Tipping off Wednesday's NBA Playoffs tripleheader, the second-seeded Grizzlies host the seventh-seeded Lakers and look to tie the series (7 p.m. ET, TNT). Los Angeles earned the 128-112 victory in Game 1 after Ja Morant suffered a hand injury during a dunk attempt midway through the fourth quarter. Now with Morant "questionable" because of a soft-tissue injury on said hand, the Lakers have been a popular Game 2 pick at -1.5 (+100).
Memphis looked great in the second quarter of Game 1, winning the frame 38-27. In the second half, L.A. came to life and started shooting lights out, going 27-of-40 from the floor (67.5 percent) and 11-of-19 from three-point land (57.9), to be exact. Led by unlikely playoff heroes Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves, the Lakers outscored Memphis 69-47 after halftime and cruised to the finish line with Morant in the locker room.
LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the Lakers held Memphis to just 42.9-percent shooting in that second half, while the veterans crashed the boards and helped L.A. finish with a rebounding advantage of 19-9 in the half and 45-34 on the game. AD was everywhere, finishing with 22 points, 12 boards, three assists, seven blocks, and three steals. LeBron added 22 of his own, 11 boards, five dimes, three blocks, and two steals. Hachimura poured in 29 points, Austin Reaves had 23, and D'Angelo Russell had 19, and that trio combined for 11 three-pointers.
The playoffs are when the stars shine, and seasoned veterans like James and Davis have been at this stage plenty of times. Rising stars like Grizzlies' three-point marksman Desmond Bane, however, have not. Bane finished 6-of-18 from the floor (and 3-of-10 from long-range) while struggling with foul trouble in the second half. Only four Grizzlies made shots in the fourth quarter, and only Jaren Jackson Jr. hit more than two shots during that frame.
JJJ has been great for Memphis, finishing with a game-high 31 points in Game 1, but without Morant for a full playoff game, the big man will be asked to do more offensively than perhaps he has done his entire career. The Defensive Player of the Year must also protect the rim against a team known for attacking the lane, and James and Davis have made it abundantly clear that he will need to rebound well for Taylor Jenkins' squad to have a chance. With fellow bigs Steven Adams and Brandon Clarke out for the season, the Grizzlies' depth issues have been cast into the spotlight early in this series.
Will the Grizzlies bounce back from their ugly Game 1 loss, or will the Lakers assert their veteran dominance and move up to a commanding 2-0 lead on the road? Below, we'll break down Wednesday night's Grizzlies-Lakers matchup, giving our prediction and best bets for the 2023 NBA Playoff tilt.
MORE ODDS: Spreads, moneylines, props, parlays — get it all with BetMGM!
Grizzlies vs. Lakers odds, picks, predictions
- Spread: Lakers -1.5 (+100); Grizzlies +1.5 (-110)
- Over/Under: OVER 226.5 (-105); UNDER 226.5 (-115)
- Moneyline: Lakers -110; Grizzlies +110
Oddsmakers are basically treating this one like a toss-up, especially with NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski saying that he does "not sense a great deal of optimism around this Grizzlies team that Ja Morant will be ready to play in Game 2." That gives the Lakers the slight edge on the road — with a little bonus in the form of plus odds.
What we saw in the second half of Game 1 is that L.A. will get more physical and attack the boards more. The Lakers also slowed things down against the typically fast-paced Grizzlies, setting up a lot of open outside looks. Rui Hachimura's four three-pointers in the third quarter were huge for Darvin Ham's squad.
“We didn't execute the priorities of the game plan,” Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said. “Get back. Execute half-court defense and get rebounds.”
It's not so easy when your star point guard joins two key big men on the injury report and you're facing a Lakers team only a few seasons removed from an NBA championship. Memphis has now lost its first home game in three consecutive postseason series, and it will be in grave danger of losing this series sooner than later if it falls behind 0-2 before even boarding the flight for California.
This game should be tightly contested, but we're leaning toward the Lakers' spread with the enticing +100 odds. James, Davis, and company don't often squander opportunities, and Morant being sidelined at home seems like a pretty golden opportunity for these veterans to seize. We're going with Los Angeles to prevail as the hungrier, more physically dominant squad in a sometimes-ugly affair.
Prediction: Lakers 114, Grizzlies 109. The Lakers (-1.5) cover the spread, with the game going UNDER the total (226.5).
Best player prop bet for Grizzlies vs. Lakers: LeBron James to record a double-double (+110)
James looked 10 years younger than his 38-year-old self in Game 1, collecting 21 points and 11 rebounds to go along with five assists and five "stocks." The modern GOAT has more hoops savvy than the majority of the league, and he clearly understands what Morant's injury means to L.A.'s chances of advancing. Now is the time for the Lakers to be assertive, and that includes attacking the glass with force. Jackson Jr. will be battling it out with AD all night, leaving plenty of long and weak-side rebounds for King James. We'll take the plus odds and bet LeBron finishes with double-digit points and boards for the second consecutive game.
