Los Angeles Lakers fans saw the Memphis Grizzlies on the schedule on Friday, and they thought their team would certainly get a much-needed win. Memphis had lost four of its last five games and came in ranked last in scoring and offensive rating.
Early on, it looked like the Lakers were on the way to getting back on track. They led 38-29 at the end of the first quarter and led by as many as 13 points early in the second quarter behind some hot shooting and relatively effective defense. But they gradually cooled off offensively, allowing Memphis to come to within one at halftime and take a five-point lead early in the third quarter.
The game was tied at 94 entering the final period, and it was very much up for grabs. But L.A. fell completely apart down the stretch. Its offense screeched to a halt and had no movement or purpose, and its defense was even worse, as it got outscored 33-19 in the final frame. It ended up losing 127-113 to a team that was 11-23 entering Friday.
It seems like the Lakers keep hitting new lows every few games these days. The Grizzlies are one of the NBA’s worst 3-point shooting teams, yet they shot 51.1% from that distance in this game. Down the stretch, it seemed as if they couldn’t miss, as they went 7-of-11 from downtown in the fourth period. Guard Marcus Smart, who came in shooting just 26.3% from downtown and had missed all of his 13 3-ball attempts in his last three games, was 8-of-14 from deep on Friday.
While L.A. shot a decent 35.7% from downtown, it got outscored by a whopping 39 points from the 3-point line. It didn’t matter that it outscored the Grizzlies by 16 in the paint, had seven more free throw attempts, three more made free throws, five more steals and had a 20-15 edge in fast-break points while limiting them to eight second-chance points.
The Lakers have now lost 10 of their last 13 games and hold a 17-19 record. This skid seems to be taking a life of its own, and one has to assume it is living rent-free in their heads right now.
Anthony Davis: B-plus
No one can blame Davis for the Lakers’ troubles. He’s been doing his part — he scored 31 points on 13-of-22 shooting to go along with four assists and two blocked shots.
If one wants to lay a little blame on Davis in this game, he had only six rebounds, which is a rarity for him. In doing so, he matched his season low in that department. The big man also committed four turnovers, which was almost one-third of the team’s total.
On the other end, Davis couldn’t stop Jaren Jackson Jr. from scoring 31 points on 11-of-14 shooting, including 5-of-6 from 3-point land.
But overall, Davis’ excellent play of late has continued unabated.
Taurean Prince: B
After missing every one of his shot attempts in Wednesday’s loss to the Miami Heat, Prince went a strong 3-of-7 from downtown to score 10 points on Friday. However, overall he was just 3-of-9 from the field.
He also contributed two rebounds, two assists, two steals and one blocked shot.
Cam Reddish: B-minus
Reddish, who has never been a consistently reliable 3-point shooter, knocked down two of his three long-range attempts against Memphis. But like Prince, he didn’t really hit his shot otherwise. He finished 3-of-8 from the field, giving him eight points in 32 minutes.
Austin Reaves: A
Like Davis, Reaves has been the least of the Lakers’ problems over the last few weeks. He shot 8-of-14, although he missed all three of his 3-point tries, and scored 19 points. But what was most impressive was his 12 assists, which was a season-high, against only one turnover.
In 40 minutes, the guard also had seven rebounds, two steals and one blocked shot. He appears to be every bit the player he was down the stretch of last season and in the playoffs last spring.
LeBron James: B-plus
James started the game on a heater. He made each of his first four 3-point attempts, helping to set the right tone for his team in the first quarter.
Unfortunately, those four treys were the only treys he would hit on this night. He finished 11-of-24 from the field, giving him 32 points to go along with seven assists, five rebounds and five steals.
Midway through the fourth quarter, with L.A. fighting from behind and down by three possessions, James had an opportunity to give his team a chance to win. He went to the free throw line three times in quick succession, but he missed four out of his six foul shot attempts. He also had two turnovers in the fourth quarter that led to fast-break scores for Memphis.
Christian Wood: B-plus
It’s starting to look like Wood is not only playing well but is definitely back in the rotation. He played 16 minutes and scored 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting and 4-of-4 from the foul line while taking down five rebounds and coming up with one steal.
Jarred Vanderbilt: B-minus
Vanderbilt played with good energy tonight, which helped him grab five rebounds and add one assist and one steal in 17 minutes. Although he didn’t score a point, he made enough of an effort to move without the ball and run the court in transition.
Max Christie: C
In 20 minutes, Christie shot 1-of-3, scoring two points while contributing three rebounds and one steal. The Lakers need him to knock down 3-pointers on a consistent basis.
Late in the third quarter, head coach Darvin Ham sat both James and Reaves at the same time, making Christie the team’s closest thing to a ball-handling guard on the court for about three minutes. It is one questionable lineup that Ham has gone with at times this season, which has served as ammunition for the army of Lakers fans who are begging for him to get fired.
