2. Mix and match Ja Morant’s matchups
The last time the Lakers played Ja Morant, he dropped a 39-point triple-double. Like all great players do, they’ll get theirs, but it can’t come so easy this time.
Los Angeles needs to put as much length on Morant as possible and dare him to beat them over the top. Ja will still try to for his way downhill constantly, but the difficulty in which he will be able to get where he wants raises some. The whole drop coverage experiment was exposed for 48 minutes last time. Give him some space, go under screens, and adjust accordingly.
He is a 32 percent career 3-point shooter and a mid-range jumper isn’t really in his arsenal yet. A lot of his 26.2 points come from getting into the paint and either finishing around the basket, getting to the line, floaters, and on fast breaks.
This is where Jarred Vanderbilt, Troy Brown Jr, and Rui Hachimura come into play. Vanderbilt should get the initial assignment and when he is on the bench Brown Jr, and Rui should flip-flop.
As we all know, the Lakers were in desperate need of this position for a while to match up with bigger wings around the league. But because of the versatility these three have shown (specifically Vando) it could very well play in their favor this series by at least making things more difficult on the Grizzlies’ best player.