The Lakers have definitely fallen into hysteria, into a spiral of madness which, of course, makes their games anything but boring. Frustrating, maddening, exciting, strange, hard to explain? undoubtedly. Bad, regular, and even good, some nights. whatboring? None lately. Even if not for the reasons his fans would like and even if they are used to ending up with a bitter taste on the palate. But yes, after a heart attack there is no time to snooze. The Lakers are not a team with rights Skirts but you have to admit it to compete. They try, they fight. They have LeBron James, but they don’t have Anthony Davis. They have Russell Westbrook, and all that entails on both sides of the scale. They have shooters who miss a lot, but they hit, at least sometimes. They have key victims other than Davis (Walker, Reaves…) and they have front offices where their leaders seem determined to spend the season without betting on solutions, without looking for answers. Without trying. They have disturbances, problems, disturbances. But when they go out to play, they they try.
all of that a noisemaker of emotions, Amazing things happen like the last game, 122-121 against the Memphis Grizzlies, a team that had won eleven in a row and he had his twelfth and franchise record, shamelessly in hand. But there are things that simply pass. Maybe it’s because of the statistics, because after so many wins, these Tennessee guys already had to lose every game in 2022 until this one in their bag. Or because it was the Lakers’ turn that the coin toss resulted in goals, even if it was just an insistence: Seven of the last nine games have come down to decisive possessions in the final minute. Maximum pressure and many painful, avoidable and consecutive defeats against Mavericks, Sixers, Kings… Own pains (poor management in those endings, basically), mistakes of referees, touches of bad luck. Maybe it’s just that: touched. Because, watching the match, it is difficult to find explanations beyond that touched and that the Lakers, with all their miseries on their backs, they try Until the end.
The Grizzlies helped, fumbled at the end in the a carousel of mistakes, bad decisions (overconfidence?), serious mistakes. After the weak start of both teams and the first half (49-53), almost the entire second half it seemed that the best team would impose logic, even if it was adequate. It went 72-83 in a very clear third quarter for the Grizzlieswho led the Lakers in the last quarter with a hook, always with advantages of which there were a dozen. But they did not condemn They didn’t finish off a desperate rival who had to make the coin fall on his side. It was 104-112 with three minutes to go. 90 seconds to go, 110-116. LeBron returned Westbrook’s miss in the attack and scored (115-118). Westbrook got the offensive rebound dirty, very combative and scored (117-118, 23 seconds to go). Tyus Jones made free throws, but the Grizzlies kept leaving the door open. And Dennis Schröder, a cyclo-team player on a cyclo-team team, got through it.
The German scored five points in the last seconds. First two free throws (119-120), and then on game of the year for now for the Lakers (not much choice), he stole the ball with a behind-the-back shot from Desmond Bane who, with just 13 seconds to play, was enough to secure possession until they were needed. Schröder crossed the court and completed a heroic 2+1 (122-120) with the lack of an already messy Bane. There were seven seconds left and, if anyone was wondering, plenty more drama: Ja Morant missed, Gabriel shoved Clarke in a scramble for a rebound, and the Grizzlies center made the first free throw (122-121) but missed the second. Almost on the horn, Bane almost cut the ball for a last ditch effort, but stepped over the touchline. And the Lakers, after exhausting four eternal tenths, won. In such an incredible way as they had lost in the previous days. whatone by one? Something like that.
The point is that it is 7-4 in last 11 games counting those losses that could have been wins against teams from the playoff zone. And that’s 9-9, so far, in nearly five weeks without Anthony Davis who, on top of a blissful night in LA (rare right now, really), could be back next week. The Lakers win, tongues out and suffer as much as possible a little more, endure badly injured but alive in the hope that the center will return to the excellent level it was at before the fatal foot injury. That’s 21-25 (started the season 2-10…) which means we’re one game away play in but, in the West where everything is decided from the third place down, also with same losses as eighth and just one more than sixth. Will it be rowing and rowing to the death on shore or will it be a survival exercise with a grand prize. Whatever will happen, but is being. And that’s not a little, as things stand.
LeBron James finished with 23 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists. Westbrook, who did not give up in the last quarter, at 29+5+6. Schröder in 19+8+8. And then Brown, Gabriel, the sure recovery of Beverley and Nunn… with Walker and (above all) Davis on the way back, and Reaves in the final stages of recovery as well, maybe (somewhat) better times will come, but until then there are survive. So every game is a drama, and every victory is something to celebrate. The Grizzlies (31-14) are a game and a half behind the Nuggets after losing a golden opportunity due to this series of mistakes (9-14 in turnovers, 9/29 in 3-pointers, 26/40 in free throws…) and a disaster in the last the hour that ultimately condemned them. He is in a privileged situation and in battles that are very different (and more) than those of the Lakers, but nobody likes to lose So, Clean. Ja Morant scored 22 points, but shot 29 times (9/29) and saw his father, by the way, get into a fight with Shannon Sharpe (personality from Fox Sports and former NFL player) at halftime. That thing, at least, ended up getting a good hug.
Bane had 16 points but fumbled at the end, Adams finished with 16 points and 17 rebounds, Brooks one of those nights so common with him (4/17 in frames) and Santi Aldama played more than 15 minutes and recorded 4 points and 5 rebounds. The next time the Grizzlies play in LA against the Lakers will be on March 7, and that will, of course, be the night Pau Gasol’s number 16 is retired. History of Spanish basketball.