I expected a hard-fought game between the Lakers and one of the surprise teams of the season, so I'm especially surprised by tonight's result. The Lakers got beat so badly by the San Antonio Spurs last night that I was mad nervous about their chances against the Grizzlies in Memphis the very next day. Despite my apprehensions, the Lakers came out and dictated the pace against the will-imposing Griz in a 111-88 Saturday night beatdown.
The Lakers played one of their most incredible halves of basketball in the first, locking down the Griz defensively while creating plenty of opportunities offensively (outscored them 63-40). Kyle Kuzma and KCP combined for 36 points, shooting 8/17 from deep while LeBron (20 points, 8 rebs, 9 assists) put up a typically effective game in a much-needed win. Check out the quarter-by-quarter recap below!
Game Recap
First Quarter
Memphis did a great job of patrolling the perimeter in the opening possessions of the first. Barely any Lakers were getting suitable driving opportunities as the teams played near dead-even after the first six minutes, 8-7 Lakers. After the networks took their TV timeout the Lakers really started getting out and running. They were clearly trying to push the tempo against the team that forces others to play their league-slowest pace.
After a huge LeBron dunk the Lakers started breaking free. Kyle Kuzma carried that momentum into a huge transition block which kickstarted a 9-0 Laker run to push the lead to nine 21-12. Memphis' collective shot looked waaaaaay off. We were still in the early going, but LA was clearly superior after one quarter of play, 27-16.
Second Quarter
Memphis continued to shoot horribly to start the second quarter, much to the delight of the Lakers and their fans. LA was playing their second night of a back-to-back, so any break they could get was appreciated.
And then the LA made it look like a blowup was about to commence. They pushed the lead to 20 during an impressive 15-2 run. The Lakers shot 1/9 from three in the initial quarter but they really started finding their stroke in the second. Josh Hart nailed bomb after bomb from deep as the Lakers were sitting pretty 63-40 after one half of play. Great performance all-around from the purple and gold. They played excellent defense on the Griz while absolutely taking it to them on the offensive side of the ball.
Shout outs to LeBron(13 pts), KCP(10 points), and Josh Hart (16 points, 4 three's). LA completely dominated Memphis on the glass with a 36-11 first half advantage. There were still two whole quarters of play, but this game was a few more bad Memphis minutes away from being over.
Third Quarter
Memphis came charging out of the gate to cut the 28-point lead to seventeen. This thing was far from being over. Even though there was still a 15+ point lead, this was a vastly different Laker team than we saw in the first half. It started to worry me. They can never just play the full 48 with nearly the same effort and execution. If they have an amazing first quarter or half then some shitty basketball is surely about to follow. Lakers still up 68-52.
As the Grizzlies tried to rally, Kentavius Caldwell-Pope proceeded to sink a couple timely three's to deflate their hopes. Kyle Kuzma found LeBron for a mind-bending out of bounds assist which led to a crowd-raising slam for James. Kuzma then sank another three to pile it back on the Grizzlies, 82-56 with four minutes left in the third. Now would've been an optimal time for the Lakers to play at the Grizzlies' preferred pace. Slow it down and drag out the shot clock. Twenty-five point lead heading into the fourth 91-66.
Fourth Quarter
Every time the Lakers and their fans thought they could relax, Memphis would just come back and ruin the party. The Mavs went on a 6-0 to cap off the fourth which cut the deficit to below 20, 91-72.
LeBron checked back in again in an attempt to right the ship. Several slow-burning possessions later, the Lakers went back up by 24, 104-80. That sent in the deep bench units with under four minutes left in the ballgame. Lakers did their duty and bounced back in a big way in a Saturday night trouncing of the Memphis Grizzlies 111-88.
Takeaways
I'm really proud of the boys for stepping up in games that are on the second night of a back-to-back. They got absolutely murdered by teams at the tail end of double-headers in the beginning, but tonight they look like a maturing squad. They really only let up when the bench lost control of the game, but the starters did a great job of coming in and stopping the bleeding. The bench did a great job of scoring (41 points) but their bad defensive performance kept the Grizzlies around.
Tyson Chandler played a particularly great game, setting hard screens, snagging 14 rebounds while acting as a general brick wall on defense. He's going to be the one to bring that toughness against notoriously tough teams/arenas like the Grizzlies at the FedEx Forum. LeBron remarked in a post-game interview that Chandler was a big reason they were up 36-11 in the rebounding department at the half. Yes he grabbed many of those boards, but the box-outs led to easy grabs for his teammates.
Kyle Kuzma also continues to show impressive development on the offensive end, but now his defense is even showing up! He had an incredible transition block that got me out of my seat and swung the momentum in the Laker's direction. I honestly don't remember the last time I saw him get an authoritative transition block....that might've been the first of his career. He's putting out a noticeably greater effort on defense in the last five games or so, and the Lakers are profiting big-time as a result.
I think at this point you give Kuzma the keys to the whip offensively as LeBron's second-fiddle. Brandon Ingram hasn't showcased the proper scoring chops to be the No. 2 guy when you need to create a bucket. I trust Kuz's ability to create a shot for himself way more than BI. Brandon falls in love with bad mid-range shots that frustrate the hell out of me. If Kuz continues with the amped-up defensive consistency, he's will undoubtedly establish himself as the go-to guy behind LeBron.
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