Los Angeles Lakers: 3 Takeaways from Loss to Grizzlies

After winning just two of their last eight games, the Lakers gave an elite Memphis Grizzlies team all they could handle.  Even without star Zach Randolph, the Grizzlies have managed to win five in a row, staying alive in the race for the number one seed in the Western Conference.  By watching this game you would not be able to tell that one team has more than double the amount of wins than the other.  The Lakers played one of their best games of the season, but failed to execute and get stops in crunch time, sound familiar?

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When you look at the stat sheet, the Lakers really did have one their more impressive outings of the season in the loss.  The Lakers shot 53.1% from the field to the Grizzles 48.8% and had twice as many block shots as the Grizzlies.  How did the Lakers still manage to lose?  28 fouls to the Grizzlies 15.  Carlos Boozer and Jordan Hill both fouled out, and had a hard time staying aggressive on the defensive end, especially Hill.  Ed Davis also found himself in foul trouble in the third quarter.

Also, the Lakers found a way to make Beno Udrih look like Tony Parker.

Here are some takeaways:

Ed Davis wanted to send a message to former team

Ed Davis had without a question the best game of his stellar season, racking up 20 points (7-9 from the field), 8 boards, and 2 blocks. Davis, who suffered a broken nose in the Lakers Tuesday night win against the Nuggets, seemed a bit excited to play against his former team.  Davis scored 8 of the Lakers first 10 points, abusing Jon Leuer in the paint in the opening quarter.

Not only was Davis making spectacular plays in the paint on offense, but he also made one his best defensive plays of the season on this chase-down block on Tony Allen:

Davis’ early energy is what set the tone for the Lakers for the rest of the game.  Had he made his second free throw to tie the game in the final seconds, he would have had a flawless game.

Jeremy Lin with a very one-way game

Lin caught on fire in the second quarter, igniting a Lakers run that gave them a lead as big as 12 at one point.  Lin finished the game with 20 points (9-14 from the field), 5 assists, and 3 steals.  Lin’s 20 points were one off of his season high, and his nine field goals were the most he had made all season.

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As great as Lin was on the offensive end, he played very poorly on the defensive end.  Sure he had three steals, but his sub-par one-on-one defense was a huge reason that the Grizzlies scored 33 points in the third quarter. Udrih did basically whatever he wanted against the Lakers in the third, getting into the paint every time down.  A large part as to why Udrih was getting into the paint was because Jeremy Lin could not stay in front of him.

Lin’s night basically describes his reputation, a very capable offensive player, but a liability on defense against opposing point guards.

Ronnie Price‘s impact simply will not show up in the stat sheets

One may look at Price’s stat line of 2 points and 2 assists on 1-4 shooting, and think his impact was very minimal.  Despite putting up poor numbers, Price’s defense on Mike Conley is what kept the Lakers in the game, especially in the first half.  Price has proven that he will take on any opposing match-up, showing more toughness and effort than any other Lakers player (except Ed Davis).

In the last two games, Price has held two of the best point guards in the Western Conference in Ty Lawson and Mike Conley to a combined 10-24 from the field.  Conley was entering this game red hot, coming off a 30-point game performance against an elite Spurs defense.  Price was in Conley’s grill from the beginning, making him work for every shot.  Until the second half when Jeremy Lin played a majority of the minutes, Conley was having a quite game.

Next: Game Grades: Ed Davis, Jeremy Lin's Big Nights Not Enough