Grizzlies vs. Wizards Betting Line – December 23

Carrie Stroup here with your Grizzlies vs. Wizards betting line for December 23  Memphis -1.5, Total: 202.5

MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES (16-14) at WASHINGTON WIZARDS (12-14)

Both the Grizzlies and Wizards will be going for their third straight victories when they meet in Washington on Wednesday.

Memphis was a one-point home underdog against Indiana on Saturday and came away with a 96-84 victory. The Grizzlies then went into Philadelphia on Tuesday night and defeated an inferior Sixers team 104-90 as 10-point favorites. Prior to these two wins, the Grizzlies had lost four of their previous five. Those two wins appeared to have turned things around,and are defending at a much higher level over the course of this mini streak.

The Wizards, meanwhile, have been winning games differently, as they averaged 111.0 PPG in home wins over the Hornets and Kings. Washington could desperately use another win, as the team had gone 4-10 before winning its past two contests.

The Wizards will likely not be feeling great about who they are up against in this one, though. Memphis dominated Washington in a 112-95 home victory on Nov. 14 and will be hoping for a similar result in this one. Over the past three seasons, the Grizzlies are 3-2 SU in this series but the Wizards are 3-2 ATS in those contests. Both of the games played in Washington in that span have gone Over the total.

The Grizzlies are coming off of a victory over the Sixers on Tuesday night and C Marc Gasol (16.3 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 4.0 APG, 1.1 BPG) is doing a good job of scoring the basketball. Over the past two contests, Gasol is averaging 19.0 PPG on 16-for-33 shooting from the field. He should be able to dominate the Wizards inside, as he put up 24 points with 12 boards, six assists and three blocks in their most recent meeting.

Another guy who was good in that victory was SF Matt Barnes (9.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 1.2 SPG), who has seen a major increase in minutes with Dave Joerger turning to small-ball for this Memphis team. Barnes has turned in back-to-back double-doubles over the past two games, scoring 15 points with 10 rebounds against the Pacers on Saturday and following it up with 12 points and 10 rebounds against the Sixers on Tuesday. He is 5-for-10 from the outside in those games and is really helping the team as a floor spacer and someone who can guard multiple positions.

The Wizards have won two straight games and PG John Wall (19.6 PPG, 9.4 APG, 4.0 RPG, 2.2 SPG) has been carrying his team despite dealing with a number of injuries. In the win over the Kings on Monday, Wall dished out 19 assists in 39 minutes of action. He was struggling with his shot (4-for-15 FG, 1-for-3 3PT), but was able to help his team win in another way. Wall will need to be a lot better against Memphis this time around. He had just six points and nine assists in 28 minutes of play in their meeting on Dec. 14. Washington will not win the game if he plays like that again on Wednesday.

C Marcin Gortat (13.4 PPG, 9.3 RPG, 1.3 BPG) will also need to play well for the Wizards in this game. He is coming off of one of his best games of the season, finishing with 27 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks against the Kings. He should be feeling confident coming into this one, but he did have just 10 points and nine boards against the Grizzlies last meeting. If he can’t come close to matching the production of Marc Gasol then it’ll be even tougher on Wall to lead his team to a victory.

- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter