NBA: Phoenix Suns VS Memphis Grizzlies Pick and Predictions 01/16/2023

Game: 6:00 PM ET,  Monday, January 16th, 2023

Venue: FedEx Forum, Memphis, Tennessee

TV:  NBA League Pass

Suns: 21-23, 10th place Western Conference

Grizzlies: 29-13, 2nd place Western Conference

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Grizzlies -10.5, O/U 229.5

PointsBet: Point Spread: Grizzlies -10.5, O/U 228.5

Fanduel: Point Spread: Grizzlies -10.5, O/U 229.5

Suns: PF Torrey Craig, SF Dario Saric, C Deandre Ayton, PG Duane Washington JR, SG Mikal Bridges

Grizzlies: SF Ziaire Williams, PF Jaren Jackson Jr, C Steven Adams, PG Ja Morant, SG Desmond Bane

An NBA matchup haunted by the ghost of “what it could have been”... had this game taken place a month ago.  The Memphis Grizzlies are the real deal Contender in the Western Conference.  They have a deep, young, athletic team.  They have a superstar in PG Ja Morant.  They have depth… real serious enviable depth.  Plus they are winning.  Really, really winning.  The Phoenix Suns have been losing.  Shockingly so.  The Wheels have come off in Phoenix so hard that they will simply not recover.  Yes they are suffering injuries to key players… like SG Devin Booker, PG Chris Paul, PF Cameron Johnson, PG Cameron Payne, combo guard Landry Shamet… it has been an avalanche of disaster… and yes when these guys return to full health they will be much much better… But they will still be broken.  Word on the street is that C Deandre Ayton does not like management and management despises him.  They did not want to give him his big Contract extension… until they had no viable other moves to make… and they definitely feel like Deandre is not living up to the big money as his scoring is the same even though he has all this opportunity with everyone else out… and his rebounds are DOWN a bit.  Deandre’s view is they dragged their feet on him… they didn’t build a team that features him as it should… and he can feel their disappointment.  Moves need to be made… or fences need to be mended.  The great betting opportunity here is finding the exact number you are willing to risk on this point spread… The Grizzlies will win, but the spread may be very large.

The Phoenix Suns have only won 2 of their last 10 games.  They are on a 2-game losing streak. During the last 10 they are 4-6 ATS.  The spreads they have covered are considered quite large in basketball betting… 7.5, 5, 12.5, 6.5.  They lost their last game to the Minnesota Timberwolves 121-116.  In the loss C Deandre Ayton had 11 points & 11 rebounds, Suns leading scorer Damion Lee did his damage off the bench with 31 points in 31 minutes.  SF Mikal Bridges played out of position yet again at one of the guard spots bringing in 24 points, 4 rebounds, and 6 assists.  They needed to find 5-6 points from somewhere… and got too little help from Dario Saric, Torry Craig, and Duane Washington Jr. It was not lost on anyone that in this close game Ayton shot 5 for 18 from the field and posted a -11 on the +/- scale/

The Memphis Grizzlies are on a 9-game winning streak. In a funny coincidence their last loss was to these same Phoenix Suns with a healthy Chris Paul… all the way back on December 27th. In that December game the Suns got a surprise monster game from rookie PG Duane Washington Jr as he had 26 points and 8 assists in 24 minutes off the bench… It was that game (and the loss of so many guys to injury) that got Duane more time on the floor.  Duane has had 2 20+ point games since for an average of 13.2 points over the last ten games.  In this one we may see a return of Chris Paul as he is listed as Quest.  Of course they will be facing a much more confident and cohesive Grizzlies team.

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PHO: 21-23, 22-22 ATS, 20-24 O/U, 7-16 on the road.

MEM: 29-13, 21-20-1 ATS, 22-20 O/U, 18-3 in home games.

The Suns are 17th in scoring with 112.7 per game, 17th in rebounds with 43.2 per game, 6th in AST/TO ratio with 1.9 per game, and 11th in blocked shots with 4.9 per game.

The Grizzlies are 6th in scoring with 117.1 points per game, 1st in rebounds with 49.1 per game, 13th in AST/TO ratio with 1.8, and 2nd in blocks with 6.1 per game.

Our prediction for Monday, January 16th is…. 120 - Suns 101

Bet on the Grizzlies.  They will roll the Suns regardless of if CP3 plays.  The sheer amount of hard feelings and desperation the Suns are going through is too tough to overcome against one of the best teams in the entire league.  For the Grizzlies 2 days of rest followed by a home game against a team that they will get up for because of their recent rivalry?... The Grizz will pour it on.

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(will update)

Suns: PG Duane Washington Jr.  Undrafted in the 2021 draft, this 6’2 point guard has found a niche on the Suns.  He has played well off the bench with a few big games.  If he earns a longer career in the NBA then this season will have been a job well done.

Grizzlies:  PG Ja Morant.  Ja will take the floor with either SF Mikal Bridges playing out of position on him… or a still sore and gimpy Chris Paul on him… or a 6’2 recently undrafted 2nd year player on him… Wow.  Ja is about to have a big game… a 40 piece type of game.

Suns: Monty “Joe Cool” Williams

Grizzlies: Taylor “egghead” Jenkins