Warriors vs Grizzlies Prediction
The rematch of the Warriors and Grizzlies will happen on Friday night for the last play-in game this year. Golden State was unable to handle the Lakers, and the Grizzlies took care of business on Wednesday to produce this matchup. Find out what my Warriors vs Grizzlies prediction is in this analysis below.
The Warriors had won 6 games in a row to finish out the regular season and are still carrying the momentum. They were able to secure the win on Sunday against the Grizzlies to have a chance at the Lakers for the 7th seed. Now they are back to the Grizzles after losing to the Lakers.
The Grizzlies played an overall excellent game against the 10th seeded Spurs and won by a marginal 4 points. The Grizzlies had won 5 games in a row before the loss to Golden State on Sunday but were able to win on Wednesday to have a repeat against the Warriors.
The winner of tonight’s game will secure the 8th seed and a date with the Utah Jazz in the first round. Steph Curry and Ja Morant will battle once again and try to lead their team into a playoff series.
The Warriors Heart Breaker Against the Lakers Will Have Them Prepared for Memphis
The Warriors know what they did wrong against the Lakers, especially in the second half. They turned the ball over a ludicrous amount of times. Golden State was up by 13 at halftime, thanks to a Steph Curry buzzer-beater at the end of the 2nd quarter, but wasn’t able to close out the game due to turnovers and lack of rhythm on offense.
Steph Curry was spectacular, dropping 37 points on 12-23 shooting. Andrew Wiggins added in 21 points, and Draymond Green recorded his typical stat line of just 2 points, 9 assists, and 8 rebounds. The Warriors struggled in the second half against the Lakers tremendously, and they will be ready to fix that against Memphis.
In the game against Memphis to get the 8th seed, Steph Curry torched them with 46 points, 7 rebounds, and 9 assists. The Grizzlies’ defense had no answers for him, and they will want to slow him down as much as they can. The Warriors know this and will be ready to involve Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins even more offensively.
Memphis Has Been Phenomenal, But Need to Stop Steph Curry
As mentioned above, Steph Curry ended the chances for the Grizzlies to play for the 7th seed basically by himself. Dillon Brooks was the primary defender and struggled to contain Steph all game. Memphis was able to come out with a victory against the Spurs to get to this do-or-die contest.
On offense, the Grizzlies were just fine, with Jonas Valanciunas dropping a double-double, Ja Morant posted a 16 points and 9 assists stat line, and Jaren Jackson adding 14 points. Valanciunas kept up his amazing play with a 23 point and 23 rebound monster game against the Spurs.
Against the Spurs, Ja Morant had 20 points, six rebounds, and six assists, while Dillon Brooks scored 24 points to help Memphis win. The Spurs are a completely different team when it comes to pace and three-point shooting, so we will see if the Grizzlies can change the outcome of Friday night’s game against the Warriors.
Pick and Prediction
The Warriors are -4 but don’t have the momentum going into this game. I’m going to predict the Warriors still win this game, but the Grizzlies stay within 4 points to cover. I’ll take the Grizzlies +4 in this extraordinary final play in the matchup.
Steph Curry will drop 33 points, and Andrew Wiggins will be the x-factor for the Warriors and score 29 points. Ja Morant will lead the way for Memphis with 28 points, and Jonas Valaincinas will add another double-double to his stats for the year.
You can watch this game on ESPN at 9:00 P.M. Eastern time.
Pick: Grizzlies +4
