Memphis Grizzlies vs. Los Angeles Lakers Prediction, NBA Odds
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Nik Kowalski
The Lakers upset Memphis in six games in the series, but now both teams are seeing their playoff hopes dwindle. The 17-18 Lakers hold the West’s final play-in spot but are on a three-game losing streak and are 2-8 over their last 10 games. Now with Morant in the lineup, Memphis is trying to climb out of the bottom of the West but remain 11-23 and 5.5 games behind L.A.
But as shown last year, when the Lakers and Grizzlies meet the intensity goes up a notch. There’s superstar talent on both sides and plenty at stake with the second half of the NBA season approaching. Tip-off at Crypto.com Arena goes at 10 p.m. EST with Los Angeles a -210 moneyline favourite and the total at 228.5 on the NBA odds.
Grizzlies vs. Lakers NBA Betting Odds
Dating back to last year’s playoffs, the Lakers have the upper-hand over Memphis with wins in seven of their last 10 matchups. L.A.’s covered against Memphis in seven of those 10 games too. In Memphis’ last six trips to play the Lakers, they’ve failed to cover a single game. Overall the Grizzlies are 2-9 ATS in their last 11 games against a Western Conference opponent.
L.A.’s been a much stronger club at home this season winning 12 of their 17 home games so far. The under’s been the trend for Lakers homes games too, with 10 of their last 12 home games going under the total. Seven of these teams last 10 meetings have finished under the total, and Memphis comes into Friday as the league’s lowest-scoring team with 106.9 points per game.
Memphis Grizzlies
Ja Morant’s been doing a stellar job at making Memphis relevant for the final half of the season. The Grizzlies are 5-4 since his return from a 25-game suspension, but if there’s any takeaways from his first nine games back it’s that Memphis still needs more oomph — especially on offence.
As mentioned, the Grizzlies remain dead last in scoring this season. In their four losses with Morant, once did Memphis reach over 106 points. And that was in their last outing, a 116-111 defeat Wednesday versus Toronto. Morant led Memphis with 28 points, eight rebounds, and nine assists on 10 of 18 shooting from the field but a 19-point second quarter from the Grizzlies dug themselves a hole too big to climb out of. And that’s a theme for the 11-23 Grizzlies.
Los Angeles Lakers
With Wednesday’s 14-point loss at home to Miami, the Lakers fell to 3-9 since winning the NBA In-Season Tournament. It makes this upcoming stretch where L.A. plays 10 of their next 11 games at Crypto.com Arena crucial. And the injury excuses are flying wild for the Lakers.
Head coach Darvin Ham stated after Wednesday’s loss that his team “can’t find any consistency until we get healthy” and that looked like the case against Miami. With Rui Hachimura (calf) and D’Angelo Russell (tailbone) out, L.A. rolled out a brand new starting lineup. Then in the first quarter the quintet of Anthony Davis, LeBron James, Cam Reddish, Taurean Prince, and Austin Reaves committed 10 turnovers and shot six for 18 from the field and zero for seven from deep. So it’s safe to say that chemistry may get put on hold for Ham’s Lakers.