Memphis Grizzlies vs Los Angeles Lakers Prediction, 1/2/2026 Preview and Pick

Game: Memphis Grizzlies vs Los Angeles Lakers

Date: Friday, January 2, 2026

Location: crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA

TV: Spectrum Sportsnet

crypto.com Arena is where the Los Angeles Lakers (20-10) will take on the Memphis Grizzlies (15-17) on Friday.

The Grizzlies stepped onto the hardwood against the Wizards and took a loss by a score of 116-112 in their last game. In regard to fouls, the Grizzlies walked away with 17 while the Wizards accounted for 21 fouls. They also converted 8 of their 33 attempts from distance. Washington finished 96.0% from the charity stripe by making 24 of 25 tries. Additionally, Washington collected 54 rebounds (15 offensive, 39 defensive) and got 8 rejections. Washington dished out 26 assists and had 9 steals in this game. With respect to the defense, Memphis allowed the other team to go 42.4% from the floor on 42 out of 99 shooting. They also recorded 27 assists for the game as well as creating 19 turnovers and having 14 steals. When discussing grabbing rebounds, they earned 43 with 10 of them being of the offensive sort. At the free throw line, the Grizzlies knocked down 17 of their 21 attempts for a rate of 81.0%. Memphis walked away from the contest having earned a 41.7% field goal percentage (43 out of 103) and knocked down 9 out of their 32 3-point shots.

Jaren Jackson Jr. is someone who was a contributor in this contest. Jackson went 44.0% from the floor and also dished out 1 assist. He was on the court for 35 mins and totaled 8 rebounds. He walked away with 31 points on 11 of 25 shooting.

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Memphis steps onto the hardwood with a win-loss mark of 15-17 this season. They turn it over 15.1 times per contest and as a team they are committing 20.3 fouls every game. As a team, Memphis is pulling down 46.0 boards per game and is sitting with 930 assists so far this year, which ranks 4th in the NBA in terms of passing the rock. The Grizzlies are shooting 35.0% from downtown (427 of 1,221) and 79.7% from the charity stripe. They average 115.3 pts per contest (19th in the league) while hitting 45.4% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Grizzlies have forced 15.0 turnovers per game while drawing 21.2 personal fouls. They currently rank 17th in the league in giving up assists with 842 conceded so far this year. The Grizzlies are giving up a field goal percentage of 46.5% (1,349 of 2,904) and they relinquish 44.9 rebounds per contest as a squad. They are conceding 36.3% on three-point shots while they are 15th in the league in points per game allowed (115.8).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Lakers took home the win by a final score of 125-101 against the Kings. When discussing cleaning up the glass, Los Angeles allowed Sacramento to collect 39 in all (10 offensive). They shot 27.6% from three-point range by hitting 8 of 29 and walked away from this one shooting 13 out of 19 at the free throw line (68.4%). The Lakers allowed the Kings to make 40 out of 83 attempts from the field which had them at 48.2% for the matchup. In all, the Lakers shot 47 out of 89 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 52.8%. Regarding shots from 3-point land, Los Angeles made 15 of their 38 attempts (39.5%). They were able to knock down 16 of the free throw tries for a rate of 88.9%. The Kings were called for 20 personal fouls for the contest which got the Lakers to the free throw line for 18 shots. They coughed up the ball 16 times, while recording 14 steals for the matchup. The Lakers were able to pull down 33 defensive boards and 8 offensive boards for a total of 41 for the contest.

Luka Doncic was important for the Lakers for this contest. Doncic had 34 points in his 33 mins of playing time and added 7 assists in this contest. He made 11 of 23 for this contest for a field goal rate of 47.8%, and had 5 rebounds.

Los Angeles has a mark of 20-10 for the campaign. The Lakers are responsible for committing 19.9 fouls per contest and they connect on 78.4% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 24.7 times per contest (24th in the league) and they turn it over 15.3 times per game. Los Angeles has 3,516 pts on the campaign (117.2 per contest) and they grab 41.2 rebounds per game. When it comes to offensive execution, the Lakers are hitting on 50.1% from the floor, which ranks 2nd in basketball.

The Los Angeles defense concedes 38.1% on shots from 3-point land (423 of 1,109) and their opponents are connecting on 79.9% of their foul shots. They allow 27.5 dimes and 40.3 boards per contest, ranking them 22nd and 2nd in the league. The Lakers defensively are ranked 17th in the NBA in PPG given up with 116.9. They are forcing 15.2 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 48.6% from the field (26th in basketball).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Los Angeles

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