The road has not been kind to the Lakers as they drop tonight's game 98-106 at the hands of the Memphis Grizzlies. It was the first of the Lakers' second back-to-back on the current road trip. Surprisingly the Lakers' bench played well, but their starting front court did not. Early in the 2nd quarter and midway through the 4th the Lakers' bench brought the team back from double digit deficits. The starters could never close the deal.
Sub par games from Pau, Dwight, and even Kobe will not get it done on most nights. They played well in spurts, but there was no consistency offensively. They need Steve Nash back in the worst way. Unless Kobe is playing the facilitator role while Nash is out, the team has no direction on offense. Coach D'Antoni experimented with lineups at one point even running Duhon and Morris in the back court simultaneously. The Lakers have to find a better way to use the bigs than they have over the past 2 games.
Notables:
The Good:
- Bench play. Especially Antawn Jamison who finally had a breakout game.
- 3 point shooting (44%)
The Bad:
-Poor effort and execution from Pau (He's got to step it up and get on the block, or he will be on the trade block unfortunately)
-The Lakers failed to get good low post looks. The post plays look too simple. No weak-to-strong actions
-Too many second chance points allowed
-Too many turnovers again
Overall this was a poor effort from the Lakers' starters. They should have lost by more with the way they played. They must figure out how to use everyone effectively until Nash returns. Perhaps Pau off the bench? Either way, they'll get another shot at it tomorrow.
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