Play.
No problem for the Grizzlies, who cruise by the Lakers.
Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane combined for 48 points to help the Grizzles beat the Lakers. 1:45
1:01 AM
Anthony Davis said that the Los Angeles Lakers' identity is far from the championship contender it is supposed to be.
"These guys already feel like they're the favorites when they're coming in, especially when they're without their star players, because of the health and safety protocols," Davis said. We have to play like the favorites. At this point of the season, we probably are.
It's been a recurring theme for the Lakers as of late, with recent losses including a LA Clippers team without Kawhi Leonard and a Kings team without Harrison Barnes and Richaun Holmes.
Davis said that the Lakers are circled on the calendar by opponents who want to take down their star power in themselves, James, Russell and Anthony.
"I think when their star players are out, we have to lock in even more because these guys have no conscience," Davis said. They want to come in and beat the Lakers, beat AD, beat whoever. They want to say, "I gave the Lakers 30, 25, whatever."
Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 25 points for Memphis, nearly nine points more than his season average, and Desmond Bane had 23 points, seven more than his average. The Lakers had 22 turnovers, which led to 27 points for Memphis.
"Our turnovers went way up, we didn't rebound the basketball, we were slow to every loose ball, and there was just too much of a casualness to our approach after we got that early lead," Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. We got casual and it wasn't a huge lead.
L.A.'s nine-point lead in the first quarter quickly evaporated. The Lakers had nine turnovers in the second quarter, which led to 15 points for the Grizzlies. The main culprits were James and Westbrook.
After the game, James described all five of his mistakes, including his 100th career triple-double.
All of them were in control. All of them were terrible. All in the first half. James said he knew that. I had zero in the second half. I made the adjustment.
The Lakers had reduced their turnovers recently, but that wasn't the case against the Grizzlies, as they had done against the Nets.
He said that some of them can be taken away. If you actually watched the game, you'll see that someone stepped out of bounds, some loose ball turnovers, and that it happens to the best of us. We worry about live ball ones, where they can get points off of our turnovers.
The loss dropped the Lakers to seventh in the conference.
The Lakers have been undermanned for much of the season, but have been close to full now that they have only missed two players.
Before the game, he said that he would continue to tinker with different lineup combinations for as long as it takes to feel like he has found the right formula.
James said after the game that it had been challenging. You're logging with certain guys and it's inconsistent. If you're on the floor with someone, you have to try to do what the guy before you did. If he was able to build a lead or if he was not playing well, you try to pick him up. It's been a challenge.
In the 10 minutes that James rested, the Lakers were outscored by 15. The three guys finished with a minus-16 for the night.
"We have to do a better job of taking on the challenge, because when everyone is playing the Los Angeles Lakers, we're going to get their best shot," he said. We know that from the beginning of the year. We know that. We need to be able to own our s---. Simple as that.
