MEMPHIS, Tenn. — It was about as good of a chance the Lakers could’ve hoped for.
On their sixth night in Memphis, the seventh seed in the West faced the second-seeded Grizzlies without their best player and leading scorer, Ja Morant, another blow to a team that was already playing without two of its top three big men.
After beating Memphis Sunday in Game 1, the Lakers got two days to rest, two days for LeBron James and Anthony Davis to recover. Of course, the Grizzlies were going to play with tons of energy, but if the Lakers could only match it, they’d have virtually every other advantage, a chance for a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven playoff series more of a probability than a possibility.
