Records: Lakers 21-11; Grizzlies 10-23
Offensive ratings: Lakers 111.8 (6th); Grizzlies 107.2 (15th)
Defensive ratings: Lakers 106.0 (8th); Grizzlies 111.6 (27th)
Projected Starting Lineups: Lakers: Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant, Luke Walton, Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum
Grizzlies: Mike Conley, Mike Miller, Rudy Gay, Pau Gasol, Darko Milicic
The Grizzlies Coming In: I look at a Memphis roster with Pau Gasol, Rudy Gay, future Olympian Mike Miller and the emerging Mike Conley and think, “How can they be this bad?†This is not a roster that would contend, but one of the worst records in the NBA?
We’ve got a few questions and they were answered by Chip from the great new blog 3 Shades of Blue (which also has a very good game preview up).
New coach, new GM, what kind of changes has that brought on the court?
The new coach has brought in a new philosophy both offensively and defensively that has caused some adjustment problems this season. That has been compounded by a series of injuries to Darko Milicic and Pau Gasol who were supposed to anchor the heart of the defense especially. The inability to put a consistent starting lineup on the court week to week dramatically slowed the maturation process of the team both defensively and offensively. However, over the last two weeks the team has established the lineup they wanted to begin the season with and are starting to see better results because of that. A blowout win in Indiana, a tough 4 pt loss at Boston and a win at home against Miami has got the team off to a good start to begin the New Year. Chris Wallace’s impact has been felt but is somewhat muted compared to the impact he should make over the next 12 months. Chris pulled off a great deal to acquire Juan Carlos Navarro who is both another deadly outside shooter and best friend of occasional malcontent Pau Gasol killing two birds with one trade so to speak. His signing of Darko Milicic may be a bit expensive for what we have received so far but other teams were willing to swoop in if we didn’t get him signed so I think Wallace did a good job there. The injured thumb on Darko’s left hand has retarded his development but there aren’t a lot of talented 22 yr old centers with 4 yrs experience available. The three year contract doesn’t commit the Grizz to an eternity waiting for him to develop either. Mike Conley is looking like an excellent pick as well.
There’s some good young talent in guys like Rudy Gay and Mike Conley, how does Pau Gasol fit in with that? What are the fan feelings about Pau now?
How Pau is fitting in with the new system and players and how the fans feel about Pau are two radically different questions. The city of Memphis dislikes Pau’s style of play and his apparent lack of physicality. It has gotten so bad that the fans loudly booed Gasol for a bad performance one game after he put up 31 pts and 13 rebounds against Philly. That isn’t exactly a supportive home town atmosphere for the man who has been the only bright spot on the team for the last few years. The problem with Pau’s adjustment to the new relates back to your earlier question. Pau suffered a sprained ankle in training camp, a back strain at the beginning of the season and a jammed big toe. These injuries were spread out over the first two months and combined with Darko’s sprained thumb and sprained ankle have limited the opportunity to the two bigs have had to adjust to each other. That has been getting better lately and the Memphis Trio of Gay, Gasol and Miller are really getting in groove lately. When all three are comfortable and healthy in the system they make a difficult group to stop and throw in lightning quick Mike Conley at the point and Darko to be the physical presence and there is a lot to be optimistic about next season.
This is another season where the Memphis defense is holding the team back. Is this a matter of effort or personnel?
The simple answer is yes. No one will ever confuse Gasol or Miller as defensive stoppers. However the main problem has been at the point not the interior. When Damon played the opposing point guards easily beat him off the dribble to penetrate into the box. From there it was relatively easy to simply continue to the hole or dish to an open teammate when one of the bigs moved to cover. Iavaroni has been working hard to correct this and the insertion of Mike Conley into the lineup has severely reduced this problem. In the games since Conley took over as point guard the scoring has been 72, 100 and 94. No one will confuse the Grizzlies with San Antonio, Detroit or Houston but we aren’t the Warriors right now either. The team’s health issues created a lot of the defensive problems as did the new system but again those things seem to be working more in the Grizzlies favor of late.
What is going to be interesting is to see how things change once teams adapt to Conley. Right now Mike is benefiting from a lack of scouting on his game but that will change soon and how he adapts to different defensive and offensive schemes will go a long way to determine how effective the Grizzlies will be the remainder of the year.
Lakers notes: Sometimes I have long, thoughtful posts planned that just get chopped off at the knees before I get them up on the site. For example, this thing I had been working on about how I am growing to really like the Lakers rotation at the three — Luke Walton and Trevor Ariza have very complimentary games. Need the Triangle to flow, some play in the post and a guy who can stretch the opposing defense, go with Luke. Need better defense and an athletic guy who can run the floor and get to the hole, go with Trevor. The Lakers can play to any match up.
Then today Mike Bresnahan’s Lakers Report in the LA Times talks about how the three is overlooked and Phil is going to use Luke or Trevor more based on matchups. So just read what he wrote.
Stat To Watch Tonight While Thinking About When Blu-Ray Machine Prices Will Come Down: When Mike Miller scores 17 or more points, the Grizzlies are 10-8, when he scores less than 17 they are 0-15. (Via True Hoop.)
Keys To The Game: Since becoming a starter Conley has averaged 9.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 2 steals a game. It’s a key reason that the Grizzlies the Lakers face are better than their record. He seems to be getting the ball to Miller and Gasol in better positions for them, opening up their game. And if you go way back in the TrueHoop archives, you’ll find I liked Rudy Gay from the first time I saw him.
The Lakers should be able to score plenty tonight — the Griz do not defend any position particularly well, but are really weak inside. Bynum should be able to get his position and shot against Darko, and I’d use him in the high pick-and-roll with Kobe to force Darko to recover quickly or force a switch favorable to our emerging big. Also, Odom should be able to exploit Gasol on defense. I’m also curious how Memphis will choose to defend Kobe, with Gay or Miller. Either way, whoever has Miller on him (Kobe or Walton) should be able to get some points.
The key for the Lakers will be defense (as it is every night, really). Memphis is a roster with a lot of firepower so the Lakers need to not let it get rolling. I’d like to see a lot of pressure on Conley (using Fisher but also Farmar and maybe some Crittenton) to test the youngster. He’s going to be good but he’s still a rookie, so pressure the ball. In addition, the Lakers need to make sure Gasol, Miller and Gay do not get comfortable.
Also, the Lakers can’t turn the ball over — Memphis is 1-10 this season against the teams with the lowest turnover percentages. Take care of the ball and you take away some easy baskets for a team that needs them.
Tonight’s Game: Where A Road Win Happens: This is the first game of a back-to-back, with the second game being the very hot Hornets. The Lakers want at least a split here and it will be much easier to get on the front end than the back end. But, if the Lakers look past a Memphis team that feels some momentum and they will be in for a tough night. The Lakers need to play good defense, and the win will come.
Where you can watch: Game time is 5 p.m. (Pacific). In Los Angeles tune into KCAL (9), and thankfully no delay here. Keep the comments coming as I’ll be “watching†this one through ESPN Gamecast from work.
jt says
Great Preview and im really nervous about a Grizz team who won some good games and gave boston a scare (not really, but close)
If Pau is on LO i hope to see lamar school Pau a bit. And never ever leave mike miller, all he does is shoot that 3 and he is pretty damn good at it.
Im also hoping the starters can get a early 4th quarter rest so they can roll fresh with the hot Hornets.
Oh and Blu ray players are significantly lower compared to last year. Its time to make the jump!
Anand says
sorry to be a tech geek,Kurt but its “Blu-Ray”..not “Blue Ray”(i know,i’m sorry)
fanerman says
Some people have speculated that if Blu-ray prevails (as it seems like it will), Blu-ray prices will go up. I don’t think that’s true because Blu-ray still has to compete with regular DVD’s (which are dominating the market). They’ll go down soon. The PS3 still is the best Blu-Ray player and the best value if you have any interest at all in video games.
Also, while Blu-ray movies seem to retail for $30, “buy one get one free” sales happen (amazon.com, best buy, etc.) just about every other week, bringing the prices to DVD level (well, DVD level before HD formats showed up).
Kurt says
2. Thanks. Change made. This is why they won’t let me buy one. (My wife and I talked about getting and HD DVD player around the holidays then decided to sit the battle out. Glad we did.)
fanerman says
And Net Flix carries Blu-ray movies (and HD-DVD also), and renting them is very easy. You just specify if you have a Blu-Ray player or HD-DVD player or both, and it’ll send you the HD/Blu-Ray version of the movie if it’s available.
Jason says
Speaking of HD, I’ve got a conspiracy theory here. Anyone else think the quality of the non-HD Laker feeds has diminished once HD arrived?
Bobby Smith says
(6.) YES
(4.) That battle isn’t going to be decided any time soon. You really can’t go wrong with either high def DVD medium at this point.
fanerman says
Bobby Smith,
This is getting way off topic now, but with Warner Bros. defecting to Blu-ray late last week, only 2 major studios are supporting HD-DVD (Universal and Paramount). HD-DVD canceled their press conference at CES a couple days ago. There hasn’t been any news from Microsoft or Toshiba. This is a very recent development, and the repercussions aren’t yet clear (lots of people overreacting), but there are already rumors of Paramount leaving HD-DVD, too. If Paramount leaves, HD-DVD will likely be dead, and faster than most people imagined. I would not buy HD-DVD at this point, at least until more news becomes official.
Brian P. says
It is rumored also that Paramount is defecting and going to Blu-Ray
P.S. Go Lakers!
Samy says
Kurt, use http://WWW.ATDHE.FR, you can watch the game streaming.
Daniel says
HD DVD, Blu Ray?? who cares…. it’s all about HDTV so that we can watch the Lakers beat the Grizzlies tonight!!! Thank god KCAL has an HD channel now for the games! I’m looking forward to a good game tonight!
Kurt says
10. Thanks Samy, but the way my office is set up I can’t watch video like that without everyone knowing. Very open office space.
Dom says
Samy,
I am at work so i can’t get the link. However, i will watch at home. Are there any special sign up features or anything else to get the streaming video.
Thanks
Renato Afonso says
Perhaps a PS3 wouldn’t be a bad idea, huh? And you can always convince your wife that it’s cheaper than a standard blu-ray.
So you get to play NBA 2k8 and Madden’08 as well. Just remember to say it was all because she could see every Julia Roberts hair curl in (insert lame Julia Roberts movie here).:)
Back on game preview… I’m really scared with this matchup. I see Pau getting Bynum and Odom in foul trouble and Kobe going 6 on 19 FG…
TC says
Yeah, the Lakers should be able to score some points. They should favor wherever Gasol is playing though rather than Milicic. Milicic is one of the best shot-blockers in the league, per minutes wise, and he really is a lot more challenging defensively. The thing about the Grizz is (I’m a poet and I didn’t even know it), they’re not very deep. They’re a nice starting five and then……who? Then again, if you want to play in the NBA, you have to be decent. In any case, I’m interested to see how the Lakers do. This will be a key test because they have to know just how tough it is going to be in N’awlins tomorrow. This is one of those games good teams WIN. If you don’t win this one or if they come out lackluster, the rest of the league says, well, the Lakers are just playing down to their competition and the Lakers’ legitimacy is questioned. In any case, should be fun.
James Hastings says
Even though we’ve heard a lot of talk about not overlooking the grizz tonight, I feel like we will. That doesn’t mean we’ll lose, but it might not be pretty. I feel like we’ll treat Pau like we have JO and Boozer- if they want to take their little mid-range shots to try to pull Bynum out of the middle, I say let them. JO and Boozer both hit their first few, but I don’t care. Let them take that shot every time if they want. Keep patrolling the middle and gathering the defensive glass and don’t worry about foul trouble. See if they can keep hitting that shot after trying to keep Drew out of the paint on the other end.
drrayeye says
Three weeks ago, we would have won easily, but right now, we’re facing the type of team that beats us.
Milicic can play very good defense on Bigfoot Bynum. With Conley, they’ve stopped the guard penetration on defense. On the other hand, Conley penetrates and dishes on offense–a preview of Paul.
Memphis has been playing much better defense and although they have a very bad w/l record, they don’t lose by much.
We may need some help from the bench guys.
I’m not expecting a blowout.
Warren Wee Lim says
Dad bought a PS3 last year and I’ve been enjoying Blu-Ray eversince (not that much really, we have limited cds). The only drawback to using PS3 as your Blu-Ray player is that you would have to use its rumblepad as your remote control. SO if you could afford one, but the real thing. At that time they cost around $550.
We bought some Blu-Rays in HK last November and they cost me around 1800php thats /41 = $44 each.
Grizz should be an easy win. What I would wanna see is the Lakers blow them out early so as to cruise in the 4th. They seem to be doing that lately to lesser teams and I wanna see them at full strength @NOH tomorrow.
Warren Wee Lim says
Fish being bigger and SMARTER than Conley is having his way in the 1st Q. 13pts, 2-2 2fg, 3-3 3fg.
Darko scored the 1st 8 pts for Memphis but I think they are simply overpowered by a superior team right now.
Lets see how the bench holds up in the 2nd. I wanna see Farmar score 12-15 and dish out 5-6 dimes.
ryan says
go kobe shooting 33%.
Kurt says
20. You can’t talk about Kobe’s shooting while forgetting he draws fouls. He’s already 5 of 6 from the line.
ryan says
21. I know.
Kurt says
Lakers have a first half offensive rating of 119.8, while shooting 58.0% (eFG%). Memphis is at 92.2 and 43.5%.
j. d. hastings says
The barbecue adds on the memphis feed from League Pass are making me really hungry.
TC says
THAT is what I’m talking about. As Michael Jordan used to talk about, you step on their necks early. Yeah they gave up a bit of a lead but they came out hard at the top of the second half and there really wasn’t any doubt about that one. Farmar, big game for Fish-I was really happy to see Fish’s mom and see Fish put on such a good show for her, Kwame was solid, big game for Luke. The Lakers got several easy steals and as Joel Meyers said on KCAL, they took advantage of it. THAT is what I’m talking about.
The Dude Abides says
One thing about the turnover stat that I wasn’t aware of until this year: any fumbled pass is counted as a TO for the passer, not the fumbler. That perfectly routine bounce pass from ten feet away from Fish to Kwame late in the first half that Kwame fumbled? Turnover Fisher. That fumble led to a fast break score by Memphis and catapulted their 9-0 run to cut the lead from 23 to 14 at halftime.
drrayeye says
I said it wouldn’t be a blowout–it was close.
Mr Conley, have you met Mr. Fisher?
Now, would you like to meet our defense?
You want to keep your starters in to the end?
OK, we’ll let you get 101, we’ll take 117, and say it was close.
This was a very satisfying win. The Lakers played almost flawlessly as a team.
Spartacus says
Good game for you guys. I got a brief postgame report up, but unfortunately there wasn’t much to say since this one was decided in the 1st quarter. Hopefully, we’ll put up more of a fight in the next meeting.
Here’s the link for the postgame:
http://3shadesofblue.blogspot.com/2008/01/postgame-thoughts-memphis-at-la-lakers.html
Goo says
Ode to a Laker Victory:
Another Blowout…
Finally beating bad teams.
Best part, No John R.!
euph0ria says
29) Here’s my version of a haiku:
Winning feels so good.
Payback the New Orleans Wasps.
Oh, I mean Hornets.
Stop the drives and kicks.
No Brokeback Mountain game, please.
Last words: Go Lakers!
Hopefully my two-versed haiku didn’t offend anyone. Thanks Goo for starting one…doing haikus make me tap into my creative side. =]
Samy says
hahaha… Kurt, dude, I watch games during lectures where like 150 kids behind me can see for themselves how big of a lakers fan I am.
Jk though, wouldn’t want you to lose your job.
Xavier says
I couldn’t see the game (you know, 2 am in spain, long games, college at 8 am…) but i recorded it hope to see it tonight after work.
For what I’ve read… its good to have fish confident we will need him tonight against paul.
29. I miss John R
(Blu-Ray talk) The only way BR can lose the battle is bcause of porn. let me explain that, Sony doesn’t want to distribute porn in it’s new BR and porn really sell a lot…
Bobby Smith says
(8.) I’ve got a universal player ($600) that is Blu-Ray and HD-DVD compatible and the quality upgrade on my regular DVD’s is great as well. I know about the WB switch, but the relative ease of use and low cost of HD-DVD, combined with more affordable universal players, makes this argument largely moot.
fanerman says
32. I just read that one porn studio (Digital Playground) just went from HD-DVD to Blu-Ray. Anyway, I don’t think porn is as big a deal this time around. People didn’t have internet with VHS/Betamax.
Anyway, New Line followed Warner Bros. also. Various other small studios are rumored to be leaving HD-DVD as well.
33. The argument for not buying HD-DVD isn’t moot unless you’re rich. A universal player is fine. But spending $200 for an HD-DVD player when HD-DVD looks like it’s about to die still sounds like it’s going to be a waste of $200 (plus whatever movies you end up buying). As I said, I’d wait a couple weeks and see what the fallout is before I buy a standalone HD-DVD player.
Did Kobe take bad shots last night? Any ideas as to why he’s slumping?
I am SOO glad that John R. is gone (for the time being). I love how when the Lakers win, he’s not here. But if the Lakers lose, he shows up.
TC says
I think people have got to stop sweating #24 slumping. #24 is exceedingly resilient and the whole point of a team is that when someone gets down, his teammates pick him up, or they get his back. And this team has shown a good capacity to do that. The folks who have picked it up every day have varied making the attack multi-pronged and therefore harder to read. And does anyone see #24 getting down for a long time? Anyway, he makes up for bad shooting, as Fish was saying to John Ireland about how even when your shots are going down, you make up for it on the defensive end, or you board, you do SOMETHING to contribute; I guess if I could understand the problems that Kobe Bean Bryant has I might be another person….but the man is breathing different air than I, I think. Anyway, I’m not worried about dude and as long as his teammates recognize they need to step their games up, it should be good. Anyway, bring on the Hornets!!!
James Hastings says
I think a large part of Kobe’s slump was his groin injury. He hurt that at GSW and had a string of poor shooting nights, then had 3 in a row over 50%, and now he’s had some more poor shooting nights.
Sometimes I think he shoots worse when other guys are doing better because its not as important for him to focus. So a lot of his shots are lazier and less likely to go in. That’s my unverifiable theory anyways. During the big road trip we’ll need him to shoot a lot better. Let’s see if he comes with more focus then.
Craig W. says
James Hastings,
I thing you make a really valid point. When Kobe doesn’t need to maintain extreme focus he seems to wander more, like his 1-on-1 defense. Since he can depend on his teammates, he seems to be concentrating on the entire floor and other players more; meaning that when it is time for him to go 1-on-1 he hasn’t maintained the intense focus on his immediate opponent and his shots reflect this.
Anonymous says
The reason Kobe is slumping is because he has been taking stupid shots. But you know he needs to get his, so up they go.