NBA Playoff Betting – (1) Warriors at (5) Grizzlies (Game 3)
By Zack Garrison in News
Updated: January 17, 2018 at 9:39 am ESTPublished:
Golden State Warriors (-4, 196.5 o/u) at Memphis Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies (55-27, 31-10 Home) were all but written off by most people heading into Game 2 of their Western Conference semi-final with the Golden State Warriors (67-15, 28-13 Away). After all, the Warriors had only lost two games at home all year and Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley was laboring from severe facial injuries.
But conley did his best Russell Westbrook impression by donning a protective mask and scoring 22 points in just 27 minutes, leading his team to a 97-90 upset and squaring the series at one. The Grizzlies will look to keep the momentum going tonight when they welcome the Warriors to FedEx Forum (8:00 PM Eastern).
“My eyesight was pretty good. I didn’t have too many times where I felt like my vision was impaired by looking too fast or the mask getting in the way,” Conley said about wearing a mask to protect his face. “It does get hot. I had to open it up a few times and let the sweat come down and let the steam out a little bit.”
The Grizzlies got decent production from most of their starting five in Game 2, with Zach Randolph adding 20 points and seven assists, and Marc Gasol and Courtney Lee both chipping in with 15 points, helping the team cover as 10.5-point ‘dogs.
The Warriors, on the other hand, had an off-night virtually to a man. The usually sharp-shooting squad hit just six of 26 from the three-point line (23.1-percent). For head coach Steve Kerr, the team’s struggles come down to patience and shot selection.
“I thought we lost our poise tonight. We were in such a rush,” said Kerr.
Despite the cold shooting night last time out – and Conley’s triumphant return – the Warriors are solid four-point road favorites for Game 3; Memphis has given Golden State fits at home, though, going 10-2 SU against the Warriors in the last 12 in Tennessee.
Pick: Grizzlies +4.
(Photo credit: Keith Allison (flickr) “Stephen Curry” [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/]. Photo has been cropped.)
Sports Writer
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.
