The Memphis Grizzlies are a mess right now. They've literally got an entire team on their injured list, and they're struggling just to find enough bodies to play night in and night out. It's a rare case where you might very well see the Los Angeles Lakers favored over a team which is going to make the playoffs in the Western Conference.
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SCHEDULING
This situation really couldn't be much worse for Memphis. We'll talk about all the injuries in a second, but what makes this worse is that it's the second game of a back-to-back. The Suns should theoretically be beaten on Monday night, but with the lineup which the Grizz are trotting out there at the moment, nothing is a given.
That said, this team is tough. It's covered its last three in back-to-back situations, including winning in Cleveland of all places back on March 7 a day after playing – you guessed it – the Suns.
The Lakers also have Phoenix in a back-to-back this week, but that game comes a day after this one. LA will have had three days in a row off to potentially get Ryan Kelly and Kobe Bryant back in the lineup from nagging injuries.
KEY MATCHUP
Dave Joerger isn't going to win Coach of the Year this season, but he probably should. He's kept the Grizz above water in an injury-riddled year, but the situation couldn't get much worse than it is right now. Zach Randolph just returned from a knee injury and posted a triple-double in his return, but the rest of this roster is a walking M*A*S*H* unit.
P.J. Hairston, Brandan Wright, Mike Conley, Chris Andersen, Jordan Adams and Marc Gasol are all out of the fold, and there really isn't a timeframe for any of their returns. Hairston will be the first back, but even he isn't expected for a few more weeks.
So the big question here is where the scoring is going to come from. There are just far too many examples of teams shutting down Memphis for long stretches in recent weeks, and live bettors will have to be aware of the fact that even the woeful Lakers defense could get some stops in this one.
Against the Clippers over the weekend, Randolph scored 28, while Tony Allen poured in 22. That's not typical production though, and if those two trail off, it's entirely possible to see this game played in the 80s from Memphis' standpoint.
KEY STATS & TRENDS
This under trend might be one to watch for live bettors as well, knowing that the Lakers have held four of their last six foes under 100 points. As a result, five of their last six have stayed under the total.
Memphis hasn't been favored in a road game since this rash of injuries took place. The team though, is holding its own at 3-2 ATS and 1-4 SU in those games, and considering the fact that the foes were the Bucks, Rockets, Hawks, Celtics and Cavaliers, that's not such a bad run.
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