Lakers vs. Grizzlies NBA expert prediction and odds for Wednesday, March 27 (Bet on L.A.?)
Betting odds, pick and prediction for the Los Angeles Lakers-Memphis Grizzlies matchup in the NBA on Wednesday night.
By Peter Dewey
The Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies won’t be meeting in the playoffs this season with Memphis way out of contention, but they will face off on Wednesday night at FedEx Forum.
Memphis is looking to play spoiler for the Lakers, who are playing the second night of a back-to-back after winning a thriller in double overtime last night against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Los Angeles currently holds the No. 9 seed in the West, and it’ll need to go on a run to improve that standing with the No. 6-No.8 seeds looking extremely crowded.
The biggest question for the Lakers: Will LeBron James (ankle) suit up after missing Tuesday night’s matchup in Milwaukee? Plus, could the team look to sit other players after such a heavy workload from yesterday’s win?
If James does play, the Lakers should be in a good spot to pick up a win to stay in the hunt for a higher seed in the West.
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Still, let’s see what the odds are telling us ahead of this Western Conference battle:
Lakers vs. Grizzlies odds, spread and total
Lakers vs. Grizzlies how to watch
- Date: Wednesday, March 27
- Time: 8:00 p.m. EST
- Venue: FedEx Forum
- How to watch (TV): Spectrum Sportsnet, Bally Sports Southeast
- Lakers record: 40-32
- Grizzlies record: 24-48
Lakers vs. Grizzlies injury reports
Lakers injury report
- Not submitted yet
Grizzlies injury report
- Brandon Clarke – questionable
- Luke Kennard – out
- John Konchar – doubtful
- Ja Morant – out
- Derrick Rose – out
- Yuta Wantanabe – out
- Marcus Smart – out
- Vince Williams – doubtful
- Ziaire Williams – out
Lakers vs. Grizzlies key players to watch
Los Angeles Lakers
Anthony Davis: The last time these teams played, Davis scored 31 points but grabbed just six boards in a Grizzlies win. The Grizz looks way different from that game, as Ja Morant and Marcus Smart are both now out of the lineup. Davis will have his hands full with reigning Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr., but if he can step up on both ends, the Lakers should roll.
Memphis Grizzlies
Jaren Jackson Jr.: It’s been an interesting season for JJJ, who has moved to the No. 1 option in the offense on most nights for Memphis. He’s the player the Lakers need to slow down, as the veteran forward is averaging 22.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game while shooting 44.3 percent from the field.
Lakers vs. Grizzlies prediction and pick
I don’t love laying the points with the Lakers since we don’t know as of this writing who will be in action for the team tonight.
Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves, and D’Angelo Russell all played 48 or more minutes on Tuesday, so asking all of them to turn around and handle major roles tonight would be tough.
Hopefully, James can suit up despite the ankle injury he’s dealing with – and if he does – I like the Lakers to win this game.
Memphis is one of the worst home teams in the NBA, going 8-27 straight up and just 12-13 against the spread as home underdogs.
Still, I won’t lay the points with the Lakers here given the injury concerns and the team’s record on the second night of back-to-backs (3-9 against the spread).
Instead, I’ll lay the juice on the moneyline if James and some of the other key rotation pieces for L.A. are able to play.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
Find Peter Dewey's NBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on BetStamp here.