The Lakers Escape Memphis with a Win

The Memphis Grizzlies are not a team that sports fans and basketball writers consider a possible contender for the NBA championship for this season. The Los Angeles Lakers are a team expected to play well into the post season. However, from their game in Memphis, it was difficult to tell who was the favorite contender.

The Lakers left Memphis with a 105-96 win. However, it was an unconvincing win. With three minutes and eight seconds left in the game, the Lakers trailed 93-88. A late quarter rally was needed to take the win and escape Memphis with a third possible loss in a row.

Again, there are continuing flaws in the Lakers game:

• opposing guards are continuing to cause the Lakers problems. It is not only penetrating to the basket but defense at the three point line. O.J. Mayo scored 22 points and was good on five of his nine three point shots.
• Andrew Bynum continues to be playing shorter minutes because of foul problems. Part of what puts Andrew Bynum in a position to pick up fouls is the penetration into the painted area by opposing guards.
• Lamar Odom is going through a slump. In other words, he is not playing well. He is having troubles to the extent that it will resurrect speculation of trades and discussions of whether the Lakers can be a championship team with Lamar Odom.

link: Lakers / Grizzlies box score

The biggest problem may be the loss of Jordan Farmar. His injury will add minutes to Derek Fisher’s playing time. That may be a telling factor when a long regular season turns into post-season play. Derek Fisher will have played loads of minutes. And now, the Lakers will have to juggle their lineup to replace Jordan Farmar - for possibly a couple of months, if the suggested surgery is done.

What has characterized this Lakers team is inconsistency. The Lakers are able to play defense and hold the Grizzlies to 16 points in the fourth quarter. However, they allow the Grizzlies to score 32 points in the second quarter. The current road trip has shown that the Lakers still play at the level of their opponents. Less talented teams give the team from Los Angeles problems. Unfortunately, a very talented Boston team visits the Lakers on Christmas day, in a nationally televised game. The game against Boston will be a measure of whether the Lakers have improved from the team that lost to Boston in last season’s championship series. The possible embarrassment factor for the Lakers in this game is high - perhaps ‘home cooking’ will help the Lakers. The Lakers home fans will see if this team really can contend with the current NBA champions.

Catherine Forsythe