Simply when it regarded just like the Lakers would possibly cruise to a five-game collection victory within the first spherical of this yr’s NBA playoffs, the Grizzlies roared again for a powerful win in Sport 5 to maintain their season alive.
Now the collection shifts again to Los Angeles, the place the hosts are dealing as modest favorites to shut out this collection in six video games.
As we’ve seen during the last week, although, this one may very well be a blowout in both course and even come all the way down to the ultimate seconds.
Right here’s how we’re betting Friday’s contest, which ideas off at 10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Lakers vs. Grizzlies odds
(through BetMGM)
- Lakers -4.5 (-110), moneyline -210
- Grizzlies +4.5 (-110), moneyline +170
- O/U 220.5 (-110)
Lakers vs. Grizzlies prediction and evaluation
(10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN)
We’ve backed the Lakers in each sport on this collection up to now, which paid off for us in three of the primary 4 contests.
However after a lackluster effort from Los Angeles in Sport 5, which got here on the heels of a coin-flip lead to Sport 4, it’s robust to justify laying the factors right here in a tough spot for Friday’s hosts.
The identical may be stated for taking the factors on the Grizzlies, who’ve regarded just like the inferior crew for a lot of this collection even after Wednesday’s blowout win.
Memphis was the lesser crew over the again half of the common season, and its lack of inside measurement looms giant as a possible exploit for the Lakers at any given second.
So, which facet do you have to guess on Friday? Neither.
The actual worth is on the entire.
Los Angeles’ offense regarded gassed by the top of Sport 5, which adopted that frenetic extra time affair two days earlier.
At one level, the Lakers scored simply two factors over a virtually seven-minute interval that noticed the sport slip away, they usually shot simply 40.2% from the ground and 25.6% from deep by the point the ultimate buzzer sounded.
We additionally noticed one of many worst postseason scoring efforts ever from LeBron James (15 factors, 29.4%), who struggled together with his shot in Sport 4, too.
The consequence on Wednesday was his crew’s second sport below 100 factors this collection, and Los Angeles’ offensive ranking within the first spherical (107.9) is the fifth-worst amongst all 16 playoff groups.
Nonetheless, it’s higher than what we’ve seen from the Grizzlies (106.9), whose offense hasn’t regarded proper since Ja Morant’s return.
Over the past three video games, Memphis has loved a mixed 60.7 factors per sport from Morant and operating mate Desmond Bane, who’ve wanted practically 50 photographs per sport to get there.
In the meantime, the remainder of the crew has averaged simply 48.7 factors per sport, and solely Jaren Jackson Jr. (18 factors) scored in double figures among the many supporting forged in Sport 5.
That’s quietly been a problem all season lengthy, although it’s exacerbated on this collection by a horrible capturing show from Dillon Brooks (10.6 PPG, 30.3%) and a less-than-assertive effort from Jackson (18.8 PPG, 45.1%), who hasn’t cracked 20 factors or taken greater than 15 photographs since his 31-point effort in Sport 1.
Betting on the NBA?
Each of those groups have struggled mightily to shoot from three, and whereas the Lakers have had extra success scoring inside in opposition to the Grizzlies’ thinned frontcourt, they’ve additionally expended a ton of vitality to take action.
That gained’t get any simpler with restricted relaxation between Wednesday’s Sport 5 in Memphis and Friday’s Sport 6 in Los Angeles.
All of it provides as much as an appetizing below spot in a collection that’s already gone below 3 times in 5 video games – which might have been 4-for-5 if not for extra time in Sport 4.
With Friday’s whole hovering across the identical quantity we’ve seen this complete spherical, the perfect play right here is to fade each offenses in a sport that’s in any other case laborious to foretell.
