Two sides in contrasting form will face off in the NBA on Friday morning when the Golden State Warriors travel to the FedEx Forum to face the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Grizz are 18-9 for the season and currently in second place in the Western Conference, while the Warriors are 14-11 and have slipped to seventh place in the standings.
Match preview
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The Memphis Grizzlies are one of the hottest teams in the West at present, currently 8-2 in their last 10, but they will be eager to get back to winning ways after falling short 116-110 to the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday.
Jaren Jackson Jr and Ja Morant both put up 20+ points while Zach Edey and Luke Kennard added 25 points combined off the bench, but the team were battling uphill from the off after being outscored 30-20 in the first quarter.
While the Grizz would have been disappointed with that result, the major positive for them has been the performance of Jackson Jr, who is now averaging 22 points per game with a career-high 51.8% conversion from the field, which has eased the burden on fellow All-Star Morant tremendously this season.
Taylor Jenkins' side will now return to their home court where they are enjoying an excellent run of form lately, riding a seven-match win streak, while they have still only lost three of their 15 matches at the venue to date.
Memphis have covered the spread in 66.7% of games this season (18-9-0 ATS), and are now the league's top-scoring offence, averaging 122.1 points per game, while on defence, they are allowing 113.7 PPG.
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Meanwhile, after storming out the starting gate this season, the Golden State Warriors are now in a slump, currently 2-8 in their last 10 after losing to the Dallas Mavericks 143-133 at home on Monday.
Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga, Stephen Curry and Draymond Green all put up 20+ points, but the team were never able to reel in the Mavs after going down 46-33 in the first quarter of a match that delivered a record 48 three-pointers combined.
Indeed, Steve Kerr's side are in need of a pick-me-up, and that may just be on the way with Dennis Schroder's trade from the Nets now finalised, a move that most Warriors fans will hope can ease the team's reliance on Curry.
Golden State are now 13th in the scoring charts, averaging 113.9 points per game, but they are still a top-10 side on defence and in terms of cover rate, allowing 109.8 PPG and holding a 15-10-1 ATS record.
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Team News
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After missing 12 games with a left ankle injury sustained against the Nuggets in mid-November, centre Zach Edey made his return for the Grizz on Monday and put up 13 points off the bench.
The centre's return was not the only good news for Memphis, though, as both Jay Huff and Marcus Smart were also able to feature last time out despite being listed as questionable.
All three players are expected to be available on Thursday, meaning the only absentees for the hosts this week are likely to be Vince Williams (ankle) and Gregory Jackson (foot).
Head coach Steve Kerr confirmed earlier in the week that Schroder is expected to train with the team on Tuesday and Wednesday, and the German should make his debut in this match.
Moses Moody, who has been the subject of plenty of speculation regarding a potential trade in recent days, reportedly missed training this week and is listed as questionable owing to a knee injury.
Memphis Grizzlies possible starting five:
Jackson Jr., Wells, Edey, Morant, Bane
Golden State Warriors possible starting five:
Wiggins, Green, Looney, Curry, Schroder
We say: Memphis Grizzlies to win by 3+ points
The Warriors have been struggling to refind their best form lately, and while Shroder's arrival marks a positive move for the franchise, it will likely take a few games before he is fully comfortable with coach Kerr's system.
The Grizz have are one of the hottest teams in the NBA at the moment, currently on a seven-match win streak at home, and we feel they will be able to outscore the Warriors in this match.
Devesh Jaganath
