1st Quarter Report
The Grizzlies are on the road but looking no worse for wear. They have jumped out to a quick 32-25 lead against the Pelicans.
If the Grizzlies keep playing like this, they’ll bump their record up to 22-10 in no time. On the other hand, the Pelicans will have to make due with a 5-27 record unless they turn things around.
Who’s Playing
Memphis Grizzlies @ New Orleans Pelicans
Current Records: Memphis 21-10, New Orleans 5-26
How To Watch
- When: Friday, December 27, 2024 at 8 p.m. ET
- Where: Smoothie King Center — New Orleans, Louisiana
- TV: Fand Duel SN – Memphis
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket Cost: $9.00
What to Know
The Grizzlies will be playing the full four quarters on Friday, but they’re expected to have things wrapped up well before that. They and the New Orleans Pelicans will face off at 8:00 p.m. ET at Smoothie King Center without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. The Grizzlies are strutting in with some offensive muscle as they’ve averaged 123.7 points per game this season.
The Grizzlies’ season wasn’t pretty last year but it’s starting to look like struggles are in the rearview. They put the hurt on the Raptors with a sharp 155-126 victory on Thursday. Memphis’ offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they’ve scored all season.
The Grizzlies relied on the efforts of Zach Edey, who dropped a double-double on 21 points and 16 rebounds, and Jaren Jackson Jr., who dropped a double-double on 21 points and 11 rebounds. What’s more, Jackson Jr. also racked up four offensive rebounds, the most he’s had since back in March.
The Grizzlies were working as a unit and finished the game with 36 assists (they’re ranked second in assists per game overall). That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they’ve now racked up at least 25 assists in 16 consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, the Pelicans’ recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Thursday after their eighth straight loss. They took a hard 128-111 fall against the Rockets. New Orleans was down 102-74 at the end of the third quarter, which was just too much to recover from.
Memphis is on a roll lately: they’ve won 13 of their last 16 games, which provided a nice bump to their 21-10 record this season. As for New Orleans, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-26.
This contest is shaping up to be a blowout: The Grizzlies haven’t had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 123.7 points per game (they’re ranked first in scoring overall). It’s a different story for the Pelicans, though, as they’ve been averaging only 105.9. The only thing between the Grizzlies and another offensive beatdown is the Pelicans. Will they be able to keep them contained?
The Grizzlies beat the Pelicans 120-109 when the teams last played back in November. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Grizzlies since the team won’t have the home-court advantage this time around. We’ll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Odds
Memphis is a big 9.5-point favorite against New Orleans, according to the latest NBA odds.
The oddsmakers were right in line with the betting community on this one, as the game opened as a 9.5-point spread, and stayed right there.
The over/under is 237.5 points.
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Series History
Memphis has won 6 out of their last 10 games against New Orleans.
- Nov 29, 2024 – Memphis 120 vs. New Orleans 109
- Feb 12, 2024 – New Orleans 96 vs. Memphis 87
- Dec 26, 2023 – Memphis 116 vs. New Orleans 115
- Dec 19, 2023 – Memphis 115 vs. New Orleans 113
- Oct 25, 2023 – New Orleans 111 vs. Memphis 104
- Apr 05, 2023 – New Orleans 138 vs. Memphis 131
- Dec 31, 2022 – Memphis 116 vs. New Orleans 101
- Nov 25, 2022 – Memphis 132 vs. New Orleans 111
- Nov 15, 2022 – New Orleans 113 vs. Memphis 102
- Apr 09, 2022 – Memphis 141 vs. New Orleans 114
