NBA
Golden State Warriors @ Memphis Grizzlies:
Golden State Warriors (- 7.5) /// 1.83
Last bet lost. Yes, both Kyle Lowry and Tyler Herro played. And a very important player - Brandon Miller - did not play for Charlotte. In the end, Tyler Herro (who I didn't expect to see in this game) played a great game! And LaMelo Ball is still far from his optimal playing condition. Plus Charlotte completely failed in the first half. The second half was a fight, but it was literally 6 points lacking (plus all of Charlotte's bench players completely failed). And Miami won at home by more than 11 points for the first time this season. A lot of pre-game factors didn't add up. Unfortunately. Total score of my bets: NBA 34-41 in favor of the unsuccessful, MLB 30-27 in favor of the successful, NFL+NCAAF 3-7 in favor of the unsuccessful.
New bet: Golden State will beat Memphis by 8 points or more on the road. Yes, I realize the stats are telling us that Memphis will not lose by 8 points or more. Memphis has not lost by more than 1 point at home to the Warriors in their last 8 games. More specifically, they won 7 games and lost only one by 1 point. But good sense and my intuition tell me that Golden State will play their best game of the season tonight. Everything is looking up for this one! First of all, Memphis will be 100% without Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, Marcus Smart, Derrick Rose, Brandon Clarke, Steven Adams and Jake LaRavia. Jaren Jackson Jr. and Santi Aldama are questionable. The immediate question I have is: "How can Memphis salvage this season?". The only one answer is: "They can't!". And if they can't, then it makes sense to start tanking. Therefore, I don't see the point of both Jaren Jackson Jr. and Santi Aldama being in this game. Of course, every NBA team will never admit to tanking. It's forbidden by League rules. But we do realize that with Ja Morant and Desmond Bane injured, the season is over for Memphis. Did you see Memphis' starting five in their last game against the Knicks? Oh! Memphis' starting five in that game included Xavier Tillman, David Roody, Luke Kennard, Jacob Gilyard and Vince Williams Jr. while Ziaire Williams, GG Jackson and John Konchar played off the bench! That's just cringe! And the same guys will play tonight against the Warriors. Secondly, Golden State will do everything possible to take at least 10th place - a play-in spot. Yes, a lot of players are in an obvious game downturn. But Chief Curry is doing just fine. Give him a good ballhandler as a teammate and he will once again demonstrate that he is an MVP level player. Third, just in time for the Memphis game, Golden State's primary ballhandler, Draymond Green, will finally return! That's a major boost! These three reasons, which I've detailed, completely override the head-to-head stats. I just don't see any potential in Memphis' reserves or any skill (well, except Luke Kennard is a great role player and it's still unclear if Jaren Jackson Jr. and Santi Aldama will play). Bet? Absolutely!