Golden State Warriors vs Memphis Grizzlies Preview Dec 23
Golden State Warriors vs Memphis Grizzlies Betting Preview
WagerTalk NBA handicapper Andy Lang offers his Golden State Warriors vs Memphis Grizzlies betting preview for Thursday, December 23. At the time of posting, the Warriors are holding steady as a 5.5-point home favorite over the visiting Grizzlies, with the total sitting at 217 points.
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| Thurs, Dec 23 | NBA Betting Notes |
|---|---|
| Point Spread: | Golden State Warriors -5.5 vs Memphis Grizzlies |
| Total: | 217 Points |
| Game Time: | 10:10pm ET / 7:10pm PT |
| Arena: | Chase Center in San Francisco |
| TV: | NBC Sports Bay Area |
Golden State Warriors vs Memphis Grizzlies Analysis
Thursday night features a matchup between two of the Western Conference elite, as the Memphis Grizzlies head to the Chase Center to play the Golden State Warriors on Christmas Eve Eve. The Grizzlies are 19-13, 8-5 on the road and sitting at 4th place in the Western Conference, while the Warriors are 25-6, 15-2 at home while sitting at 2nd place in the Western Conference.
The Grizz won on the road in overtime against the Warriors by a score of 104-101 on October 28th. This will be the 2nd of four head-to-head matchups between these teams during this regular season.
Ok I’ll just say it…. Are the Grizzlies better without Ja Morant on the court? It just can’t be possible, but the number are the numbers. The Grizz are 10-2 without Morant and 9-11 with him playing. It just doesn’t make sense. In Morant’s first game back after missing 11 games he posted a solid line of 16 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds. However, the Grizzlies ultimately stumbled and lost 102-99 to the same Oklahoma City Thunder team they beat by a record setting 73 points without Morant.
The Grizzlies come into this game relatively healthy compared to the rest of the league. Memphis averages 110.8 points per game, which ranks them 6th in the association. Defensively they are middle of the pack in most categories.
The Golden State Warriors will be short-handed on Thursday night as Damion Lee has joined Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole on the Covid health and safety protocol list. Andre Iguodala will also be out with a swollen knee.
This same short handed Warriors team beat the Sacramento Kings 113-98 on Tuesday night. Look up any major statistical category, whether it be offensive or defensive and you will find the Golden State Warriors in the top five.
The Warriors are favored by 5.5 points in this game with a total of 217 points. These are two of top five against the spread records in the league, as the Warriors are 19-10-2 while the Grizz are 19-13. The Warriors have the best ATS under record in the league at 9-21-1, while Memphis is .500 at 16-16 in their totals.
This is a tough game to predict based on the Warriors missing so many key players., but the Grizzlies beat them earlier in the season when both teams were at full strength. I’m going to take the 5.5 points and make Memphis my official play.
I do have an amazing player prop for you. Draymond Green has been much more involved in the offense, without Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins there are an additional 30-35 shots available to the rest off the team. Green always loads up on rebounds and assists and I think he’ll continue to take more shots. His Points + Rebounds + Assists number is 26.5 and he’s cleared it in three of his last four games. We cashed this play on our last Warriors article and we’ll play it again here.
Official Play: Memphis Grizzlies +5.5
Official Player Prop: Draymond Green Over 26.5 Pts+Rebs+Asts
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Golden State Warriors vs Memphis Grizzlies Preview from GoldSheet
No one has to remind the Warriors that they might have a bit of a score to settle here after getting knocked out of the play-in round (at Chase Center, no less) by the Griz last May, then losing again in OT their first revenge attempt against Memphis in San Francisco back on October 28, when Ja Morant again bedeviled Golden State with 30 points. Which looked a lot like last May 21 when Memphis also won in OT and Morant scored 35 to keep Steve Kerr’s guys out of the playoffs.
Speaking of Ja, he’s just returned from a more than 3-week absence (knee) when his team hardly seemed to miss him, winning 10 of 12 games, and while Morant didn’t look too rusty in his return on Monday when scoring 16 and recording 8 assists, Memphis also lost at home to the underdog Thunder (a team that lost by 73 to the Griz when Moranty was out), causing some courtside fans to tell Morant to sit down again (“The were the same fans shouting MVP, MVP earlier in the season!” said Ja afterward, a bit chuffed. Memphis displayed its best chemistry of the season in those three weeks without the ball having to be in Morant’s hands, and six Griz averaged double-digits in the recent five-game win streak minus Morant, though the schedule broke well, and Ja is in the midst of a career season….his presence should not be a negative.
We’ll see if Golden State is up for revenge, as the Warriors are shorthanded due to Covid (Wiggins, Iguodola, Poole, and Lee), but they had dropped 5 of 6 vs. the number before a late rally on Monday put away Sacto, and we’d rather wait for Steph to have more of his friends available before buying into the revenge narrative.
Thursday’s NBA Stat Sheet
Each day, WagerTalk handicapper Ralph Michaels puts together his NBA Stat Sheet, which offers a head-to-head comparison for how teams are performing in a number of key areas heading into a game. Click here to download Thursday’s sheet, with notes on tonight’s Golden State Warriors vs Memphis Grizzlies contest.
NBA Tip-Off Show
Join Joe Raineri and a rotating panel of guests for the NBA Tip-Off Show at 4:15pm ET / 1:15pm PT as we discuss tonight’s marquee games. Stay up-to-date on the latest NBA news, stats, analysis, and predictions with our panel of professional handicappers as they preview tonight’s NBA action, including this Golden State Warriors vs Memphis Grizzlies clash, from a betting perspective.
WagerTalk Live Odds Screen
WagerTalk’s live odds screen features up-to-the-minute lines from a variety of offshore and domestic sports books. Track the NBA point spreads, moneylines, first half lines and betting percentages for all of Thursday’s NBA games, including this Golden State Warriors vs Memphis Grizzlies showdown, from your desktop or phone.
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