The Los Angeles Lakers will put on the line their win streak this Wednesday against the Memphis Grizzlies. Will the Lakers stretch that undefeated run to four games? Or, will the Grizzlies reset the button for the Lakers?

Catch this game live on Wednesday, March 1, at 8:30 AM, Manila time

Away: Los Angeles Lakers (29-32/14-18 Away)

Projected Starting Five:

• PG: D’Angelo Russell (doubtful)
• SG: Malik Beasley
• SF: Rui Hachimura
• PF: Jarred Vanderbilt
• C: Anthony Davis (probable)

The big news out of La La Land is that LeBron James could be out for a considerable amount of time. He is certain to miss Wednesday’s rematch against the Grizzlies, so the Lakers are hoping that the remaining healthy bodies will share the load normally carried by the four-time MVP. Apart from LeBron, there is a chance that D’Angelo Russell could be ruled out of this contest due to an ankle injury. If Russell sits out, Malik Beasly and  Dennis Schroder will take care of most of the business in the backcourt, while Lonnie Walker IV and Austin Reaves will see an uptick in their usages.

Schroder came up huge when the Lakers beat Memphis at home (122-121) last January, scoring 19 points with eight rebounds and eight assists, with Los Angeles missing Anthony Davis. This time, the Lakers will have AD despite his perennial probable label. Davis had 30 points and 15 rebounds in the Lakers’ 111-108 road win over the Dallas Mavericks last Monday, while Jarred Vanderbilt had a double-double of 15 points and 17 rebounds to go with four steals. 

The Lakers, who have won all their last three games, are 5-4-1 ATS in their 10 most recent outings as the road team.

Home: Memphis Grizzlies (36-23/25-5 Home)

Projected Starting Five:

• PG: Ja Morant
• SG: Desmond Bane
• SF: Dillon Brooks
• PF: Jaren Jackson Jr.
• C: Xavier Tillman

After falling short in a 110-105 road loss at the hands of the Philadelphia 76ers last Friday, the Grizzlies recovered right away, as they made a huge statement of a win against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets at home on Sunday, 112-94. After two full days of rest, the Grizzlies are ready to go again, and they won’t have to travel for this Wednesday’s gig versus the Lakers. 

Ja Morant scored 23 points with seven rebounds and four assists against the Nuggets five other Grizzlies generated at least 10 points. Memphis was also able to hold the Nuggets down to just 40.4 FG%. That kind of defense should worry the Lakers, who will be without an elite offensive facilitator in James (and potentially, Russell). On the season, the Grizzlies are sixth in the NBA with just 111.9 points allowed per game and second with a defensive 52.0 eFG%.

The Grizzlies are 5-2 against the spread in their last seven home games versus the Lakers.

PREDICTIONS:

Spread: The Grizzlies (-9.) cover the spread.

Over/Under: The total (233.5) hits the Under.