NBA Playoffs 2022 on Tuesday, 10.05.2022
What our Fixture list for the NBA Playoffs doesn’t tell you is that the Series between the Golden State Warriors and the Memphis Grizzlies is shaping up to be a fierce rivalry! Because with each game, the nickel and dime on both sides seems to increase!
During each of the last two games, a player has been injured by a hard tackle from the opposition – the last time it was Ja Morant!
Naturally, this potential loss will play a central role in my Warriors Grizzlies Game 4 tip!
After the first two games were relatively close, 117-116 and 106-101 respectively, the Warriors pulled off a noteworthy victory the day before yesterday, winning by a margin of 30 points!
What happened? For one thing, the Californians simply played their best game and for another, the opposing side was missing the important Dillon Brooks, who was suspended for one game for his serious foul on Gary Payton in Game 2.
But now Dillon Brooks will return in the upcoming duel, while Gary Payton will be out for several weeks for the home side. This fact alone will ensure that today’s game will probably not be quite so one-sided.
What sets the Warriors apart is their ability to strike as a collective. After all, a whole five players from the Yellow and Blue scored more than 17 points in the last game – so there is hardly any scope for a promising player bet here.
The Grizzlies, on the other hand, are a different story. Although they lack experience as a team and can’t quite keep up with the Californians in terms of quality, they seem to have a very clear maxim when it comes to their offence.
This is: Give Ja Morant the ball!
Because the newly crowned winner of the MIP Award is the one player Golden State just can’t get under control and scored more than twice as many points as the second-best player on his team in the last game alone.
34, 47, 34 – these are the numbers of Ja Morant, who has scored by far the most points for his team in the first three games of this series – and this should continue in Game 4.
By the way, Morant even converted a three-pointer from his own half last night!
While Golden State used a zone defence in their last meeting that allowed them to handle the Grizzlies a little better as a collective, the loss of Gary Payton will give the 22-year-old even more freedom to make inroads from here on out.
Personally, though, I don’t think Memphis will win the upcoming match, but what is clear is that their superstar will crack the 30-point mark again, even if they end up losing high again.
I mentioned at the beginning that this series is heated, and there was an ugly scene in the closing stages of the last match where Jordan Poole grabbed Ja Morant’s knee in a one-on-one and twisted it.
Now it is not certain whether the Grizzlies’ superstar will be used! Should this not be the case, then I expect another clear victory for the Warriors, because the visitors cannot compensate for such a loss in any way.
Morant is not only an enforcer for Memphis, but also a playmaker! On almost every offensive play, he is the one who carries the ball and decides how the play will go – his absence would completely paralyse the offence.
According to them, the Warriors are the heavy favourites to win the game with odds of around 1.25, while a Memphis win would more than quadruple the betting odds.
Conclusion: In my Warriors Grizzlies tip, I’m leaning towards a “double-tap” of sorts for tonight. That’s because after the injury he suffered in Game 3, it’s not clear whether Ja Morant will be back in the visitors’ lineup.
Should Morant be fit – which I assume at the moment – then 35 points are probably not to be taken away from him this evening, because the Californians still have big problems to defend his irresistible advances.
However, if the 22-year-old does indeed go down with an injury, the Californians will be back in front by at least 30 points as the Grizzlies’ offensive game would lose tremendous pace.
My Warriors Grizzlies tip: Golden State wins with HC -10.5.
