Los Angeles Lakers vs Memphis Grizzlies betting tips and predictions for Wednesday’s game on NBA TV. With the regular season series sitting at 1-1, the Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Lakers square off for the 3rd time tonight at FedEx Forum. Read on for all our free predictions and betting tips.
Los Angeles Lakers
Starting LeBron James at center was a risk, but it paid off as the Lakers took care of business and beat the Houston Rockets 132-123 last night. James finished with 32 points, 11 boards and 11 assists for his 102nd career triple double. He wasn’t the only one who had a triple double on the Lakers. Russell Westbrook also collected 24 points, 12 rebounds and 11 dimes against his former team, however he did turn the ball over 7 times. Malik Monk also had 25, Carmelo Anthony added 24 off the bench as LA used just 3 reserves total. Now they face a Memphis team that’s beaten them by 13 points the last time they met. LA’s record coming into this game is just 1-5 SU in their last 6 and they’ve covered just twice in their last 7 games.
Memphis Grizzlies
Memphis has done a far better job when it comes to covering as they’ve gone 11-5 ATS in their last 16 games. They also have 12 wins in those 16 games, 2 in a row over Sacramento and Phoenix. The win at Phoenix was impressive, Ja Morant scored the winner late on a drive and layup to give them a 1-point edge. Since his return they are now 2-2 and with 33 points scored in that game he shut down talks of the team performing better when their best player is out. Desmond Bane also carried much of the scoring load with 32 points, so despite 5 players being in quarantine, Memphis has a ton of scoring options here.
LA has performed much better against the spread on the road than at home. They’ve covered in 7 of 15 away from home and with the win at Houston they stopped a 5-game losing streak. I expect them to get on a run as we all know this team is better than the 17-18 record they are at now. It’ll be tough at Memphis, but with LeBron playing at a historic level, I’m going with the underdogs here. Back the Lakers and the extra points.
Memphis Grizzlies vs Los Angeles Lakers Predictions & Odds
Lakers +4.5 Point Spread is available at -110 odds on bet365
In their last 3 games the Lakers are giving up 122.7 points per game, not a good sign if you want to make the playoffs as one of the top 4 teams in the West. That’s what happens with most of your on ball defenders are out due to health and safety protocols plus other injuries. Memphis is a tad better allowing 109.3 per game. These two teams were already involved in one high scoring game at Staples Center finishing 121-118. The total has gone over in 2 of the last 3 meetings and they’ve averaged 220.6 per game. We will probably see those trends continue tonight as the Lakers have gone over the total in 4 of their last 5. Playing James at center means they are now going to run at teams, a faster tempo results in more possessions and naturally more points scored. Westbrook will once again be a liability on defense and Morant will take advantage. I fancy the over in this one so let’s go with the points.
Over 220.5 Total Points is available at -110 odds on bet365
