Game Preview: Grizzlies vs Lakers (1/5/24)

When: Friday, January 5th, 9:00 PM CST

Where: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA

How to Watch/Stream: ESPN

So, despite the mile-long list of things Grizzlies fans have had to endure in the 2023-24 campaign, whether that be Ja’s suspension, the frighteningly long tweets sent by GrizzliesPR, or confusing roster decisions, the recent stretch is starting to feel like this season’s lowest point.

While the competition for that award would be incredibly stiff, morale is frighteningly low, and so is the list of potential solutions. Despite starting Ja’s return with a scorching 4-0 record, the Grizzlies are just 1-4 since, with three of those losses being by double digits. While I didn’t think the team would morph into MJ’s Bulls upon Ja’s return, I think it’s fair to have expected slightly more than what we’re seeing.

Whether it was the deflating loss to the new-look Toronto Raptors or getting embarrassed by the Denver Nuggets, there always seems to be more questions than answers, and the most frustrating aspect of this team is that there seems to be a new fatal flaw every game.

While the Grizzlies are struggling in their own right, the Lakers might be the only team in the league with worse vibes. Losers of eight of their last ten games, many people are calling for the firing of Darvin Ham despite last season’s WCF appearance.

Keep in mind, their mediocre start is despite an offseason that many labeled as the best in the league (more on that later), and while LeGM certainly has the flexibility to make other moves, the league’s 20th-best Net Rating with an extremely healthy Anthony Davis and Lebron James is just not going to cut it moving forward. Without the success of the In-Season Tournament, it’s very possible that Darvin Ham would currently be looking for work.

Despite the current negativity surrounding both teams, make no mistake about it: this is a rivalry game that will be crucial to any long-term aspirations for either side. In what will be the full roster’s first matchup with the Lakers, expect the game to be full of trash talk, highlights, and tons of implications for the future.

Non-Star Production

Amidst the excitement surrounding the return of Ja Morant, many Grizzlies fans may have forgotten the remaining problems on the roster. While there is no such thing as a perfectly constructed roster, going from what Kleiman and Co. were working with a few seasons ago to this, it is disheartening, to say the least.

Using the recent game against the Raptors as an example, the Grizzlies’ Big Three combined for 74 of the Grizzlies 111 points and 17 of the team’s 25 assists, shooting a combined 26-54 in the process. Against a relatively mediocre opponent, Jaren, Ja, and Des managed to combine for roughly two-thirds of the team’s offensive production, in terms of points and assists, on relatively efficient splits. And the team was playing from behind the entire way. How does this happen?

The simple answer is a glance at the rest of this Grizzlies roster. When the team traded for Marcus Smart, I doubt it had six points and two assists on 2-10 shooting on their bingo card, and Luke Kennard’s return to the Grizzlies was marked with a whopping two points on 1-5 shooting. Without Ziaire Williams’ atypical 18-point outing,  the non-Big Three Grizzlies managed 19 points. Forget defense and forget rebounding; that offensive performance is enough to lose you games.

Going forward, Kennard, Smart, and Aldama must be better, but that may not even matter if the Grizzlies cannot figure out the big-man situation. Biyombo was a DNP vs Toronto, swapping places with X, who had been a DNP previously. Ironically, both were equally as useless, marking the Grizzlies’ desperation for a big man via the trade market.

Any additions will be welcomed with open arms as the Grizzlies continue to search for answers.

Revisiting Lakers’ Offseason

As previously mentioned, the Los Angeles Lakers entered the offseason having given the eventual champion Denver Nuggets their hardest test en route to the final, and while it did end in defeat, there was plenty of optimism about the summer and impending campaign to follow.

This optimism only grew as the offseason progressed, with the team signing Gabe Vincent, Cam Reddish, Jaxson Hayes, Christian Wood, and Taurean Prince as Free Agents. Among these, Gabe Vincent was seen as a massive coup, having just helped the Miami Heat to another NBA Finals appearance, excelling on and off the ball. Couple these signings with Austin Reaves being brought back on a team-friendly deal and D-Lo and Rui Hachimura signing perfectly tradeable extensions, and there was serious chatter about whether the Lakers would be the team to beat in the West.

However, when stepping back, the Lakers’ problems resemble the Grizzlies in many ways. Their primary concern is the overall reliance that they have on their own Big Three, in this case Reaves, AD, and Lebron. In their loss to the Miami Heat, 65 of their 96 points came from that Big Three. While Gabe Vincent has largely been absent, the rest of the Lakers’ additions have done very little to move the needle from last year, with the team still relying on Lebron to evade “Father Time” and AD to remain improbably healthy. 

On Lebron-led teams, it’s very unlikely that reports such as the one above happen for no reason, and I expect to see changes happening in the near future. Whether that be a coaching change or the trade of D-Lo and Rui’s suspiciously constructed contracts, who knows… But expect a Woj/Shams bomb soon.