LA Clippers vs Memphis Basketball Clash: To the Visitors Go a Touchdown
Clippers Favored By 7+ Points Against Battered Grizzlies
Can Memphis Overcome the NBA Odds Again?
The Memphis Grizzlies can’t catch a break this season. The team keeps losing key players to injuries. But even in losing star guard Ja Morant, Memphis overcame the odds and upset Dallas on Tuesday. Now, it is spotted seven points as it hosts the LA Clippers. The visitors have won seven of their last eight games. But should we lay or take seven in this LA Clippers vs Memphis basketball clash?
LA Clippers (24-13), Memphis Grizzlies (14-23) 
Date, time:
Location: FedExForum, Memphis, TN
Streaming: Live Sports Stream
Clippers are Cashing as Road Favorites
The Clippers opened as seven-point favorites and their line is getting steamed. We can’t blame the public as the Clippers are great on the road and Memphis is down four of its five starters plus some vital bench players. The visitors will be playing a G-League team from the looks of it. And a blowout win is expected if we estimate NBA score predictions.
As gutsy as Memphis has been, it can’t match the Clippers on talent. For the first time in a long time, the Clippers are fully healthy. All four stars are expected to dress and log big minutes for the team. As such, the Clippers can continue delivering as a road team.
The Clippers are 7-4 against the spread (ATS) as a road favorite. And more notably, the team is 11-4 against teams below .500. Since acquiring James Harden, Los Angeles’ offense has been humming. The team is fourth in the league with a 118.8 offensive rating. That’s how it manages to stay near the top of the NBA standings.
But it’s not just Harden. The team is getting solid production from its bench players. Russell Westbrook is averaging 9.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 4.2 assists. Norman Powell is scoring over 13 points and has hit the 20-point mark six times.
This team is also filled with veterans. Its main rotation consists of players aged 26 and older. Almost everyone in the rotation has had at least six seasons of NBA experience.
This is an edge for the Clippers as this team is a dark horse to reach the NBA Finals when healthy. For the meantime, it will have to deliver as wide favorites in this LA vs Memphis basketball clash.
Grizzlies Have Heart But is That Enough?
How much longer can Memphis exceed expectations? Memphis dug deep and put in a team effort to upset the Mavericks. The bench poured in 43 points to help Desmond Bane and Marcus Smart who combined for 55 points. But now Bane will have to find a way to produce without Smart as he’s out indefinitely with a finger injury.
“We’ve just kind of been scratching and clawing this whole season, trying to fight back and get healthy,“ Bane said following the win. “And then, obviously, the news with Ja. So it’s been a roller coaster of a season, but I knew we were going to be without Ja, obviously, at the start of the season, so I took my player development extremely seriously, as I always do every summer, to be ready for what teams are going to throw at me as the No. 1 option and being the focal point of everybody else’s scouting report.”
Memphis has been a prolific underdog as of late. The team has won three straight games as one. But overall, the Grizzlies are just 8-16 as an underdog and 2-6 ATS when at home. We’re not counting this team out. But in this LA vs Memphis basketball clash, it’s hard to give Memphis an edge.
Bane could score 30+ and it may be for naught. Memphis is 6-5 when he hits that mark. He averaged 26 points in two games against the Clippers last season. And he’s averaged 22.5 in their two meetings this season. It’s a herculean task for Bane.
