The Golden State Warriors breezed past the Memphis Grizzlies in the Western Conference Semifinals last year, but Ja Morant did miss time in the series. In the offseason, this matchup turned into a rivalry with words exchanged over social media.
Now, the Warriors are under .500 and the Grizzlies are 20-11 and the 2-seed out west. Memphis has the upper-hand coming into, but the Warriors have the rings.
This is the first time these two have rekindled this newly born rivalry and the way the Warriors are playing, they might need a Christmas miracle to pull off the upset with Steph Curry. Let’s take a look at the odds as the Warriors are home underdogs.
Grizzlies vs. Warriors odds, spread and total
Grizzlies vs. Warriors prediction and pick
The Warriors had such a gift when the KD era ended in Golden State, they suffered injuries and had two terrible seasons that, along with a savvy D’Angelo Russell for Andrew Wiggins swap, netted them three lottery picks. They should’ve replenished the cupboard and had the next era of Golden State basketball playing alongside Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.
The only problem is they might have struck out. James Wiseman has spent most of his career either injured or in the G-League, Jonathan Kuminga has shown flashes, but doesn’t seem to have improved this season, and Moses Moody ended up behind Anthony Lamb in the rotation.
This latest Curry injury has given Steve Kerr time to evaluate the young guns, but this system has proven to be so difficult for young players to succeed in. It’s predicated on decision making and IQ on the floor, things that Wiseman and Kuminga haven’t shown much of.
Against Brooklyn this week, Kerr started Kuminga and Moody and Wiseman played 28 minutes off the bench, they lost 143-113 and were never in it for a second. The defense just suffers far too much with this version of the Warriors and I don’t see them having much of a chance against Memphis.
The Grizzlies are one of the very best teams in the NBA and will want to make a statement against Golden State on Christmas Day. Their last time out they cruised to a 125-100 win over Phoenix with Devin Booker and this is the same situation. I like Memphis to win and cover, but it’s not my favorite bet, because the Warriors are at home and the Grizzlies are 7-9 on the road this year.
The Over is 6-0 in the last six Warriors games and 20-11-2 in their games this season and that’s my favorite bet in this one.
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