Memphis Grizzlies vs Los Angeles Lakers Picks and Odds Dec 9
Memphis Grizzlies vs Los Angeles Lakers Betting Preview
WagerTalk NBA handicapper Andy Lang offers his Memphis Grizzlies vs Los Angeles Lakers betting preview for Thursday, December 9. At the time of posting, the Lakers have opened as a 3.5-point road favorite in Memphis, with the total sitting at 222.5 points.
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Memphis Grizzlies vs Los Angeles Lakers Predictions
- Los Angeles Lakers -3.5 at Memphis Grizzlies
- Total: 222.5 Points
- The over is 8-3 in Memphis’ last 11 games.
The 13-12 Los Angeles Lakers travel to Memphis for a showdown with the 14-11 Grizzlies at the FedEx Forum. The Lakers are coming off a 117-102 victory over the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night. While the Grizzlies will play the 2nd of back-to-back home games after losing their first game in the last six since Ja Morant went down with an injury. This will be the 2nd of four head-to-head meetings between these teams. The Lakers won the first game by a score of 121-118 in Los Angeles on October 24th.
The Memphis Grizzlies were expected to plummet in the standings after superstar Ja Morant suffered a knee sprain almost two weeks ago. However the Grizz have won 5 of the 6 games without their leading scorer. This included the most lop-sided win in NBA history, as they beat the Oklahoma City Thunder by a score of 152-79 on December 2nd.
Amazingly since Morant went down Memphis had not trailed in a game prior to last night’s loss to Dallas. The Grizzlies have gotten elite production from their supporting cast and now stand at 4th place in the Western Conference. Dillon Brooks has averaged 17.3 points a game while Tyus Jones has done well commanding the point. Desmond Bane has also upped his game, scoring 18 points or more in 4 of the 6 games.
On the season the Grizz score just over 110 points a game, good for 8th in the association. They haven’t faired as well defensively as they rank 25th in defensive rating.
On Tuesday night the Lakers outscored Boston by 11 points in the 3rd quarter as they pulled away for an impressive 117-102 victory. That was their 4th win in their last 6 games. Lebron James led the way with 30 points while Russell Westbrook added 24 points and 11 assists and Anthony Davis had 17 points and 16 rebounds. With numbers like that the Lakers should be able to contend for a Western Conference crown as they continue to get healthy.
Offense hasn’t been a problem for the Los Angeles Lakers as they score 112 points a game, good for 4th in the NBA. However they have struggled mightily on defense, as they allow 113 points a game which is 3rd most in the league.
The Lakers are 3.5-point road favorites with the total set at 222.5. Los Angeles is 9-19 against the spread in their last 28 games, while Memphis is 5-1 in their last 6. The Lakers play at the 3rd fastest pace of play and are 15-10 ATS to the over. Russell Westbrook is the main reason why, as he scores most of his points on the fast break.
The Grizz play at the 13th fastest pace of play on the season. However, they have preferred to up the tempo without Morant. It seems like this game checks all the boxes for an over, so we will make that our first official play.
The Lakers have really struggled to defend opposing guards. They give up the 3rd-most rebounds and most assists to opposing shooting guards. Desmond Bane Pts+Rebs+Asts line was set at 25.5 last night and he fell short in a poor performance. However he’s cleared this number in 3 of 6 games since the Morant injury. He landed on 25 once and fell well short due to only playing 18 minutes in the 73 point blowout of Oklahoma City. We will count on him bouncing back in a high scoring game, against a defense that’s vulnerable to his position.
Official Play: OVER 222.5
Official Player Prop: Desmond Bane Over 25.5 Points+Rebounds+Assists
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Memphis Grizzlies vs Los Angeles Lakers from The GoldSheet
Lakers reveling in the victory over the Celtics Tuesday night on TNT, while Memphis fell to the hands of the Dallas Mavericks last night, being outshot, outrebounded, and missing 10 of 25 FTs to lose 104-96. Prior to that the Griz were cooking, with 5 straight win-and-covers (were they looking ahead?). LA has won 7 of the last 8 against Memphis straight-up, but the spread decisions have been split as Grizzlies, who covered the 121-118 meeting back on Oct. 24 at Staples Center vs. the Lake Show despite playing without rest (faced Clips the night before). Memphis has covered 4 of the last 5 series meetings at the FedExForum, where games between the two have gone under the total in the last 7 encounters.
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