Grizzlies vs Lakers Pick – NBA Predictions & Odds 4/16/23

The Los Angeles Lakers and the Memphis Grizzlies duke it out in Game 1 at the FedExForum on Sunday afternoon.

The Los Angeles Lakers took the long route to get to the playoffs, but they will be feeling pretty good after outlasting the Timberwolves in a 108-102 overtime win on Tuesday to earn their ticket to the playoffs. LeBron James led the team with 30 points, 10 rebounds and six assists on 12 of 21 shooting, Anthony Davis added 24 points with 15 rebounds and three blocks while Dennis Schroder provided the spark off the bench with 21 points. As a team, the Lakers shot just 41 percent from the field and 10 of 31 from the 3-point line as they struggled to match the intensity of the Timberwolves early on and trailed by 15 points before they clamped down defensively and held the Timberwolves to just 12 points in the fourth quarter to escape with the hard-fought win in overtime. D’Angelo Russell had a night to forget as he finished with just two points on one of nine shooting in 24 minutes of action. 

Meanwhile, the Memphis Grizzlies will be full of confidence coming into this series as they won 13 of their last 18 games of the regular season to finish with a 51-31 overall record, good enough for second place in the Western Conference standings. Ja Morant led the team with averages of 26.2 points, 5.9 rebounds and 8.1 assists per game, Desmond Bane averaged 21.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game while Jaren Jackson Jr. averaged 18.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game. As a team, the Grizzlies scored 116.9 points per game, while shooting 47.5 percent from the field and 35.1 percent from the 3-point line despite dealing with key injuries all season. 

Looking at the betting trends, the Lakers are 1-4 ATS in their last five Sunday games and 4-1 ATS in their last five games against a team with a winning record. The Grizzlies are 7-19-1 ATS in their last 27 games playing on three or more days’ rest, 3-7 ATS in their last 10 Conference Quarterfinals games and 1-4 ATS in their last five games overall. 

Head to head, the under is 14-3-1 in the last 18 meetings overall and the Lakers are 2-6 ATS in the last eight meetings in Memphis.

The Lakers should be at full health for this one with no one listed on the injury report, while the Grizzlies are still missing Brandon Clarke and Steven Adams. The Lakers passed an early test to get into the playoffs after outlasting the Timberwolves in a thrilling overtime game back on Tuesday, while the Grizzlies have been able to rest and train at home in preparation for this highly anticipated series. The Lakers won the regular season series by 2-1, but I think the Grizzlies kick off the series with a narrow win and cover in this spot.