The 22-year-old was born in Toronto and went on to have one of the great college basketball careers of any modern-day Division I player at Purdue. Edey joined Hall of Famers Ralph Sampson and the late Bill Walton as the back-to-back winners of the National Player of the Year Award. The 7-foot-4 Edey could have turned pro after his junior season with the Boilers but was not projected as a first-round pick in the 2023 draft so he returned to school and averaged 25.2 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in leading Purdue to the national title game, where the Boilers lost to a historically good UConn team.

Edey was projected as a first-round pick in this year’s draft but not generally in the Top 10, so it surprised some that Memphis took him at No. 9. He was not close to the Rookie of the Year favourite right after the draft but had some really promising showings in limited action during Summer League and then averaged 12.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in about 20 minutes per game in the preseason. Edey has taken by far the most action for ROY and is +300 favourite ahead of No. 3 overall pick Reed Sheppard (+750) of Houston and No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher (+900) of Atlanta. 

Memphis has had two Rookie of the Year winners, last Ja Morant in the 2019-20. The only Canadian winner was Andrew Wiggins in 2014-15 with Minnesota. 

Utah has won 14 of the past 20 in the series vs. Memphis and is 6-1 ATS in the past seven meetings. 

Memphis Grizzlies

I believe the Grizzlies will be the most improved team in the NBA this season after slipping from 51 wins in the 2022-23 season to just 27 last season when just about everything that could go wrong did. No team was hit harder by injuries and suspensions than Memphis. Superstar Ja Morant was limited to nine games, big trade acquisition and former Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart to 20 games, second-leading scorer Desmond Bane to 42 games, and another former Defensive Player of the Year in big man Jaren Jackson Jr. to 66 games. Jackson will not play Wednesday due to a hamstring injury, which could mean more minutes for the rookie Zach Edey or another Canadian in Brandon Clarke, who was limited to only six games a year ago. Memphis set an NBA record in 2023-24 with 33 different Grizzlies appearing in a game. The team used 23 different starters, also a single-season league record. One bright spot was the play of rookie forward GG Jackson, but he will miss the first two months or so due to a broken foot.  The under is 5-2 in Memphis’ past seven games. 

Utah Jazz

Utah coach Will Hardy likely enters on a bit of a hot seat as the team has had losing records in both his seasons, but it was also a planned rebuild. The Jazz had a boatload of good trade offers this offseason for their best player, All-Star forward Lauri Markkanen, but opted to sign him long term instead. Most thought the Jazz did well in the 2024 draft by selecting Colorado’s Cody Williams at No. 10 overall. USC’s Isaiah Collier at No. 29 and Duke’s Kyle Filipowski at No. 32 – he was not expected to slip into Round 2. I’d still expect Utah to be active ahead of this season’s trade deadline as veterans like Jordan Clarkson (one of the NBA’s best Sixth Men), Collin Sexton and John Collins really have no place on this team and would all help contenders. The Jazz will be a good offensive team again, but they can’t stop anyone and ranked last in defensive rating a season ago at 119.6 points allowed per 100 possessions. Utah is 1-7 SU in its past eight at home. It was 2-1 vs. Memphis last season and won the lone game in Salt Lake City. 

NBA Prediction: Who Will Win Grizzlies vs. Jazz?

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