Los Angeles Lakers (43-39) at Memphis Grizzlies (51-31)
Game Info: Wednesday, April 19, 2023 at 7:30 p.m. EST (FedEx Forum)
Betting Odds: EVEN / Over/Under (226.5)
Pick: Lakers ML
Wednesday night brings us the second game of the series between the Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies inside of FedEx Forum.
Los Angeles went into Memphis in game 1 and stole the Grizzlies' home court right from them. Now, they will head into Wednesday n game with a chance to head home to L.A. with a commanding 2-0 lead. After heading into half-time down 6 in Sunday's game, the Lakers veteran prowess was able to take over in the second half, beating the Grizzlies by 22 points after intermission to take home the 128-112 win. All year the Lakers have struggled mightily to stay healthy and get their best rotation on the court consistently, but now that they are beginning to do so, we are seeing an extremely dominant team. Additionally, although LeBron James and Anthony Davis lead the way for Los Angeles on most nights if the Lakers can get help from their other pieces throughout the series, they will be sending Memphis packing in no time.
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Memphis lost their home-court advantage and now may be without Ja Morant for game 2 in a must-win spot. Although I expect him to play at some capacity come tipoff on Wednesday, he will surely be hampered by the injury that he suffered in game 1. This will leave the Grizzlies short-handed, with Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane having to increase their role big-time to deliver a win for the home crowd. Furthermore, the Grizzlies will have to sure up the defensive side of the ball immensely if they expect to tie the series up 1-1 before heading back to L.A. For sure, the modern NBA is higher paced which means that the scoring is elevated, but letting up 69 points in the second half will not cut it in the Playoffs if you have any expectations to move on to the next round. After a disappointing opening game inside of FedEx Forum, can the Grizzlies avoid a dreaded 0-2 deficit before playing the next two away from their home arena?
Betting trends to consider in this matchup:
- Memphis is 2-7 ATS in their last 9 games
- The Lakers are 10-4 ATS when playing on 2-3 days of rest
- The Grizzlies are 20-32-1 ATS in Conference games
I believe that Morant will play in this game, but even if he does I still am siding with the Lakers to take the commanding 2-0 series lead. I love how they are spreading the ball around and getting key contributions from several different players on a night-to-night basis and I expect that to continue in Wednesday night's matchup. Give me LeBron and AD to lead the way to deliver a classic thumping of the Grizzlies to head back home feeling as good as ever about themselves.
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