Lakers vs Grizzlies Odds and Predictions

• The LA Lakers are in Memphis to take on the Grizzlies Thursday night
• Memphis had its 5-game win streak snapped in Dallas
• The odds and matchups can be found below with a prediction

The Memphis Grizzlies were supposed to gear down when losing star Ja Morant.

Instead, they’ve gone into overdrive.

They ripped off five straight wins before dropping one Tuesday night vs Dallas, all without Morant, who’s been out with a knee injury. We’ll see what their bounce-back ability looks like on the second night of a back-to-back as they host the Los Angeles Lakers.

LA had a get-right game last time out, hammering the Boston Celtics.

They’re a slight 3-point road favorite in this one, which tips off Thursday night at 8pm ET from FedExForum. You can catch the game on NBA League Pass.

Lakers vs Grizzlies Odds

Odds as of Dec 8 at DraftKings

Lakers Yo-Yo Early On

Blowing out the Celtics 117-102 Monday night might be the sign this Lakers team is ready to make their move up the West ladder.

It was their third win in four games. Prior to this mini-run of success, they’d fail to even put together two wins in a row since Nov 8 and 9.

LEBRON JAMES

pic.twitter.com/RWQ34qJCES

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) December 8, 2021

LeBron James was his usual driving force, pouring in 30 points on 13-for-19 shooting, adding four boards and five assists. After a sluggish start that had the TNT crew tearing into him for his lack of aggression, Anthony Davis finished the night with 17 points and 16 rebounds.

It was the play of their much-maligned third star, however, that is the most encouraging. Russell Westbrook scored 15 of his 24 points in a runaway third quarter, where the Lakers extended their lead to 19 and never looked back. He also added a game-high 11 assists.

Mr. Westbrook is in the building 😤 pic.twitter.com/jXTunSAf3t

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) December 8, 2021

Russ has started to settle into his Laker digs, averaging 23.5 points, 8.9 assists and 6.9 rebounds in his last eight games.

LA’s real concern is still defense, where they’re still surrendering 113 points per game, which ranks 29th of 30 teams. Basically, they turn each opponent into the Golden State Warriors, who put up 113.9 points a night. There are encouraging signs, however: in their last three wins, they’ve held teams to 106 points or less.

Grizzlies Streak Without Morant

It seemed like an insignificant free throw by Kristaps Porzingis early in the Grizzlies’ game against the Mavericks, but it marked an end to one of the truly remarkable streaks we’ve seen in basketball.

That freebie gave the Mavs a 3-2 lead, marking the first time in six games Memphis has trailed in a basketball game. Incredibly, without their star Morant, the Grizzlies had gone a whopping 251 minutes and eight seconds without playing from behind.

DANCE WIT US @dallasmavs 🕺 pic.twitter.com/PIWzBSjZP7

— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) December 9, 2021

Even with their loss 104-96 to Dallas, the Grizz look poised to make some noise in the West, where they entered Tuesday night sitting in fourth.

Jaren Jackson Jr led the way for Memphis in the loss, scoring 23 points and grabbing seven rebounds, while Dillon Brooks, developing into one of the top two-way wings in the league, had 15 points, four boards and two steals.

Brooks has been averaging 17.3 points on 40.9% shooting for the Grizzlies during this fun run — which has a historic component, when they thrashed the OKC Thunder by an NBA-record 73 points.

Jaren Jackson Jr. shows the handles on his way to the hoop 🙌pic.twitter.com/y7i5TrT9j6

— Grizzlies Nation (@GrizNationCP) December 9, 2021

As a team, the Grizzlies are sixth in scoring in the NBA at over 111 a game, the same range as the Lakers, who rank fourth. Like LA, they’re bottom-10 in the league in scoring defense, surrendering better than 110 per night (24th).

Memphis does do a lot of work in the margins, however: they are second in the league in steals per game at just under 10 a night, while they rank second in both fast-break points and second-chance points.

Grizzlies vs Lakers Pick

Both Davis (thumb) and James (abdomen) found themselves on the injury report, but are expected to play Thursday. Morant was close to returning from a knee injury, but Wednesday was placed in COVID health and safety protocols, so his return is still a ways away. Kyle Anderson (back) and Brandon Clarke (knee) missed Wednesday against Dallas, and are questionable vs LA.

Memphis is showing signs of missing their offensive hub in Morant: minus the blowout win over the Cavs, they’ve only scored over 100 points one other time, and have been held under 100 three other times in the last five games.

Look for LA to dictate to them on the second night of the back-to-back.

The Pick: Lakers -3 (-110)