Uh, didn’t the Lakers know the Grizzlies were missing three starters? The Ja-less Memphis Grizzlies somehow were able to beat a fully loaded Lakers team 103-93 to tie the series 1-1 and give them hope of making an unlikely comeback.
I don’t even know how this result happened.
In what has to be the most surprising/strange result of the NBA playoffs yet, the Lebron James and Anthony Davis-led Lakers fell to the Memphis Grizzlies, who were without Steven Adams (knee injury), Brandon Clarke (Achillies tear), and Ja Morant (hand injury), 103-93 to not only level the series 1-1, but also push the momentum back in their corner.
You’d think the Lakers would have shown a little more fight than they did, considering they had the chance of going up 2-0 in the series and a chance to sweep on home court, but came out super flat. The Grizzlies went up by 15 points by halftime and led by as much as 20 points before the Lakers were able to skim the lead down.
The new Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr. (18 PTS, 9 REB, 3 AST) and fill-in center Xavier Tillman (22 PTS, 12 REB, 3 AST) were dominating the paint as they raked up 21 combined rebounds and helped the Grizzlies score 50 points in the paint.
Anthony Davis was essentially a ghost on the court as he only scored 13 PTS, had 8 REB, and 3 AST and was boxed out nearly the entire night, while LeBron James was, again, a lone man show as he posted a game-high 28 PTS, 12 REB, 3 AST as the sole offensive force for the Lakers.
But, despite putting up 28 PTS, Dillion Brooks played fantastic defense on him as he was in LeBron’s face EVERY SINGLE POSSESSION, which clearly got to LeBron as he was uncharacteristically trash talking Brooks back. And, even though its usually not wise to provoke King James, I think getting him off his game is the only way Memphis wins this series if Ja Morant doesn’t return until Game 4.
For whatever reason, Brooks’ obnoxious, annoying, yet fantastic to watch antics got in the head of the King and the Lakers as a whole as they shot an abysmal 7-26 (26.9%) from the 3-point line, while LeBron James, Anthony Davis, D’Angelo Russell (5 PTS, 7 REB, 4 AST), and Austin Reeves (12 PTS, 5 REB, 4 AST) shot a combined 4-17. Obviously, that’s never going to win you a game, let alone a championship as all Lakers fans demand.
If any Lakers fan thought that they could win the championship this year, I hope this game showed this team, aside from LeBron James, just doesn’t have the mental fortitude to win meaningful playoff games. I’m not calling them soft or mentally weak, but they most certainly aren’t what you’d call mentally strong either.
Again, the trade deadline acquisitions of D’Angelo Russell (5 PTS, 7 REB, 4 AST), Jared Vanderbilt (8 PTS, 7 REB, 0 AST), and Malik Beasly (7 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST) all scored less than 10 points apiece, while minor knocks and bruises plagued Anthony Davis from being able to dominate Jackson Jr and Tillman in the paint.
As the record and standings suggest, this team is a decent regular season roster that can compete with the league’s best at the right moment, the right location, and under the right circumstances. They just simply aren’t built to go 7 hotly contested, aggressive, physical games against really good teams.
Now, I’m not counting them out of this series yet as Ja Morant is injured and the Grizzlies are about as responsible as the Boy Who Cried Wolf, but they’ll get slapped up when they face off against the likes of the Sacramento Kings/GS Warriors, LA Clippers/Phoenix Suns, and the Denver Nuggets (because they’re obviously beating the Timberwolves) if they make it through.
Images Source: Featured Image:
