Tuesday Night NBA Pick: Warriors vs. Grizzlies Prediction

Western Conference juggernauts face off in tonight's Tuesday Night NBA showdown. The dominant Golden State Warriors travel to the stunning home of the Memphis Grizzlies in tonight's prime-time battle. Let's dive into the Warriors vs. Grizzlies matchup in this forecast and determine the best bet for this Tuesday Night NBA prediction.

Tuesday Night NBA Pick: Warriors vs. Grizzlies Prediction

Golden State enters tonight's game tied with the Phoenix Suns for the best record in the NBA. They achieved this accomplishment without superstar Klay Thompson in the lineup and are expected to be even more dominant with his recent return.

Memphis is quite the surprise this season. After finishing last season with a 4-1 series loss to the Utah Jazz in the first round, it was expected that the Grizzlies would improve on last season's accolades. However, the way they have evolved thus far this season is quite remarkable.

The Golden State

The Warriors are back and ready to prove they never left. With the return of Thompson, Golden State returns one of the purest shooters in the game. The addition of Thompson should provide superstars Steph Curry and Draymond Green plenty of additional firepower to make their top 3 ranked offense even more dangerous.

Offensively, Golden State has a lethal attack. They rank second overall in effective field goal percentage (eFG%) and collect offensive rebounds at the 13th-best rate in the league. The Warriors make it rain offensively, and when they're not hitting their shots, they attack the boards for multiple second-chance points. Two areas of concern for this offense are turnovers and free throw rate. This season, the Warriors rank second-worst at turnover rate and bottom 10 at free throw rate. With the addition of Thompson to the lineup, both metrics should improve for Golden State.

Defensively, the Warriors are the best in the NBA. They own the best defensive eFG% in the league and rank No. 1 in defensive rebound percentage (DRB%) and fourth overall in turnover percentage. Golden State struggles when preventing opponents from reaching the charity stripe, so that is one area they could improve. They will be without their best defensive player this evening in Draymond Green, but the entire unit should be able to continue to dominate without his presence.

Fire Up that Memphis Cooking

The Grizzlies are taking the NBA by storm this season. They are currently on a nine-game winning streak and are averaging 112.1 points per game while limiting opponents to 107.9 per game. They have a solid core and a blooming superstar in Ja Morant who can take over a game at any point in a contest.

Offensively, Memphis has some bright spots and some glaring weaknesses. The most significant area of improvement for the Grizzlies is their eFG%. They own the 10th-worst offensive eFG% and will be in for a struggle tonight going up against the Warriors' best-ranked defensive eFG%. Memphis is also 20th overall in free throw rate and needs to improve on their ability to get to the line to help bolster this offense. The Grizzlies rank sixth overall in ball security and No. 1 overall in offensive rebounding, which will be interesting to see which team dominates the boards and how turnovers come into play tonight. They will be without Dillon Brooks, potentially Steven Adams tonight, so their overall performance could take a decent hit.

On defense, Memphis is above average but not dominant. They own the 18th ranked eFG%, and the 16th ranked free throw rate – nothing to write home about. The Grizzlies are top 10 in defensive rebounding and turnover rate, which are noteworthy stats. To sneak out a win against the best team in the NBA, Memphis will need to capitalize on the turnover disparity (Golden State ranks 29th in offensive TO% while Memphis is sixth in defensive TO%). 

Warriors vs. Grizzlies Prediction and Pick

The Warriors have the best defense in the league this season and should be able to limit the explosiveness of the Grizzlies. The only weakness for this Golden State defense is their propensity to send opponents to the free-throw line, but Memphis is not a team to capitalize on this. When Golden State is on offense, Memphis should cause enough turnovers to prevent the Warriors from truly running away in this game. I expect a lower scoring affair with plenty of defensive stops, even with Green and Adams out tonight. I'll be taking the under 221.5 points in tonight's matchup at the FanDuel Sportsbook.