Death by a thousand Rui's
Memphis stuck to their game plan in game 1, but it cost them. What can they do in game 2 to rally - likely without their superstar?
With Ja Morant likely out for game 2 after a nasty spill at the rim, things are looking bleak for the Grizzlies. Do they have what it takes to rebound (pun intended) and claw back in what is still a very winnable series?
Grizzlies destroyed on the boards
Memphis really struggled to end the Laker’s possessions and paid the price by giving up 23.5 points per 100 misses
Ending possessions and getting out in transition remains a key part of the Grizzlies scoring aptitude. The Grizzlies had an elite game scoring on the break off of rebounds, adding nearly 7 points per 100 possessions (98th percentile) during those opportunities. However, they allowed the Lakers to convert at an equally high rate off of their turnovers while failing to do the same.
Having Tyus Jones step in for the injured Morant will likely reduce some of those turnover occurrences, but of course the Grizzlies will suffer in other areas.
Though LA was successful in transition with a scoring rate good enough for a 73rd percentile performance, a frenetic pace still benefits the Grizzlies on a per-game basis as well as in a comprehensive series setting.
Parker Fleming of Bluff City Media made a good point on Twitter this week that we might see some John Konchar minutes as the series progresses due to his rebounding prowess. I think both he and David Roddy have a chance to see some minutes with Morant out.
With his roaming-ness, Jaren is frequently contesting shots at the point of release and is not in a good position to rebound, so having other guys out there with a penchant for snagging boards may end up being critical on both ends of the floor.
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Rui really Ruined it
Going into the series there were a few rules set in stone - try reduce the impact of let LeBron James and Anthony Davis being the main one. Well, the execution of that point of strategy worked, but it also didn’t.
Neither of those players scored over 22 points, which may seem like a recipe for success.
Both James and Davis were right around league average in points per 100 shot attempts in the contest. Seems great, right?
However, their total impact on the game was still felt. Anthony Davis was a monster at the rim and altered many Grizzlies shot attempts while earning seven blocks in the process.
The Grizzlies forced the Lakers to alter their standard gameplan by not allowing them frequent shots at the rim and forcing them to step out beyond the arc. Unfortunately, Rui Hachimura proved to be the man of hour in a surprising show of marksmanship. Maybe that’s not too fair to say because most NBA players can probably hit a fair amount of threes if they are as open as Rui was. On all five of his three point makes he was either wide open, or there was a last-ditch closeout effort by a Grizzlies defender that did nothing close to challenging the shot.
Desmond Bane calmly summed up the situation well in his post game interview.
Jaren and his post moves
On a bright spot, Jaren was dominant on the offensive end and he will need to continue with his aggressiveness and assertiveness for the Grizzlies to emerge victorious in this series.
He toasted LeBron James and Hachimura to the tune of 10 of 12 shooting for 24 points when guarded by one of that duo. He did this with a variety of savvy moves - including a trio of fake left spins, only to turn back to his right for lunging layups.
The scouting report is out that Jaren loves his left hand around the rim and he is fully exploiting this. Truly impressive maturity from the young unicorn.
A lineup worthy of extended run
Despite his regular season success as a primary defender, Xavier Tillman struggled on AD, allowing 4 buckets on 5 tries. We will see if Taylor Jenkins gives him a chance at redemption with extended minutes in game two.
The Grizzlies might be better off working with the lineup of Tyus Jones, Desmond Bane, Luke Kennard, Dillon Brooks, and Jaren Jackson Jr.
In 47 possessions during the regular season, this lineup was elite on both ends of the ball with a net rating of plus 25.4 per 100 possessions. In a dozen possessions Sunday, this grouping was plus 6 without shooting well from the three point line - an area that is bound to show improvement.