Grizzlies vs. Kings Best Bets for Monday Night: Will West Coast Woes Continue for Memphis? (Archive)
NBA Pick: Kings +1 (-105) at BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
It’s been a tumultuous trip west for the Memphis Grizzlies, and it’s only half over. Memphis headed west after matching a franchise record with its 11th straight win. The Grizzlies then lost their next game, to the Lakers in Los Angeles, in a game marred by Memphis players getting into an altercation with NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe, who was seated courtside and then followed the team into the tunnel at halftime to continue the near brawl.
Sharpe had words with Ja Morant, Dillon Brooks, Steven Adams, and Morant’s father Tee. After dropping the one-point decision, Memphis lost by two points in Phoenix on Sunday. Now, the Grizzlies try to get back on track with a game at Sacramento before finishing the West Coast swing at Golden State, then heading to Minnesota to continue the road trip.
Sacramento is 26-19 on the year, in third place in the Western Conference, and four and a half games behind second-place Memphis. Memphis is 2-1 against the Kings so far this season, winning in Sacramento, 125-110, in October and winning the last matchup, on January 1, 118-108.
Read on for our full NBA breakdown, including the latest NBA odds.
Memphis Grizzlies vs. Sacramento Kings
Monday, January 23, 2023 – 10:30 PM EST at Golden 1 Center
Don’t Want This Smoke
Sharpe proclaimed that the Grizzlies players “don’t want this smoke” when he almost came to blows with several members of the team. Memphis has certainly been less likely to get the smoke on the road this season.
"I think we're playing great basketball at home," coach Taylor Jenkins said. "We got to find that renewed togetherness and road mentality when we go on the road. Can't find it in spurts on the road. We have to come out as aggressors.”
The Grizzlies are 20-3 at home on the year, but, as this current trip has shown, they are a different team away from Memphis, going 11-12, including 5-10 against Western Conference teams. They average five fewer points per game on the road and allow 7.1 more. They’re also only 8-14-1 against the spread in road games.
The Grizzlies blew a lead against the Lakers, then fell behind by 25 points to the Suns at halftime before rallying to tighten the score.
“Got to look ourselves in the mirror. We gotta want to be better if we got to want change,” guard Tyus Jones said. “You know, and if we don’t, it’ll be a long road trip for us.”
Matchup Problems for Grizzlies?
The Kings are also coping with the end of a winning streak. Sacramento had won six in a row before losing by two to Philadelphia at home on Sunday. The loss smarted even more since Philly was playing without Joel Embiid and James Harden but still knocked off the Kings after Sacramento blew a 21-point first-half lead.
The Kings lead the NBA in scoring and have topped 125 points in 5 of their last 7 games. That matchup, against one of the league’s best defenses in Memphis, is intriguing, but it’s the matchup on the other end that may determine who wins this showdown.
The Memphis offense has been streaky in recent games, going cold for prolonged stretches, as we saw in the second-half meltdown against the Lakers and the first-half egg it laid against Phoenix. Memphis is at its best when it can score in transition, and its fastbreak offense, backed up by one of the league’s best offenses in second-chance points, helps the Grizzlies rank in the top 10 in the league in offense.
Sacramento, however, is among the three best teams in the NBA at limiting fastbreak points, as well as points in transition. The Kings also are solid at choking off second-chance points. That means Memphis may be forced to play a more half-court game against Sacramento.
Best Bets
Both teams come in healthy, but the Grizzlies’ psyche could be somewhat injured after the team’s road woes have continued. The rough start to the trip, coupled with the stylistic problems Sacramento presents, could prolong the Grizzlies’ West Coast slump.
For Sacramento residents looking to bet on this game, you can do it at our top California betting sites.
NBA Pick: Kings +1 (-105) at BetOnline
The Prop Bet
Here's another NBA pick for tonight's matchup on Ja Morant Under 28.5 points.
If you're a Grizzlies fan looking to place a bet on this player, you can do it at the best Tennessee betting sites.
NBA Prop Pick: Ja Morant Under 28.5 Points (-121) at BetOnline
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.