For all of Ja Morant’s fabulous talent, the strength of the Grizzlies’ team had little to do with him. For 82 games during the regular season Memphis stood as one of the NBA’s top defensive teams. First in defensive field goal percentage. Second in defensive rating. Fourth in defensive rebounds. So with Morant out for Game 2 of the Grizzlies’ first-round series against the Lakers with a hand injury, Memphis leaned into what it does best.
The Grizzlies beat Los Angeles 103–93 on Wednesday, evening the series. Memphis held L.A. to 41.2% shooting. The Lakers connected on just 26.9% of their threes. The Grizzlies switching defense repeatedly forced L.A. to take shots late in the shot clock. Memphis forced 12 turnovers and, after getting soundly outrebounded in Game 1, edged the Lakers on the glass 49–47 in Game 2. The Grizzlies led 30–19 after the first quarter and never trailed again.
“First quarter they got the best of us,” said D’Angelo Russell. “Never allowed us to get any rhythm from that point on.”
