The L.A. Lakers have been embarrassed for the second straight game, losing to a Ja Morant-less Memphis Grizzlies team with LeBron James posting his 100th career triple-double in their loss.
LeBron James has now posted his 100th career triple-double, and the Lakers are still in their infancy. The Lakers have been humiliated by the Ja Morant-less Grizzlies, but this is peak 2021-22 Laker basketball.
The Los Angeles Lakers have failed to live up to the preseason anticipation this year. Russell Westbrook made his Hollywood debut in the NBA’s most anticipated summer blockbuster (trade). He formed LA’s new Big Three with LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
However, things haven’t gone as planned. The season hasn’t been a total disaster, but it can’t have a Rotten Tomatoes score better than 60%.
The team’s defeat against the Memphis Grizzlies on December 9 is peak 2021-22 Lakers.
Against Memphis, LeBron James got his 100th career triple-double.
In the Lakers’ road defeat against the Grizzlies, LBJ had 20 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds. James is just the sixth player in NBA history to accomplish that milestone, according to StatMuse.
He joins Oscar Robertson, former Lakers great Magic Johnson, current LA colleague Russell Westbrook, and Hall of Famer Jason Kidd as the original triple-double kings.
It’s another feather in the cap of one of the best players of all time.
Davis, on the other hand, scored a team-high 22 points, outscoring LeBron in the process. With 10 points apiece, Talent Horton-Tucker and Avery Bradley hit double figures.
However, The King’s most recent accomplishment came in a humiliating loss to a Memphis club that was without a number of key players, including its two most essential.
LeBron’s great night came in an ugly defeat to a Grizzlies squad that was short-handed.
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With a big fourth quarter, Memphis pulled away from the Lakers. The Grizzlies went on a 9-2 run to start the fourth quarter, increasing their advantage to double digits, and LA never drew closer.
Memphis was without Ja Morant and Dillon Brooks, two of its finest players. Brandon Clarke, who has averaged 16.0 minutes per game this season, and Zaire Williams, who has averaged 17.8 minutes per game, were both absent.
In their absence, Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 25 points on 50 percent shooting. Desmond Bane scored 23 points on 5-of-11 shooting from outside the arc.
With 12 points each, Tyus Jones and De’Anthony Melton rounded out the double-digit scorers.
As seen by the postgame remarks on ESPN, the two teams’ approaches and performances could not have been more unlike.
“I felt our defensive activity was excellent,” Memphis head coach Taylor Jenkins said.
“I didn’t know what we were going to look like,” Bane says of the team’s absence of several important players. One thing I was certain of was that we would fight whatever.”
“The second quarter was when the intensity of the game switched,” Lakers head coach Frank Vogel said. Our turnover rate increased dramatically. The basketball was not rebounded by us. Every stray ball took us a long time to find.
“I wouldn’t describe myself as surprised. This year, I’ve seen it with our group. We need to keep our foot on the accelerator and keep playing…. All we have to do now is figure out how to prevent it from occurring.”
Memphis brought a genuine will to win to the game. Los Angeles looked to be dead once again.
The Lakers’ defeat to the Grizzlies captures the first half of their 2021-22 season.
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Even without their franchise superstar, Morant, and other important role players, Memphis was ready to compete and battle. The rest of the squad, though, stepped up to fill the hole.
The Lakers, on the other side, didn’t bring any enthusiasm, lost, and their coach claimed he wasn’t shocked.
LeBron’s team is now 13-13 and in seventh position in the Western Conference after the defeat. Memphis, on the other hand, improved to 15-11 and is now in the top half of the SEC rankings.
The Los Angeles Lakers were favorites to win the Western Conference. The Grizzlies were expected to stay in the postseason picture but not necessarily win it.
The simplest thing, though, has differentiated the two teams: Memphis plays hard even when it’s down to the wire. Even on a night when their MVP breaks league history, the Lakers can’t summon the will to win.
NBA.com provided all data.
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