The Warriors got a bit of a break in their last game as they faced a shorthanded Philadelphia 76ers team, coming out on top 119-107 on Wednesday. They head to Memphis to face a Grizzlies team that’s been in a similar situation for most of the season. These two teams faced each other about 2 weeks go and to the surprise of many it was the Grizzlies that came out on top by 9 points at home. The sense of urgency has increased quite a bit on the Warriors side of things coming into tonight’s game though, so I’m not really sure if Memphis can repeat that result here. Last night’s Jazz loss gives Stephen Curry and co. an opportunity to get within a game of the 10th spot if they can sneak out a win here. They’ve covered the spread 5 times in their last 7 games, plus as favorites they’re 16-10 SU for the season.
Given all the bad luck they’ve had so far this season with injuries, the Grizzlies are actually exceeding expectations. However, it would appear that their good luck charm is coming to an end slowly as they’re currently on a 3-game losing streak. Against teams from the Pacific Division they have just 3 wins in 10 games, while in games played at the FedEx Forum they’ve won just 5 times on 22 occasions. Jaren Jackson Jr. is the only notable player left from the starting line-up that played for most of last season. He’s averaging over 24 points per game over his last 9 games, however his efficiency has gone down quite a bit as teams are focusing more on him now that he’s the number one scoring option for this team. Memphis does have a run of 9 straight games of covering the spread vs the Warriors currently active, but I’m afraid that is coming to an end tonight.
