Read below for NBA picks for May 19th games. Basketball betting predictions and picks for NBA schedule on Wednesday May 19th.
All odds courtesy of 888Sport. Click here to go to 888’s latest NBA odds for Thursday’s games.
For fans in the UK looking to watch the NBA, various different options to find NBA streams can be found here.
Spurs vs Grizzlies prediction
Very much in the shadow of the Warriors and Lakers, the San Antonio Spurs and Memphis Grizzlies both face elimination on Wednesday. San Antonio slumped to end the regular season. Memphis were beaten comprehensively by the Warriors on Sunday to fall to nine. The Grizzlies offense has struggled at times this year, with a lack of three-point shooting resulting in a congested lane for Ja Morant.
The Spurs have maintained the ninth defense in the Association in the second half. That’s despite injuries and rest leading to disrupted lineups, and a brutal schedule. Gregg Popovich’s team are the 7/5 moneyline underdogs for the first of the Western Conference Play-In games.
Memphis saw Dillon Brooks foul out against the Warriors on Sunday, which proved to be a knockout blow. Brooks has a big role to play on Wednesday. His presence as a disruptive defender and willing shooter is vital for the Grizz, particularly with Jaren Jackson Jr still working his way back from a long injury absence.
The interior battle between Jakob Poeltl and Jonas Valanciunas is key here. Valanciunas has had a wonderful season. He was efficient and destructive against the Warriors, but Poeltl is one of the better paint defenders in the league. Valanciunas’ presence helps the Grizz get some easy second chance points – this Memphis offense needs every help it can get against top-tier defenses.
San Antonio has players with plenty of playoff experience in DeMar DeRozan and Patty Mills. Their defense will make life difficult for Morant and co. The Spurs are a good bet to keep this close.
Spurs vs Grizzlies prediction: Spurs +4.5 (5/6)
Warriors vs Lakers prediction
It looked unlikely the Warriors would get in the seven-eight matchup for much of the season. Back in December, it would have been crazy to suggest the Lakers fall to the play-in. Such is the life of the NBA, though, that we are treated to the latest episode of the long-running series of Steph Curry vs LeBron James.
Golden State turned their season around down the stretch. Their defense was elite. Andrew Wiggins played Robin perfectly. Steph Curry was something greater than Batman, smashing record after record and leaving defenders aghast. They are not a title contender by any means, but the Warriors are a good team, and in Curry, they have an unguardable force.
Steve Kerr meets a familiar foe in LeBron. These Lakers are a different look from what Golden State has battled with in the past, though. They are bigger than previous LeBron teams. They will challenge the Warriors’ smallball, and this game could come down to who can dictate how the game is played. Will the Lakers’ bigs be played off the floor?
The Lakers remained the best defense in the league even without their stars. They kept Curry relatively quiet in the three regular season meetings. Los Angeles is rightly favored, but this should be a thriller. Fourth quarter execution could decide it.
Warriors vs Lakers prediction: Warriors +5.5 (5/6)
[spreaker type=player resource=”show_id=4112709″ width=”100%” height=”200px” theme=”light” playlist=”false” playlist-continuous=”false” autoplay=”false” live-autoplay=”false” chapters-image=”true” episode-image-position=”right” hide-logo=”false” hide-likes=”false” hide-comments=”false” hide-sharing=”false” hide-download=”true”]
This post contains sponsored links to external pages.
