The Memphis Grizzlies have battled fiercely. After stealing Game 1, the Grizzlies have fought tooth and claw against a healthy Utah Jazz roster, contending into the waning minutes of the past three games.
But in each outing, they've unraveled down the stretch, failing to cover in any of them. They're now on the road facing elimination — do they still offer any NBA betting value?
Find out as we break down our Game 5 Grizzlies vs. Jazz picks and predictions for Wednesday, June 2.
Grizzlies vs Jazz game info
• Location: Vivint Arena, Salt Lake City, UT
• Date: Wednesday, June 2, 2021
• Time: 9:30 p.m. ET
• TV: NBA TV
Grizzlies vs Jazz odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
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NBA Sharp Money and Line Movement Report
By Patrick EversonTwinSpires Sportsbook pegged Utah a 10-point favorite at the outset, and the number is down a tick to -9.5 at 6:15 p.m ET. The Jazz, aiming to wrap up this series, are nabbing 72 percent of point-spread tickets and 70 percent of spread dollars. The total is also down a half-point, from 226.5 to 226, with 62 percent of tickets/58 percent of cash on the Over.
Check out the full line movement for this gameGrizzlies vs Jazz series odds
Grizzlies: +1,800
Jazz: -10,000
Grizzlies vs Jazz betting preview
Injuries
Grizzlies: None
Jazz: None
Find our latest NBA injury reports.
Betting trend to know
Memphis is 7-3 ATS in its last ten games as a road underdog. Find more NBA betting trends for Grizzlies vs. Jazz.
Against the spread (ATS) pick
The Grizzlies have made this a shockingly competitive series, battling back from innumerable double-digit deficits to test Utah throughout. They've proven to the entire NBA that they're very much built for the playoff grind.
But, unfortunately, character moments for young teams on the rise don't count in the ATS column, where Memphis has registered three straight bricks. Turnovers and settled-for jumpers down the stretch have marred its efforts, allowing Utah to pull away.
Utah, meanwhile, has been cooler than a polar bear's toenails, getting great looks out of the pick-n-roll and from long distance with monotonous consistency. The Jazz shot 46/50/89 as a team in Game 4, and, as they have throughout this series, had an answer for each of Memphis' rallies.
But, despite the 0-3 ATS stretch, this series has been far more competitive than the final scores indicate. The Grizzlies have spent a solid chunk of their current skid playing within a covering margin, which just got much larger for them, rocketing from +5.5 in Game 4 to a current +9.5 spread.
That type of growth suggests Memphis is just going to roll over and die facing elimination on the road, which the Grizzlies have very much proven is not in their DNA. They're going to bring a fight to Utah Wednesday night.
Despite being a great team on offense, the Jazz have been shooting the lights out and might be due for a slight regression from long range. Memphis did a much better job of rotating and closing out in Game 4, and expecting Utah to keep hitting half of its 3-point attempts is optimistic.
Memphis will only go down swinging, playing with the sense of urgency that only your playoff mortality can inspire. And, while we do expect the Grizzlie to lose, they'll keep things within reach against spread growth this big.
PREDICTION: Memphis +9.5 (-110)
Over/Under pick
The totals for this series have gradually ratcheted up each game, currently sitting at 226.5 for Game 5. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, we still don't think it's enough.
The average output for this series has been 239 thus far, and while that number is clearly bloated by Game 2's 270-point outlier, that result is starting to look more like a best-case scenario than an outright fluke.
Both of these sides have been comfortable pushing the tempo, and have found cracks in the opponents' D. Utah seems content to trade buckets with Memphis, especially when so many of the Jazz's have been worth an extra point.
Memphis, for its part, had an absolutely deplorable effort from long range in Game 4, with Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr, and Grayson Allen joining forces to shoot 6 for 24 from 3-point range. Even for a team like Memphis that struggles from distance, it doesn't get much worse.
Despite Memphis' 3-point futility, Game 4 still totaled 233 points. Each of the past three games has broken 230, with the sans-Donovan Mitchell Game 1 being the only exception.
Expect Memphis to settle for fewer threes in this game, especially Morant, who's been ice cold from distance and can get into the paint at will instead of taking the threes Utah's D continually baits him into.
Unless this game slows considerably, which seems unlikely, the Over is again the safer play.
PREDICTION: Over 226.5 (-110)
Player prop pick
The Jazz held Morant relatively in check in Game 4, holding him to 23 points, his lowest-scoring game of the series thus far.
They accomplished this through both fronting Morant with help in the mid-post (where he absolutely destroyed them on floaters in the first three games) and sagging very far under screens, leaving Morant wide open beyond the arc (where he did not destroy them at all, shooting 1 for 7).
Whether or not Morant continues fighting his shooting struggles with his season on the line, he's found other ways to get involved. Ja grabbed six boards and dished 12 assists (both series highs) in Game 4, with his playoff average for combined points, rebounds and assists at 42.75.
The Jazz will likely keep forcing Morant out of his comfort zone, but he's too crafty, and his usage will be way too high in an elimination game as Memphis fights to the death.
Taking this prop gives him more ways to potentially make an impact and push himself over the total.
PREDICTION: Ja Morant Over 37.5 points+rebounds+assists (-120)
Grizzlies vs Jazz betting card
- Memphis +9.5 (-110)
- Over 226.5 (-110)
- Ja Morant Over 37.5 points+rebounds+assists (-120)
Picks made on 6/1/2021 at 10:15 a.m. ET
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