#7 seeds don't tend to make noise in the NBA Playoffs, but the Los Angeles Lakers (46-40, 42-42-1 ATS) are defying that this season. On Monday night, they'll welcome the #2 seed Memphis Grizzlies (52-33, 38-45-2 ATS) to crypto.com Arena for the second time in this series. The first time was Saturday night, a game which the Lakers won 111-101 to take a 2-1 series lead. Since Los Angeles split the games in Memphis, the Grizzlies desperately need this if they want to reclaim home-court advantage for the final three games. At 10:00 p.m. EST on April 24, 2023, this series will come one step closer to a conclusion.
DENIED BY DAVIS ?
AD holds the title for most blocks by ANY player in a three-game playoff span in the last five years. pic.twitter.com/0YWHlIN79O
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) April 23, 2023
In game three, Ja Morant finished with 45 points on 50% shooting. He also pulled down nine boards, dished out 13 assists, and only committed three turnovers. All with an injured right hand which is his shooting hand. Memphis finished with 101 points on 37.6% shooting. Morant's supporting cast provided 56 points with a 32.8% clip from the field. That will never get a team far in the postseason.
Rebounding has held up in the last two games, along with their defense. Even with Jaren Jackson Jr., the Defensive Player of the Year, not blocking shots at the same level as he did during the regular season, they've held Los Angeles to 204 total points over the past two contests.
That shouldn't be a surprise considering Memphis finished third in defensive rating. The effective field goal percentage against the Grizzlies was 52.6%, the second-lowest in the NBA. They were top-10 at forcing misse s at every level of shooting. Forcing turnovers was another area they were strong in, and patching up rebounding as they have in games two and three makes them formidable to face.
This brings everything back to the offense surrounding Ja Morant. The team doesn't turn the ball over often and finished as one of the best offensive-rebounding teams. Somebody, literally anybody else, needs to knock down shots consistently for this team to go where they want to.
Missing Steven Adams and Brandon Clarke due to injury doesn't help their plight. Still, everything is within their control. Memphis was notably 16-25 on the road in the regular season though.