Just one more win stands in the way of the Golden State Warriors from cementing themselves as one of the greatest basketball teams of all-time.
That “golden” opportunity happens to be this Wednesday night’s season finale against the Memphis Grizzlies, who are sadly hobbling into the playoffs with injuries galore and subpar play as a result. Will Golden State fulfill its destiny of becoming the team with the most regular season wins in NBA history, or does Memphis still have some fight left it its tank to play the part of ultimate spoiler?
Let’s find out more about this captivating showdown below. And for more on the NBA’s serving of final regular season games, head on over to our previews for Jazz vs. Lakers (AKA Kobe Bryant’s last hurrah) and Spurs vs. Mavericks right after this.
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Memphis Grizzlies vs. Golden State Warriors Preview
Where: Oracle Arena, Oakland
When: Wednesday, April 13, 10:30 PM ET
Line: Memphis Grizzlies at Golden State Warriors – view all NBA lines
Betting on the Memphis Grizzlies
Are these really tough, grit-and-grind Memphis Grizzlies that we’re watching right now, or just a bunch of plush teddy bears just awiting to get the entire season over with?
Well, that’s what happens when your two best players in former All-Stars Marc Gasol (foot) and Mike Conley (Achilles) are both out of action for the remainder of the campaign.
Memphis, which also didn’t have Tony Allen for Monday’s game due to a hamstring injury, trotted out a group consisting of Zach Randolph, Chris Andersen, Matt Barnes, Jordan Farmar and Vince Carter as its starting unit versus the Clips. In turn (and garbage time notwithstanding), the team’s bench actually outscored the starters by 12 points, which shouldn’t be the case at all regardless of the impending blowout finish.
With the season finale this Wednesday being one that’s the second of a back-to-back road trip against a Warriors team in Oracle that is determined to end the regular season in the grandest of fashions, you can confidently chalk this contest up as a gimme to the Bay Area juggernauts.
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Betting on the Golden State Warriors (72-9)
Although the Golden State Warriors have basically nothing left worth fighting for in terms of playoff positioning, they still have one huge motivation to go all-out in their season finale: immortality.
Golden State has a fantastic shot of breaking the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls’ record of a 72-10 regular season by notching win no. 73 this Wednesday. And if the record-tying, 92-86 win over the San Antonio Spurs at full-strength on Monday is any indication, we might as well peg the Dubs as the new kings of the regular-season mountain right now.
Not only did The Warriors take the season series against the Spurs (3-1), they also won in San Antonio for the first time since 1997 to snap a 33-game losing skid there, and became the first team in NBA history to go through an entire regular season without consecutive losses.
Once again, reigning and soon-to-be two-time MVP Stephen Curry surgically dissected the Spurs. He scored a game-high 37 points on Monday – the second time this season he’s done exactly that against San Antonio – to go with five boards and five dimes.
With the season finale set to take place in Oracle this Wednesday, Golden State is all the more favored to sweep its season series versus the Grizzlies as well. If you would recall, the Dubs annihilated the Grizz by 40 points in Oakland back in November, which also happens to be Memphis’ worst defeat in franchise history.
Although the Warriors have won five of their last six home games against the Grizzlies dating back to 2014 (including last year’s playoff matches), they were only 4-2 ATS during that span.
Writer’s Prediction
Book it: the Warriors make history by defeating the Grizzlies, 113-91.
