Tuesday night the Los Angeles Lakers take on the Memphis Grizzlies at STAPLES Center
The big news on everyone’s mind is if Kobe Bryant is playing or not and the answer isn’t reassuring for fans who have paid good money to see the Black Mamba in action.
Despite Kobe claiming that he would begin playing in more home games a few weeks back, that has been far from the case, as he has missed four of the last seven home games since making said claim.
Kobe is 50-50 to play tomorrow vs. Memphis, Byron said. It's a home game, so I'd personally drop it a few percentage points.
— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) March 21, 2016
Update: 11:07 AM. Kobe Bryant will play against the Grizzlies, Larry Nance Jr. will sit.
Kobe Bryant will play tonight via Lakers head coach Byron Scott.
— Lakers Nation (@LakersNation) March 22, 2016
Larry Nance Jr. will sit tonight & play tomorrow in Phoenix.
— Shahan Ahmed (@shahanLA) March 22, 2016
Currently, somehow, someway, the Memphis Grizzlies are still holding onto the fifth seed even after undergoing a 2014-2015 Lakers-esque injury-riddled season. Not only have they survived injuries to their star players Marc Gasol and Mike Conley, but multiple other players as well.
More over, the Grizz are living off 10-day contracts, even signing ex-Laker, Jordan Farmar, to fill their point guard hole. Memphis has a sizable lead over the sixth seed Portland Trailblazers and while they could catch the Los Angeles Clippers who are only three games ahead of them, it seems more realistic that they stay at number five.
Translation: Don’t expect a night off just because the Grizzlies are banged up.
This is good news for fans who will be treated once again to another Clippers-Grizzlies playoffs grudge match. This rivalry gets even better when you consider how well ex-Clippers, Matt Barnes and Lance Stephenson, have been playing for the Grizzlies as of late.
Memphis Grizzlies at Los Angeles Lakers
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- Joe Tsai’s tweet indicates a Kyrie Irving trade will happen for Lakers
Date: Tuesday, March 22
Start Time: 7:30 p.m. PST
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Arena: STAPLES Center
TV Info: TWC Sportsnet
Live Stream: NBA League Pass
Radio: Here
Betting Odds
Point Spread: Grizzlies -3
Moneyline: Lakers +130, Grizzlies -150
O/U: 202
Injury Report
Los Angeles Lakers: Ryan Kelly (wrist)–Questionable, Anthony Brown (foot)—Out, Larry Nance Jr. (rest)–Out
Memphis Grizzlies: Marc Gasol (foot)–Out, Mike Conley(foot)–Out, Brandan Wright (knee)–Out, P.J. Hairston (groin)–Out, Chris Andersen (shoulder)–Probable, Jordan Adams (knee)–Out
Next: Will the Lakers Have An All-Star by 2018?
Prediction
The Lakers continue their ongoing battle to lock up the second worst record overall and fall to the banged up Memphis Grizzles 105-96.