1st Quarter Report

After a tough loss on the road their last time out, the Lakers look much better today on their home court. They have jumped out to a quick 30-20 lead against the Grizzlies.

If the Lakers keep playing like this, they’ll bump their record up to 14-12 in no time. On the other hand, the Grizzlies will have to make due with an 18-9 record unless they turn things around.

Who’s Playing

Memphis Grizzlies @ Los Angeles Lakers

Current Records: Memphis 18-8, Los Angeles 13-12

How To Watch

• When: Sunday, December 15, 2024 at 9:30 p.m. ET
• Where: Crypto.com Arena — Los Angeles, California
• TV: Fand Duel SN – Memphis
• Follow: CBS Sports App
• Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
• Ticket Cost: $49.00

What to Know

The Lakers will be in front of their home fans on Sunday, but a look at the spread shows they might need that home-court advantage. They will be home for the holidays to greet the Memphis Grizzlies at 9:30 p.m. ET at Crypto.com Arena. The Lakers might want some stickum for this one as the team gave up 21 turnovers on Friday.

The Lakers are headed into this one after the oddsmakers set last week’s over/under low at 213.5, but even that wound up being too high. They fell 97-87 to the Timberwolves.

Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, the Lakers struggled to work together and finished the game with only 17 assists. That’s the fewest assists they’ve posted since back in November of 2023.

Meanwhile, the Grizzlies had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 13 points) and they went ahead and made it four on Friday. They strolled past Brooklyn with points to spare, taking the game 135-119. Memphis’ season wasn’t pretty last year but it’s starting to look like struggles are in the rearview.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead the Grizzlies to victory, but perhaps none more so than Ja Morant, who dropped a double-double on 28 points and ten assists. The team also got some help courtesy of Desmond Bane, who went 8 for 14 en route to 21 points plus eight assists and two blocks.

Los Angeles’ loss was their fourth straight on the road, which dropped their record down to 13-12. As for Memphis, they are on a roll lately: they’ve won ten of their last 11 matches, which provided a massive bump to their 18-8 record this season.

The Lakers didn’t have too much breathing room in their game against the Grizzlies in their previous meeting back in November, but they still walked away with a 128-123 victory. Will the Lakers repeat their success, or do the Grizzlies have a better game plan this time around? We’ll find out soon enough.

Odds

Memphis is a 4-point favorite against Los Angeles, according to the latest NBA odds.

The line has drifted a bit towards the Grizzlies, as the game opened with the Grizzlies as a 2-point favorite.

The over/under is 232.5 points.

See NBA picks for every single game, including this one, from SportsLine’s advanced computer model. Get picks now.

Series History

Los Angeles has won 7 out of their last 10 games against Memphis.

• Nov 13, 2024 – Los Angeles 128 vs. Memphis 123
• Nov 06, 2024 – Memphis 131 vs. Los Angeles 114
• Apr 12, 2024 – Los Angeles 123 vs. Memphis 120
• Mar 27, 2024 – Los Angeles 136 vs. Memphis 124
• Jan 05, 2024 – Memphis 127 vs. Los Angeles 113
• Nov 14, 2023 – Los Angeles 134 vs. Memphis 107
• Apr 28, 2023 – Los Angeles 125 vs. Memphis 85
• Apr 26, 2023 – Memphis 116 vs. Los Angeles 99
• Apr 24, 2023 – Los Angeles 117 vs. Memphis 111
• Apr 22, 2023 – Los Angeles 111 vs. Memphis 101