My Team - Grizzlies at Lakers

As Randy Newman sang long ago, "I Love L.A." Every time I've been out there, I've had a blast. Love the weather, love the scenery, love the ocean.

Anyway, I digress. Friday night, two team with different playoff aspirations. Memphis is still tracking a top-4 seed. With Denver's Gallinari suffering a possible torn ACL Thursday night, maybe that team is diminished just a bit.

Foot-stomper - in no way do I wish harm to anyone, pro athlete or not. Additionally, I'm not sitting here rejoicing that "their guy got hurt, so it makes it better for my team". But, the truth can't be ignored. Gallinari is one of Denver's better players, and his injury does weaken his team somewhat. It may be a factor going down the stretch.

Back to the match-up between Memphis and L.A. The Lakers have Kobe Bryant. Given that, they can beat anyone on a particular night. The Lakers have won their last two games, and averaged 106 PPG in their last five games. In Tuesday night's home win over Dallas, Kobe "messed around and got a triple double" - 23 points, 11 rebs and 11 assists. Ok, I'll state the obvious - he's one of the top 10 or so best players in NBA history. If the team around him is productive Friday night, they will beat the Grizzlies. In that same Dallas game, Dwight Howard went for 24 and 12 rebs, while Pau Gasol added 14, 10 rebs and 6 assists. Earl Clark came off the bench to add 17 and 12 rebs. Looking at that box score, Memphis' bigs have a lot of work ahead of them in this contest.

I suspect Prince checks Kobe, Marc Gasol checks Howard, and Randolph checks Pau Gasol. Kobe is gonna get his early and often, so Tony Allen may switch off on Kobe from time to time. Howard is much more athletic than Marc Gasol, but he can be foul-prone. Will Howard try to chase Marc Gasol off that 15-foot set shot? Will Marc Gasol use that set shot to set up drives to the basket?

Is Randolph willing to chase Pau around? Like his brother, Pau Gasol will take a 15-foot set shot to set up later drives to the basket. Will Pau get Randolph in early foul trouble?

Howard/Pau are quicker than Randolph/Marc. How does that play out in this particular game? I'm interested in watching that aspect.

The Lakers only played three bench players against Dallas, so Memphis' bench (on paper) seems to have the advantage. Arthur, Bayless and Pondexter must hit shots when opportunities are there. More importantly, if any of them have an off-night shooting, they can't pout while playing defense.

This is a game where Memphis needs contributions from the whole rotation. Any weak link will get exposed.

In early March, when the Lakers were foundering, I guessed a Memphis win. Now, the Lakers have righted their ship a bit. I hate to admit it regarding my team, but I don't think Memphis is gonna win.

My guess (now), Lakers 105, Memphis 98. Kobe is gonna put on a show, especially on offense. Howard is gonna be productive, grinning all the way. The Memphis bench will be somewhat productive, but too many missed jump shots by Bayless and Pondexter will prove to be the Grizzlies' downfall.

After the Game: Lakers 86, Memphis 84. Memphis had chances to tie late, but couldn't quite get over the hump. In the last 90 seconds, the Lakers got offensive rebounds after twice milking the shot clock. Los Angeles ended up possessing the ball for nearly 60 consecutive of that last 90 seconds. That hurt.

Memphis had 38 field goals, 24 assists, 7 turnovers and 12 steals. Conley led the team with 21 points and 6 assists. Randolph had 15 and 7 rebs. Bayless had 14 and 6 assists, after a slow start shooting.

Between injuries (Nash, World Peace) and coaching decisions, Los Angeles only played seven guys. All seven contributed. Kobe did what Kobe usually does, 24 points, 5 rebs and 9 assists. Pau Gasol had 19 and 9 rebs. Antawn Jamison and Earl Clark came off the bench to contribute 13 points and 5 rebs each.

It was a game filled with ebbs and flows. Los Angeles established a good lead in the first half (up to 11 points), but Memphis was persistent in fighting back. Even in the end, Memphis had a shot to tie. Conley drove from the right wing, encountered Dwight Howard (who gave him a bit of a bump) and missed the shot. Did Howard foul Conley? Maybe. Did the referees call it? No.

One difference was free throw shooting. Los Angeles was 13/18 FT/A, while Memphis was 5/7 from the line. Memphis announcers expressed frustration at this disparity during the game, but it seems to happen at nearly every level. Home teams get more free throw attempts most games, right?

This was one more game that got away from Memphis. Sunday night, the Grizzlies play at Sacramento, which could be another game that gets away from them if they aren't careful.