The Lakers came into this game looking to win the season series against the Memphis Grizzlies, something they have not done much this season against any team. Somehow, they pulled out the win after a late push by the Grizz. D’Angelo led the team with 28 points. Randle, Robinson, and Nance all had triple doubles, something that had not been accomplished in almost 3 years.
Highs
Team Rebounding: Very seldom this season have the Lakers won the rebound battle against an opposing team. Yes, they were gifted an easy matchup with Marc Gasol being out, to finish with 18 more total rebounds. The offensive board were even worse, finishing with 12 more than the Grizzlies.
T-Rob’s Rise: Could Thomas Robinson have been the best Lakers player all year? Highly unlikely. Is he the most motivated player on the team? Very likely. In the past 4 games he’s shown to fans what they would like to see from others on the team, toughness. Averaging almost 15 points and 8 rebounds a game in those 4, in just under 25 minutes per. He’s showing he wants to stay in LA, and we should abide to his wishes.
Nance Starting: Nance’s first start of the season had to come against the frontcourt combo of Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, intimidating for any player, let alone a 2nd year player. Nance finished the game with a double double, one of 3 Lakers who accomplished such feat in this game. For the rest of the season it will be fun to watch how Nance develops against bigger, talented big men.
Lows
Assist-FG Ratio: For any team to be successful they must get assists, the Lakers just can’t seem to get that part of basketball down. For the season the team is averaging almost 21 assists a game on 39 made field goals. If they really want to take the next step to becoming a winning team they have to learn to pass the ball better.
Tank Race: The Lakers may have one more W in the win column after this game, but in the hearts of fans and maybe the front office, this was just another loss. With this win, and possibly a Phoenix Suns win later, they will fall to the 3rd worst record. Remember, we must, at all means, keep our pick this year. No matter what.
Russell’s Sloppiness: D’Angelo lead the team in scoring with 28 points on better than 50% shooting, a superb game by any standards. He also contributed more than 5 assists and rebounds each. The bad part of this line is the 5 turnovers he committed, more than double his season average. Yes, the Lakers won this won. Maybe next time the team wont be so lucky to win after such a sloppy game by the PG.