The Los Angeles Lakers went into Memphis and took care of the Grizzlies on Sunday to take a 1-0 lead in the series. There is still a lot of work that needs to be done but this was a statement by the Lake Show that they should be taken seriously as a legitimate threat.
There were several key standouts in this game that propelled the Lakers to victory. Austin Reaves did his best Kobe Bryant impression to close out the game while Rui Hachimura led the entire team in scoring, justifying the team trading for him in the process.
It was a great win for the Lakers and Desmond Bane did the worst thing he could have done after the game: gave LA more bulletin board material for Game 2 of the series. Hachimura was his target and Bane made it clear that he is not expecting the former lottery pick to do what he did in Game 1 again.
Desmond Bane on Rui Hachimura: “It’s probably the best game of his career. It’s a seven-game series. Let’s see if he can do it again Wednesday.”
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) April 16, 2023
Lakers are going to give Desmond Bane, Grizzlies a rude awakening
Expecting Hachimura to drop 29 points again in Game 2 is a bit far-fetched and that might be what Bane is going for with this quote. That being said, the situation is more complex than Hachimura simply not scoring as many points moving forward.
Let’s say Hachimura has a much more modest Game 2 and scores 14 points. In Bane’s head, that makes it seem like the Lakers will score 14 fewer points in Game 2 and Memphis will get an easy W. While that could happen, chances are that those points will be replaced.
Los Angeles didn’t even get the best games possible out of its star players. Anthony Davis was elite in the first quarter but finished with a more modest stat line. LeBron James did not scratch the surface of scoring what he is capable of in a playoff game.
The superstar duo scored a combined 43 points. Does Bane and the Grizzlies really think that is going to continue moving forward? Sure, Hachimura might be due for a regression scoring wise but both AD and LeBron are due for a jump in their scoring.
LeBron and AD averaged a combined 54.8 points per game this season for the Lake Show. They will likely score anywhere from 10-20 points more than they scored in Game 1 when everything is clicking. That will offset any lost production from Hachimura, who is still a dangerous threat that Memphis has to take seriously.
If LA didn’t have two of the best players in the league then Bane’s point would make a lot more sense. But they do, and Bane just did the worst thing possible and gave them extra motivation for Game 2 and beyond.