A Western Conference showdown under the bright lights of LA will be on tap on this Tuesday as the Memphis Grizzlies head to Crypto.com Arena to battle it out with the Los Angeles Lakers. Let's check out our NBA odds series where our Grizzlies-Lakers prediction and pick will be made.

Clearly, the struggles in and around Memphis are more then evident with the prolonged absence of Ja Morant as he continues to serve his 25-game suspension. While that suspension couldn't come to an end soon enough, the Grizzlies must start playing better as a collective unit if they are going to get their season turned around. Overall, Memphis is 2-8 overall but did happen to find the win column last time out on the floor which resulted in a 105-101 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Meanwhile, the Lakers have gotten off to Ana enraging start to the season as they sit at a dead-even 5-5 through ten games, but they do happen to be entering play on this Tuesday with back-to-back wins for only the second time all year long. With Lakers fans keeping their fingers crossed that their squad is turning the corner, Los Angeles must be ultra-focused to not let a massive letdown occur.

Here are the NBA odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

NBA Odds: Grizzlies-Lakers Odds

Memphis Grizzlies: +5 (-114)

Los Angeles Lakers: -5 (-106)

Over: 223.5 (-110)

Under: 223.5 (-110)

How to Watch Grizzlies vs. Lakers

Time: 10:30 ET/7:30 PT

TV: NBA League Pass

Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)

Why The Grizzlies Could Cover The Spread

The first order of business that the Grizzlies have to conduct will happen to fall in the category of continuing to play better basketball as the road team. Bafflingly enough, the Grizzlies have gone winless during their five games at home but have managed to pick up a pair of much-needed victories as visitors. With not a whole lot going their way to begin the 2023-2024 regular season, one surprising advantage that Memphis has in this one will be that they are not playing in front of their home fans.

In addition, but something has to change on the defensive end of the floor. In fact, the numbers speak for themselves. Overall, the ‘Grizz are surrendering a whopping 114.1 points per game but happened to hold a high-scoring Clippers squad to only 101 points last time out. To be fair, this is a unit that added defensive mastermind Marcus Smart during the offseason, so more performances like the one they just had should be a more common theme moving forward.

Above all else, shooting guard Desmond Bane will need to bring his red-hot shooting touch for play to provide a scoring punch. Without a doubt, Bane was stuffed the stat sheet with 27 points, four rebounds, and six assists. As it stands, the Grizzlies sharpshooter is the most dangerous scorer on this roster and knocking down some open looks could be just what the doctor ordered to hold the Lakers at bay throughout the night.

Why The Lakers Could Cover The Spread

Beyond the shadow of a doubt, the Lakers organization were far from pleased with their 3-5 start to the regular season, but two encouraging outings have given LA some much-needed hope moving forward.

All in all, this should be considered as a must-win scenario. In recent seasons, this has been the type of game where the Lakers let down in miserable fashion and fall flat on their faces. To prove that this year is different, the Lakers cannot afford to be playing with their food and must also put their best foot forward.

More specifically, the splendid play of big man Anthony Davis has quietly silenced the doubters who questioned if his best days are behind him. While his inconsistent play often rears its ugly head more than the Lakers would like, you can make the argument that Davis is LA's best player as the twilight of LeBron James' career has officially arrived. If Davis continues to be the aggressor and finds his shot early and often, then the Lakers will end up being in fairly good shape.

Speaking of LeBron James, the 19-time All-Star is currently listed as questionable for play tonight after he injured his calf in the comeback win against the Phoenix Suns. As expected, the Lakers will struggle if James cannot suit up for play, and bettors will need to bank on names like Cam Reddish and Rui Hachimura to carry the load following rock-solid performances last time out.

Final Grizzlies-Lakers Prediction & Pick

This is an intriguing contest to say the least, and while the Lakers seem to be the smart pick on paper against a Grizzlies team that has been more lousy than not thus far, the mysterious cloud hanging over the head of LeBron James' availability in tonight's game is a game-changer. Most likely, Los Angeles will sit King James and give him some rest which will leave the door open for Memphis to steal one in a hostile environment.

Final Grizzlies-Lakers Prediction & Pick: Grizzlies +5 (-114)