The Memphis Grizzlies continued to stumble in the haze that has enveloped their team since Ja Morant’s controversial clips on social media in which he is carrying a gun. The latest disappointment for the Memphis faithful came in Game 1 of their Western Conference quarterfinal series, as the Lakers came in and delivered a 128-112 rout. Rui Hachimura, of all people, came off the bench to lead the Lakers with 29 points, going 11 of 14 overall from the floor and knocking down five of six from behind the arc. Austin Reaves had 23 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter. Anthony Davis posted 22 points, going 10 of 17, and pulled down 12 rebounds. He also set a career high with seven blocks in a postseason game. Ja Morant, meanwhile, went down with a wrist injury and is doubtful for Game 2. Can the Grizzlies bounce back? Don’t miss our NBA betting preview.
NBA Playoffs: Western Conference Quarterfinal Preview
L.A. Lakers at Memphis Grizzlies, Game 2
When: Wednesday, April 19, 2023, 7:30 pm ET
Where: FedExForum, Memphis
TV: TNT
Radio: ESPNLA 750 AM Los Angeles / 92.9 FM ESPN Memphis
Live Stream: Sling TV
NBA Odds: Los Angeles -1.5 / O/U 226.5 // Los Angeles -115 / Memphis -105
Why should you bet on the Lakers?
Even with Morant healthy, the Grizzlies were only slight favorites to stop the Lakers in this series. The Lakers have played most of the season with either LeBron James or Anthony Davis either unhealthy or unproductive, but both of these stars are healthy and rounding into form at the same time this time around. The Grizzlies are already missing both Brandon Clarke and Steven Adams for the whole series, so it really looks like the charmed life of LeBron James, who has a number of easy postseason paths to the Finals in his past, may be continuing.
Anthony Davis seems to have learned that he doesn’t need to try to be a spot-up shooter or finesse points from the outside. With his size and athleticism, he can be a wrecking ball in the paint on both ends of the floor, altering shots around the rim and wearing down his defender on his way to the basket. With both him and LeBron healthy, the Lakers really only have themselves to blame if they don’t get past the Grizzlies with Memphis missing three contributors.
Bet on the Lakers!
Why should you put your money on the Grizzlies?
Tyus Jones has an opportunity to take the floor as a starter in Game 2, and that could be a game-changer for Memphis. He started 22 games during the regular season; in those games, he shot 50 percent overall and 41.5 percent from behind the arc. He put up 8.0 assists per game as a starter while only turning the ball over 1.5 times. In 2021-22, he had the best assist-to-turnover ratio since the league started tracking the metric in the 1977-78 campaign. When Morant missed the last three games of Memphis’ second-round series with Golden State last year, Jones started in his place and had 19 or more points in two of those games, with nine assists in one game and eight assists in another.
With one road win already in the bank, it’s not that hard to imagine LeBron saving energy for Game 3 if Memphis can get an early lead. The Grizzlies tend to play well with their backs against the wall; in Game 5 against Golden State last year, they faced elimination without Morant and rolled to a 134-95 laugher of a win. Hachimura is not going to have the best shooting game of his life two nights in a row; he shot 83.3 percent from downtown in Game 1 after a regular season in which he shot 29.6 percent from distance in 33 games. It’s also not likely that Austin Reaves will only need 13 shots to put up 23 points, and Desmond Bane is not likely to clank seven three-balls and only make a third of his shots.
Bet on the Grizzlies!
Final Score and Prediction
LeBron James has a history of taking his foot off the gas when it looks like games are going the wrong way, at least early in a series, preserving energy for the next fight, and Memphis underperformed to a degree that will be statistically difficult to reproduce in Game 2. I predict a final score of Memphis 111, Los Angeles 106.
Anthony Davis Scores 22 Points In Lakers Game 1 W!
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