We get another postseason rematch on Christmas Day when the Memphis Grizzlies visit the Golden State Warriors. The Griz finished three games better than the Warriors last season but lost a second round series to the champs in three games. While the Dubs have struggled around .500 most of this season the Grizzlies seized control of the West thanks to a seven-game winning streak. That run ended with an upset loss to Oklahoma City, but they closed last week a game clear of Phoenix and Denver. The Warriors are 12-2 at home and play their first game inside Chase Center following a season-long six-game road trip.
The contest between the Memphis Grizzlies and Golden State Warriors takes place at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, December 25, 2022, from Chase Center in San Francisco and will air live on ABC and ESPN. BookMaker.eu will have odds for every game on the Sunday NBA schedule.
NBA Opening Lines at BookMaker.eu
Odds Analysis
The Griz won three of four regular season meetings last year going 3-1 ATS. That didn’t translate to the postseason with Memphis falling in six games. You can chalk that up as a learning experience for the young Griz, who entered this season hungry. They were on a roll winning nine of 10 games following a 142-101 trouncing of the Bucks as a 3-point home favorite. They were 8-1-1 ATS in those games. Maybe they got a little cocky after taking out the top team in the East following that with a bumbling loss to OKC. That setback continued their road woes with the Griz 2-5 SU and ATS in their last seven away contests while going 6-8 SU and a NBA worst 3-10-1 ATS in their first 14 road games.
Getting back to the Bay Area should excite the Warriors for the remainder of the season. Their home/road splits are drastic with the inability to win away games keeping the Dubs around the breakeven point. They stopped a five-game road skid beating Toronto 126-110 on Sunday as a 6-point dog. Overall they won just three of their first 17 roadies. Get them in the Bay and things are just the opposite. The Dubs throttled Boston 123-109 in their last home game improving to 12-2 SU with the third best home cover percentage.
Memphis Grizzlies
After last season’s playoff collapse the Grizzlies understand postseason basketball is a different game. They beat Golden State in three of four regular season meetings and had homecourt advantage yet still failed in six games. The revenge factor will be there on Sunday and hopefully so will Ja Morant, who missed the last three playoff games due to injury. Morant is part of a rotation that has four players averaging more than 17 points helping the Griz score over 116 points per game.
Morant posted his second triple-double in three games with 25 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a 142-101 rout of Milwaukee. The next game he was disqualified in the first half of a 115-109 loss to OKC. Along with Desmond Bane, who averages more than 24 points, the Griz have one of the better backcourts in the NBA as long as they stay on the court.
Golden State Warriors
With Stephen Curry out for a few weeks, the Warriors need someone to pick up the scoring slack. Curry is among the league leaders averaging 30 points. Jordan Poole took matters into his hands hitting 14 of 23 shots for 43 points in a 126-110 win over Toronto. It was the Dubs’ first win in five games without their sharpshooting superstar. They also played the style of basketball we’ve become accustomed to seeing during their championship runs. Five players scored in double figures, they shot 53 percent from the field and made 18 three-pointers in the unexpected rout.
Not only are the Warriors going to miss Curry’s offense, they are likely to be impacted defensively as well. That wasn’t the case against the Raptors, who are scuffling this season, but it will be against a team as balanced and athletic as Memphis. The Warriors are a completely different team at home than they are on the road. They allow nearly 117 points per game for the season but that number drops to 109.9 at home where they cash the UNDER in 57 percent of their games. They are also 11-1 SU and 9-3 ATS in their last 12 contests at Chase Center.
NBA Odds Pick
As dominant as the Warriors have been at home they are facing a difficult situation. Not only do they have to navigate more games without Curry, this is their first game back after a lengthy road trip. Memphis, and especially Morant, will have revenge on their minds after last season’s playoff setback.
NBA Odds Prediction: Memphis Grizzlies / OVER
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