NBA Betting – Memphis Grizzlies at Golden State Warriors
Memphis Grizzlies at Golden State Warriors (-7.5, 195 o/u)
The Memphis Grizzlies (54-26, 24-16 Away) are in a fierce battle for the second seed in the Western Conference. After holding down the spot for most of the season, the Grizz are now a half game back of San Antonio thanks to some recent mediocre play. The Grizz can move into a tie with the Spurs tonight but, in order to do so, they’ll have to beat the best team in the NBA – the Golden State Warriors (65-15, 37-2 Home) – in the league’s toughest stadium – Oracle Arena (10:30 PM Eastern Time).
The Grizzlies are coming off a 94-86 loss against the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday which saw the team go to battle without point guard Mike Conley and forward Tony Allen. The Grizzlies battled hard on D, but Conley’s presence was palpable on the offensive end as Memphis committed 18 turnovers and shot just 2/9 from three-point range.
Conley, Allen, and center Marc Gasol are questionable for tonight’s game.
Memphis has gone just 4-5 in its last ten and has seen its lead at the top of the Southwest Division evaporate. Despite the recent struggles, coach David Joerger remains confident heading into the playoffs. “I’m not worried. I’m so proud of our guys,” said Joerger. “I couldn’t be prouder of this team.”
Tonight, Joerger’s short-staffed squad heads north to face the league-leading Warriors. Golden State rebounded from a two-game road losing streak with home wins over Portland and Minnesota. But the 110-101 victory over the T-Wolves on Saturday was less than convincing, as they nearly let a 17-point lead slip away.
Coach Steve Kerr sees the sloppy play as a problem of motivation – or lack thereof – as the Warriors clinched top spot in the Conference weeks ago.
“Maybe this is just two weeks of already knowing our position, I don’t know. We just weren’t sharp,” said Kerr. “I just think they’re ready for the playoffs. They want it, and I’m very confident that when that happens, when the playoffs come, our edge will be back, and we’ll be sharper.”
In the trends, Memphis has won seven of the last ten against Golden State, but the Warriors have won the last two. If the Warriors are going to play their starters, then Golden State minus the points (-7.5) looks like the better play, given all the injuries on the Memphis sideline.
(Photo credit: Sean Davis (flickr) “Mike Conley” [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/legalcode].)
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.
