Trail Blazers Vs Grizzlies, Round 2: How To Watch, Odds, Predictions, And More
Last night, much to my (and oddsmakers') surprise, your 16-42 Portland Trail Blazers eked out a massive 122-92 victory on the road over the 20-40 Memphis Grizzlies, ending the league's then-longest active losing streak at 13.
Getting the start for an injured Deandre Ayton, a newly-promoted Duop Reath was the star of the show, turning in 18 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the floor (2-of-8 from deep), while also pulling down five rebounds, swatting two blocks, swiping two steals and dishing out one dime. Six Blazers finished in double figures. Reserves Jabari Walker and Dalano Banton leading the way with 19 points apiece, thanks to an uncompetitive fourth quarter. During the competitive phase of the FedEx Forum bout, Reath, who started off the season on a two-way deal before being promoted to the team's 15-man standard roster last roster, was the man.
According to Vegas odds aggregator The Action Network, the Trail Blazers are considered +2 point underdogs against the Grizzlies, in their second meeting on the road in two nights, a little back-to-back miniseries. The Grizzlies do have the overall edge in the teams' three meetings thus far this regular season, having won both their encounters in November. To be fair, Memphis was much healthier back then, even without All-Star point guard Ja Morant, then still serving out his 25-game suspension (now out for the year with an injury).
Look for the Trail Blazers to pull off the upset, riding high on the momentum of a game that was such a decisive W that it allowed the game's key Portland stars to get plenty of rest.
That said... is a win over the team that's just three games "behind" Portland in the 2024 NBA lottery race something we should actively want to see? I think so, partly because Portland still has plenty of losing left to do, so occasional wins are fine, and it's helpful for the current young players to develop some confidence every once in a blue moon. With the league's recently-flattened lottery odds, finishing with the fifth- or sixth-worst record is basically a wash now.
You can tune into the action for yourself at 5 p.m. PT on Bally Sports Southeast-Memphis and ROOT SPORTS or ROOT SPORTS Plus in Memphis and Portland, respectively.
