Memphis Grizzlies vs Golden State Warriors betting tips and predictions for Tuesday’s NBA Eastern Conference Playoff game on TNT. Game 1 was as tight as it can get in the NBA and now the Memphis Grizzlies are looking to even this series before it goes to San Francisco for the next 2 games. Read on for all our free predictions and betting tips.
Memphis Grizzlies
Jaren Jackson Jr. and Ja Morant each had 33 and 34 points on Sunday, but it still resulted in a 1-point home loss against the Warriors. The consolation prize for Memphis was that they did cover the spread as 2 point underdogs, but that doesn’t help them much as they now have to win tonight’s game before going to Chase Center for the next two.
Dillon Brooks and Desmond Bane combined for just 17 points on Sunday, those 2 have been reliable offensive options all season, but the Warriors found a way to shut them both down and that cannot happen in Game 2 if you are the Grizzlies.
Memphis is once again a 2-point underdog coming into tonight’s game, they’ve covered the spread in 5 of their last 6 home games against the Warriors and are also on a 7-game run of covering the spread vs Pacific Division teams.
Golden State Warriors
Klay Thompson missed a pair of free throws late in that game on Sunday which almost cost the Warriors the game, but luckily for him they were able to stop Ja Morant and his buzzer beating lay-up attempt as time expired. Draymond Green also got ejected very early in that game, but his team was still able to pull it out even without him. Now the pressure is off of Steve Kerr’s men as they look to go up 2-0 before going home, they’ve now won 5 of their last 6 games on the road and are 9-1 SU in their last 10 vs Western Conference opponents.
Having so much more experience than this young Memphis team is making all the difference here so far, players like Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green each have more playoff games in their legs than the entire Memphis roster has combined. We’ll see how those 3 respond to tonight’s game as the Grizzlies come at them with everything in their arsenal.
I’m expecting this series to be a long one, so going 2-0 down would put Memphis in almost an impossible situation. They’ve been under pressure so many times at home this season and every single time they responded well. That will be the case in tonight’s game as well, Morant and co. have to level the score here if they want to make this a series. Back the home team and the extra points.
Memphis Grizzlies vs Golden State Warriors Predictions
The first game of this series delivered offensively as both teams were on fire in a fast paced game. Memphis outscored Golden State from three-point land, while the Warriors had a better percentage from the field. Neither team impressed from the free-throw line, but that’s normal considering the nerves are getting to players at this stage of the season more than they do in the regular season. The total has now gone over in 6 of 7 games for the Warriors, while for Memphis this has happened in 6 of their last 8 games played on a Tuesday. That all tells me that we won’t see much of a change in the approach from either side here.
Both teams were involved in some really high scoring games in their 1st Round series, which has now just carried over into this series. Memphis averages 103.1 possessions per game, which ranks them 3rd in the NBA in the pace of play. Golden State is only 14th in that category, but when you have players like Curry, Thompson and Poole, your team is capable of going off at any given time. I think backing the points is the way to go in Game 2 as well, so let’s go with that.
