Grizzlies vs Nets Picks and Odds

• After two games on the road, the Brooklyn Nets will return home on Monday for a meeting with Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies
• Brooklyn lost for the first time on Sunday in a close contest with Charlotte, while the Grizzlies are winless through their first two appearances
• Get the full odds, preview, and best bet for this game below

The Memphis Grizzlies will be searching for their first victory of the 2020-21 campaign on Monday, December 28th, when they visit the Brooklyn Nets at the Barclays Center, tip-off 7:30 PM EST.

Memphis got the better of the Nets last season, beating them on both occasions.  The first was a slim OT win, while the most recent clash in March was a blowout victory for the Grizz.

By no surprise, the Brooklyn Nets opened as 6-point favorites ahead of Monday’s game, but with news that Kevin Durant will rest, the line is down to four.

Grizzlies vs Nets Odds

Odds taken Dec 28th at FanDuel

Memphis Searching for First Victory

It hasn’t been an ideal start to the season for the Grizzlies, losing both contests to this point. Opening night saw Ja Morant and co. lose by 12 to their division rivals, the San Antonio Spurs, despite Morant dropping 44 points.

Then on Saturday, the former second overall pick went head-to-head with Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks. Young’s 36 points bettered Morant’s 28, leading to another defeat for Memphis.

It certainly won’t get any easier for Taylor Jenkins’ team, with this contest against the Nets followed by a trip to Boston to take on a strong Celtics squad. It’s not like the Grizzlies have played necessarily bad to this point though.

Offensively, they’ve been thriving. Against the Hawks, Memphis had five different players who racked up double digits in points. However, they did struggle to sink shots from downtown, going just 13 for 43 from the three-point line.

Defensively though, the Grizzlies have looked complacent at times. They had a small lead with just five minutes left against Atlanta but allowed the visitors to go on a 15-6 run en route to a 122-112 win. The ultimate difference-maker was their lack of containing the Hawks’ second unit, who outscored the Memphis bench 46-22.

Brooklyn Looking to Bounce Back from Surprise Loss

Although it’s been a small sample size, the Nets have looked like one of the most electric teams in the association thus far. The duo of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving have been showing out on a nightly basis, with Brooklyn collecting blowout wins over the Golden State Warriors and Boston Celtics.

Then on Sunday night, Steve Nash’s team ran into a Charlotte Hornets team who were hungry for their first victory of the campaign. It was a close contest, but Brooklyn lost by two points. Charlotte’s entire starting racked up 10 points or more, led by Gordon Hayward’s 28.

KD and Irving both had impressive games once again with 29, and 25 points, respectively, but the Nets were completely dominated in one particular category. The Hornets had 64 points in the paint to just 26 for Brooklyn. Big men DeAndre Jordan and Jarett Allen failed to attempt even one shot in the first two quarters and both ended up with just nine points combined.

As a whole, they lacked their usual aggressiveness around the rim, also being outscored in second-chance points. The Nets 19 turnovers didn’t help their case as well.

Nevertheless, this team has looked good. They’re already one of the heavy favorites to win the Eastern Conference thanks to their extremely deep roster and although Brooklyn did lose to a team that isn’t even considered a top-eight seed, the sky is certainly the limit for Durant and co.

Best Bet

This is going to be a very tough game for the Grizzlies because the Nets are such a talented team in a number of different ways. The visitors have already struggled to contain their opponent’s bench units and with basically a starting five ready to come in for Brooklyn with the likes of Caris LeVert and Jarett Allen, it’s going to be very important once again that Memphis does their absolute best to contain the second unit.

However, I don’t see the Nets losing a second-straight contest, especially considering they’re back at the Barclays Center. After a lackluster performance from their centers against Charlotte, expect Jordan and Allen to be more productive on the glass while KD and Irving will lead the way offensively in a convincing win.

Pick: Brooklyn -4 (-110)