Golden State Warriors vs. Memphis Grizzlies NBA Playoff Picks & Predictions: Game 2

The Memphis Grizzlies look to avoid a 2-0 hole against the Golden State Warriors after Sunday’s thrilling 117-116 finish in Game 1 of the second round of the NBA playoffs. Klay Thompson’s late shot and defense against Ja Morant preserved the win for Golden State, which has won a road game in 25 straight playoff series, an NBA record.

Game 1 exceeded the hype with a dramatic contest filled with great shots, big stops, both teams making a double-digit comeback, and even an ejection with Draymond Green getting tossed before halftime for a flagrant foul.

Ja Morant (34 points), Jaren Jackson Jr. (33), and Jordan Poole (31) became the first trio of players aged 22 or younger to score at least 30 points in the same playoff game. Poole was spectacular off the bench for Golden State, which decided to start Gary Payton II instead.

Steph Curry and Klay Thompson made the key defensive plays against Morant late, including a missed layup by Morant at the buzzer as he could not get around Thompson. It was Thompson’s three with 36.6 seconds left that put the Warriors ahead as no other points were scored the rest of the way.

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Golden State Warriors vs. Memphis Grizzlies Game 2 Info

Date/Time: Tuesday, May 3, 2022, 9:30 p.m. ET

TV: TNT

Location: FedExForum, Memphis, Tennessee

For tips on where you can view this game, see our streaming guide.

Golden State Warriors vs. Memphis Grizzlies Odds Analysis

Golden State is once again a 2-point road favorite. The Warriors likely would have covered Game 1 if Thompson made his free throws in the final seconds. Memphis is now 29-16 ATS (64.4%) in home games, the only team above 60% in the NBA this season. Golden State is No. 2 at 25-17-2 ATS (59.5%).

The total for this game has gone up considerably to 226.5 points after Game 1’s 117-116 finish. Golden State was 2-16 this season when allowing more than 115 points, but that record is now 3-16. Still, this was only the seventh time this season the Warriors scored and allowed at least 116 points in a game.

Golden State Warriors vs. Memphis Grizzlies Predictions

Memphis +2 (-110 at FanDuel)

Game 1 could have easily gone either way, and we would be lucky as NBA fans to see more thrillers like this the rest of the series. Memphis learned the hard way that coming back from double digits in the fourth quarter is not so easy when the opponent is Golden State instead of Minnesota. Still, the Grizzlies had multiple opportunities to win this game at the end.

The Grizzlies did get away from their game a bit in this one. Memphis attempted 40 threes for only the 12th time this season. Morant hit two early threes, but he was missing too many late in the game and finished with 11 attempts, his second most in a game this season. He also had those struggles at getting to the basket late in the game.

While the Grizzlies cannot count on Jaren Jackson Jr. to deliver another 33-point game, they must get a lot more out of Desmond Bane (nine points) and Dillon Brooks (3-for-13 shooting, eight points). They are the team’s best players after Morant and they were terrible in Game 1. Morant and Jackson were the only Grizzlies to hit 15 points.

Both teams had 16 offensive rebounds, so cleaning up the boards better is going to be important. While the Warriors will welcome Green back in Game 2, the truth is the Grizzlies scored more points in the first half before Green was ejected than they did in the second half.

But it is hard to see the best home team going down 2-0 in this series. Let’s go with the Grizzlies to cover and even the series.

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Under 226.5 Points (-110 at BetMGM)

After allowing Minnesota to score 130 points in Game 1 in the first round, Memphis did not allow the Timberwolves to break 100 points in the next two games. While it should not be expected for Golden State to regress that much, this does feel like a game that will be more defensive and lower scoring.

The over has only hit in 46.5% of Golden State’s games this season, which ranks 25th in the NBA. The over has hit 42.3% of the time after Memphis loses a game, so this team usually bounces back with a stronger effort on that side of the ball. Let’s roll with the under for the total pick in this contest.

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Bonus Player Prop Pick: Desmond Bane Over 18.5 Points (-106 at FanDuel)

For a prop pick on FanDuel, look for Desmond Bane to bounce back after he scored just nine points in Game 1. He should be more aggressive after taking just five threes and only hitting one of them. Bane already has two games this season with five made threes against the Warriors. He scored at least 23 points in four straight games coming into this series.

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