Lakers loss vs. Grizzlies proved the winning streak was just a facade

The Los Angeles Lakers were looking to add to their season-high four-game winning streak by beating a Memphis Grizzlies team without Dillon Brooks who is been reported to miss another 3-5 weeks with an injury. But they had Ja’ Morant though!

Here’s the good news…Ja’Morant, who will definitely be using highlight clips of performances against the Los Angeles Lakers when it’s time for his max-level contract, came into the game averaging 40 POINTS against the Lake Show. He didn’t score 40 in this one…BUT MAN…

The bad news is that Memphis only needed 16 from him to still beat the Lakers 127-119. The score was not even a reasonable reflection of how the Lakers were dominated for three quarters. More on why shortly.

It seemed that Lake Show Life got some backlash from readers (Also read Russell Westbrook stans!) for our analysis on Russell Westbrook in our last post-game report…

• Lakers vs Hawks: Russell Westbrook is getting outshined by nearly everyone

"People writing this article doesn’t know basketball or make dumb articles with dumb headlines. Westbrook clearly impacts the game with his presence on the floor. +22 team high, most efficient player of the night. Not to mention lakers’ lead dwindled down when he sat on the bench. Westbrook sets the table for the offense, don’t get it twisted."

Or this one…

"Is this the hate Russell Westbrook show? Second game in a row he’s had the highest plus/minus for the team. Not to mention him topping rebounds and assists."

Writer’s personal favorite…

"This didn’t make any remote sense. Russ is literally doing what we’ve been asking of him all season. Stop turning the ball over. He gave us 13 ast on 3 tov. I hate when people like you over react to small things."

The Russell Westbrook report:

In 22 minutes, Westbrook finished with a stat line of 6 points (2-12 shooting!…2 points in the second half!), 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Guess what? Zero turnovers for the second time in three games. But that tends to happen when the Lakers handed the keys to LeBron James and Talen Horton-Tucker.

That plus/minus thing? -22.

In other words, the comment section might be a lot quieter below.

For Los Angeles Lakers fans that continue to be frustrated watching $44 million being thrown out the window with $47 million more to be spent next year, please read this feature shown below. It does help.

MUST-READ: A Lakers fan’s handbook to the understanding of Russell Westbrook

The good from the Los Angeles Lakers’ loss:

Lake Show Life really needs to make Lakers Nation understand the zone LeBron James is in!

LeBron James is the oldest player in NBA history to have a streak of ten games of scoring 25 points or more. The only game that he has scored less than 30 in the few weeks was a 26 point performance against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

This type of performance has not been seen since he was in South Beach. The dude is in a serious zone right now! Like really?

This layup was just a part of the white-hot start from LeBron. He scored 12 points on 5-7 shooting, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Sure there were times in Cleveland that he had spurts of dominant play, but this guy is dominating the game with skill and ease that allows him to save energy for late-game closures. Just not in this game.

He finished with 35 points, 9 rebounds (6 offensive!) and 7 assists. He did not get any help until the clean-up crew led by Wayne Ellington and Austin Reaves showed up in the fourth quarter.

Something funny happened in the final moments!  

The Los Angeles Lakers trailed as much as 29 points in this game. It was over…it was ugly and fans were looking for the exit. Then Frank Vogel inserted Wayne Ellington in the game and he started throwing flame throwers from beyond the arc knocking down four straight 3 pointers on his way to 16 points in 11 minutes.

Then Austin Reaves started cooking providing energy and putting up buckets of his own finishing with a career-high 16 points. The Lakers outscored Memphis 36-20 and put a scare in them so deep that the Grizzlies starters had to come back into the game.

Lake Show Life celebrates Trevor Ariza, Wayne Ellington, Austin Reaves, DeAndre Jordan (Yes him too!) and Kent Bazemore for not giving up. They could have easily played out the string, but they put on a show for the home crowd. It should be highlighted and will be in this post-game!

3 point shooting!

It will be skewed thanks to the “Maestro” Wayne “Duke” Ellington, but shooting 14-33 from behind the line will win most games in the NBA. Just not this one.