NBA Playoff Odds: Memphis Grizzlies

Memphis is a long-shot to win the NBA Championship and the lack of NBA playoff experience is a bit concern for sports gamblers

Now that the NBA has plans in place to resume their season we now have updated odds on who will win the NBA Championship. Sports Illustrated’s gambling analyst Corey Parson is going team-by-team and identifying the good, bad, and the dark horse teams to bet on.

Unfortunately for the Grizzlies fall under the bad bets category. Currently listed with odds of 210-to-1 to win the NBA Championship and 110-to-1 odds to win the Western Conference, the Grizzlies aren’t a dark horse, they are completely out of the picture. Led by a pair of 20-year-olds, Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson, the Grizzlies don’t have real NBA post-season experience. 

Just how unlikely are the Grizzlies to reach the Western Conference Finals or NBA Championship? Find out what Parson and AllGrizzlies writer Anthony Sain say about betting on Memphis.

Read the transcript from their conversation below:

Bill Enright: The Memphis Grizzlies may be a long shot to win the NBA championship but how about the odds to just make the playoffs as the 8th seed in the Western Conference? Let's bring on All Grizzlies editor, Anthony Sain, and fantasy and gambling analyst from Sports Illustrated, Corey Parson, with the latest odds for the Grizzlies. Corey, I'll go to you first, because, you know we talked a little bit before the shoot and we said, "well, we know we're not going to take them at 250/1 to win the championship," but you actually might like their odds to make the playoffs as the 8th seed.

Corey Parson: From what I have seen by doing some investigation this morning on the FanDuel sportsbook is obviously, as we get closer, you will start to see different Odds and things come out, especially with those teams that bottom in the Western Conference. Well, right now, what I noticed by looking at the odds to win the Western Conference, currently the 8th highest seeded team is the New Orleans Pelicans. So I'm thinking to myself, this is exactly what's going to happen. The NBA is going to roll out their package and the first thing they are going to do is put Zion Williamson on the court and all the money is going to come in on Zion Williamson to getting that playoff spot and make that 8th seed, but I disagree. I think the way to go when you see these bets start popping up, it's to put it on the Memphis Grizzlies. Ja Morant has been excellent this season, likely going to be the rookie of the year, getting that chemistry with Jaren Jackson Jr. Taylor Jenkins, the head coach, has done a good job molding this young team. They've been in the driver's seat with this 8th seed up until the season stopped. So I think it's a good chance and a good opportunity for when you do see those bets out there, jump on the Memphis Grizzlies be the 8th seed in the Western Conference.

Bill Enright: Anthony, let me go over to you. The Grizzlies have two star players but young, 20-years-olds Ja Morant, and Jaren Jackson. The NBA playoff experience for this team; Speak a little bit about what you think it is.

Anthony Sain: Well, I think the Grizzlies being such a young team; They're really so young that their youth makes them even more dangerous. The fact that they are inexperienced could play to their benefit. This is a team where they've never been here before, and no one's been able to tell these guys that they're playing games that are meaningless, or that they are playing games that do not matter or that they are ahead of schedule. They think they're right where they're supposed to be and that attributes to their youth. As you guys may or may not know, the city of Memphis is a city that's full of pride. It's a confrontational city. If you challenge us, we'll fight back. And that's something, I believe, that is bled over to these players. I think they've ingratiated that mentality on the court. And I think that they are a dangerous group of guys. They've been doubted a lot this season because a lot of things you read about the Pelicans or the Blazers, those things have been around well before the pandemic. I think that they're tired of the criticism. I think they're definitely hearing the criticism. I think they want to come out hungry.

Bill Enright: Corey and Anthony, thank you guys for your analysis. Now the NBA is back or is going to have a lot of gambling odds for NBA action. You can find more of it by going to SI.com/gambling.

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