Getty LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are now tied 1-1 with the Memphis Grizzlies following their April 19 loss.
In a game where Memphis was shorthanded, they found a way to up the pressure on the Lakers and force some closely contested shots as they looked to rattle their opponents and even up the series.
After the game, LeBron James was asked about facing the Grizzlies without Morant in the lineup, with the veteran superstar crediting Tyus Jones and how he can seamlessly step into the starting unit when Morant is out of the rotation.
𝘼𝙣𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙮 𝘿𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙇𝙚𝘽𝙧𝙤𝙣 𝙅𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙨 reflect on the first two games in Memphis and how they expect to answer back in Los Angeles.
“They don’t miss a beat when Tyus goes into the starting lineup,” LeBron said. “They’re just as dangerous [as a] team when Tyus is starting. So, they don’t miss a beat, and we knew that. No matter is Ja’s in the game, if Ja’s starting, dangerous. If Tyus is starting, dangerous. So we don’t change our approach.”
Jones is often viewed as one of the best backup guards in the NBA, and during his game against the Lakers, he impressed with his ability to control and dictate the tempo of the game.
Magic Johnson Sounds Off on Lakers Performance
Shortly after the Lakers fell to a 10-point loss at the hands of the Grizzlies, legendary point guard Magic Johnson took to Twitter to share his thoughts on their disappointing performance.
The Lakers have no one to blame but themselves. They didn’t come ready to play, that’s why they lost 101-93 to an undermanned Memphis team.
“The Lakers have on one to blame but themselves. They didn’t come ready to play, that’s why they lost 101-93 to an undermanned Memphis team,” Johnson Tweeted.
With the series now tied up, both teams are in a race to win 3 more games, with each roster likely confident in their ability to progress onto the second round of the playoffs. However, given the Lakers’ star talent and impressive depth, Lakers fans will likely be expecting the purple and gold to up their play and ensure the series doesn’t go for a full seven games.
Xavier Tillman Details Guarding Anthony Davis
A significant factor in the Lakers’ loss was that Anthony Davis struggled to make the most of his scoring opportunities, going just 4-of-14 from the field and registering under 20 points in 37 minutes of gameplay.
During his post-game press conference, Grizzlies stretch-big Xavier Tillman discussed his team’s game plan for guarding Davis while crediting the superstar’s ability to generate baskets when inside the restricted area.
“Physicality, not giving him any easy ones,” Tillman said. “In that first game, he had a lot of drop-offs, a lot of fast break dunks to where it’s like okay, you can’t stop him once he’s two feet in the paint and he’s got the ball. So, just keeping them out of the paint and being physical with it. So if he makes a shot, it’s just a tougher shot. That’s what we really, really try to hone in on, and especially not fouling him, because he’s a great free throw shooter. So locking in on those things really helped us do that.”
Memphis will be hoping that their plan to limit Davis continues to pay dividends, as the star big man and his Lakers teammates will be looking to take back control of the series when the two teams face off on Saturday, April 22.