Lakers vs. Grizzlies Point Spread: NBA Odds, Prediction
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Jeremy Perry
Monday should be an interesting night for the Los Angeles Lakers. LeBron James’ squad has been fading the last month, losing nine of their last 13 games. James and the front office unsuccessfully tried to orchestrate a trade for Anthony Davis that irked the supporting cast and has left the team struggling ever since. On Monday, James called out his young teammates after the Lakers suffered a very disappointing loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, who didn’t even play Anthony Davis in the contest.
NBA Point Spread and Betting Analysis
The Lakers have struggled on the road this season with a 12-18 record. They’re fresh off a blowout loss at New Orleans and the good news is they’ve been a decent rebound team. They’re 4-1 against the spread in its last five games following an ATS loss. However, they are just 1-4 ATS in their last five road games overall.
Despite their poor record overall the Grizzlies are still 5-1 ATS in their last six home games. They have an anonymous roster and are getting lots of points from the oddsmakers these days. Memphis has struggled against Pacific Division opponents this season with a 1-5 record in their last six such matchups.
Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers have dropped three of their last four games following a 128-115 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night. LeBron finished with 27 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds while Brandon Ingram had a game-high 29 points. Still, it wasn’t enough to get a win in New Orleans, who were playing without Anthony Davis.
The main issue for this team is that their defence has collapsed – possibly a sign that the effort simply is not there. On the season, this team gives up 113.6 points per game, which is 23rd in the NBA. Over their last 13 games, though, they are dead-last at 123.4 per contest. What they have going for them is that Memphis is dead-last in points per game themselves (100.8) and are fresh off a bunch of trades at the deadline, so their roster is still getting used to new roles. That works to the Lakers advantage here.
Memphis Grizzlies
The Grizzlies have lost four straight games heading into this matchup. Their remade roster is a big mix of different parts and nobody knows how they fit in right now.
The acquisition of center Jonas Valanciunas has paid off early as he’s fresh off 25-points, 11-rebound effort in Memphis’ 112-107 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in their last outing. The challenge is who else can contribute on a nightly basis? Yes, Mike Conley is still there but players like DeLon Wright, Avery Bradly, Joakim Noah, Bruno Caboclo and now Chandler Parsons are in the mix for minutes and roles. This team is just doing their best to get to the end of the season.
The bigger issue is that Jaren Jackson Jr. is out for this contest. The fourth pick in the 2019 NBA Draft is one of the team’s building blocks and had been averaging 16.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 0.8 blocks and 0.8 steals per game this month.
With Conley, Bradley and Parsons struggling mightily from the field, the Grizzlies aren’t going to win many games. Their team-wide 43.6% field goal percentage over the last 15 games is the third-worst in the NBA over that span.
