Los Angeles Lakers: 4 lessons from Anthony Davis’ record setting night vs Memphis Grizzlies

We share four lessons learned from a record-setting night in the Los Angeles Lakers victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Los Angeles Lakers started slowly against the Memphis Grizzlies as the 3-point shooting was non-existent. Then Anthony Davis made his claim again as the MVP and the best player in Los Angeles by setting team and NBA records along the way.

Anthony Davis almost did not play in this game. Let that sink in for a second. When Davis walked into the Staples Center, there was a 50-50 chance that he would sit this game out.

Whoever made the decision to let him play in this game deserves employee of the month. Anthony Davis set team and NBA records as he showed dominance not seen in a Lakers uniform since the first preseason game against Golden State.  

Here’s what’s scary. He was even more dominant in this game and he has an injured right shoulder. After carrying the Lakers in a slow start against the Hornets dropping 25 points in the first half, he did the same thing against the Grizzlies scoring 20 points by halftime. More on his performance later.

Another strange fact in this game was the Lakers were down 15-2 to the Memphis Grizzlies. Yes, the Memphis Grizzlies, that are in the middle of a youth movement led by Ja Morant. The only reason NBA fans outside of Tennessee even pay attention to the Grizzlies is Andre Iguodala, a player that the Clippers and Lakers want as the missing piece to their rosters.

Lakers fans can sit back and rejoice because their team actually walked into an NBA arena with significantly more weapons than their opponent. It happened Sunday against the Charlotte Hornets and boy was it evident in this game.

For the second time in as many games, the Lakers, with the exception of Anthony Davis, coasted through the first half. After Anthony Davis hit a buzzer-beating layup before halftime, the Lakers turned on the switch in the second half and the game was over.

The caption here says a lot about how things were going at this point. Davis had already collected a game’s worth of stats with his double-double and the Grizzlies were in the game.

It’s not known what Frank Vogel said at halftime, but defense probably was the message mentioned to his roster. It is known that the speculated message was received because the Lakers were all over Memphis basically for the rest of the game.

The Los Angeles Lakers had a defensive streak that was so dominant, it has to be broken down in sections just to appreciate it.

After being behind 68-67 in the third quarter, the Lakers went on a 22-0 run to end the quarter and the Grizzlies’ hopes.

It was part of an absurd 29-2 run that extended to 37-4 into the 4th quarter putting the game away with a 120-91 victory. In between Anthony Davis’ ridiculous night and the best defensive effort seen in about 10 years, this team now has a switch they can turn on like the old Lakers to blow teams out of the building.

If defensive performances like this keep up and Frank Vogel figures out his rotations while getting players to sacrifice, this team is dangerous.

Let’s talk about Lake Show Life Lessons. This one is going to be fun.