NBA Betting – Golden State Warriors vs Memphis Grizzlies
Golden State Warriors at Memphis Grizzlies (-2.5, 202.5 o/u)
The two best teams in the NBA – standings-wise – will meet tonight when the Golden State Warriors travel to Memphis to face the Grizzlies at the FedExForum (8:00 p.m. Eastern).
The Warriors are 21-2 on the year and have won 16 straight games, including ten in a row on the road. They won back-to-back road games on the weekend against tough Southwest Division competition. On Saturday, Golden State upended the Mavericks, 105-98, covering as one-point dogs. Then on Sunday, they kept their franchise-best winning streak alive with a hard-fought overtime victory over New Orleans (128-122).
The Warriors haven’t loss since November 11, when they dropped a home game to the defending NBA champs, San Antonio (113-100).
According to point guard Steph Curry, the win streak is a consequence of staying focused, but also enjoying the game.
“Just trying to stay focused on the task at hand,” Curry said of his team’s historic run. “We’re having fun; we’re playing well, winning in all sorts of different ways … Obviously the streak has been a good ride and hopefully it keeps going.”
Golden State’s statistics are other-worldly. The Warriors are top-three in points per game (107.6), rebounds per game (45.7), and assists per game (25.3). They have also become a formidable force defensively, sitting seventh in the league at 96.8 points per game.
If it wasn’t for the Warriors, the Memphis Grizzlies would be the toast of the league. The Grizz are 19-4 on the season and have won their last four games in a row. The FedExForum has been a fortress for Memphis, which has just one loss at home. The Grizzlies don’t score at the same rate as the Warriors, but their defense is even better, allowing just 95.5 points per game (fourth in the NBA).
In the last ten meeting between these two sides, Memphis has won eight. The Grizzlies are 2.5-point favorites for this one.
(Photo credit: Keith Allison (flickr) [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode]. Photo has been cropped.)
Zack is a tour guide whose favorite sports are football, baseball, and golf. He enjoys giving obnoxious commentary during games and hopes to some day write a book about sports. His favorite underdog victory was the Diamondbacks beating the Yankees in game 7 of the World Series.
