1.) Wear out Ja Morant on both ends of the floor
Rookie sensation Ja Morant is by far the Grizzlies’ best player, which is pretty impressive given the fact that he’s only played thirteen games of NBA basketball.
The explosive 6’3″ point guard from Murray State is currently averaging 18.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 6.0 assists, and has already garnered a number of clutch plays under his belt. These include a late-game block on Kyrie Irving to send that game to overtime and a game-winning layup against the Charlotte Hornets.
However, what makes Morant so great, can also be used against him, as his fiery play-style has a tendency to wear him out as the game goes on. This, coupled with his rather wiry frame means that the Lakers should look to get Morant switched onto James or Davis as much as possible.
LeBron is one of the best when it comes to hunting the mismatch, so this shouldn’t be too difficult, and once he’s got the smaller player on him, it’s game over.
Morant is the focal point offensively for this Grizzlies team, so the Lakers need to ‘cut the head off the snake’, so to speak, by wearing him out as much as possible on defense.
When it comes to offense, Danny Green and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope will be waiting to give Morant his ‘welcome to the NBA’ moment’.