Memphis at Golden State
Time: 9:30 PM CT, NBA TV
Spread: GSW -11.5
Total: 210.5

Odds c/o 5dimes

GOLDEN ST.

The Warriors have won seven of its past 10, and are just a humble 20-10 despite being the four-time champions of the Western Conference.

Most recently, it defeated the Sacramento Kings, despite 27 points from Sacramento guard Buddy Hield.
Stephen Curry had 35 points in the win over Sacto, and Klay Thompson added another 27, but the Warriors got just 23 points from its reserves. Golden State held a huge +18 difference on the glass. The Warriors are also now just 8-7 on the road this season, which is both uncharacteristic and worrisome for the team at this point. It has won its past four on the road, though.

?Golden State is allowing 111.5 points per game, which ranks No. 18 in the association. Its offense is high powered and scores 115.9 per game while the Warriors lead the Association in assists per game, but the defense will have to tighten up long before the postseason arrives if this Dubs team is to repeat as champions. Few seem overly concerned in light of the massive collection of talent on the roster, but ignoring the shortcomings would be to Steve Kerr’s peril.

MEM

The Memphis Grizzlies have turned it around from its disastrous and injury-filled 2017-18 campaign. The Grizz are three games above .500 and are the leaders of the Southwest Division, with a half-game lead over No. 2 Dallas.

Memphis has lost four of its past five games, though, and it will look to try to get back on track against the repeating champion Warriors. Most recently, Memphis fell 97-105 to the Houston Rockets, and the Grizzlies have not scored over 100 points in its past five games. One potential source of more offense is rookie Jaren Jackson Jr. He has had his moments this season, but he is still averaging a humble 13 points per game to go with 4.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists per contest. Mike Conley has continued to pad his resume as a consistent veteran, leading Memphis at 20.4 points per game and 6.5 assists per game.

The Grizzlies average just 102.5 points per game while shooting 45.6 percent from the field. Memphis attempts just 27.3 threes per game (which years ago was a high mark, but not today), connecting on a 34.9 percent clip team-wide. Marc Gasol leads the team in percentage of all those who attempt at least three per game, as the big man hits 38.7 percent from behind the arc on his 4.3 attempts per night. Between Conley, Gasol and the youngster Jackson, Memphis has the talent and defensive identity to be a threat in the West, but it must find a way to produce more offense having lost 80 percent of its last five due to its scoring issues.

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