Los Angeles Lakers: Ranking prospective first-round opponents

3. Memphis Grizzlies

The Grizzlies were not supposed to be here.

Last season, Memphis wasn’t even close to the playoffs. They were bad enough to land the No. 2 pick in the lottery after letting go of the last remnants of the “Grit ‘N Grind” era to rebuild.

Drafting point guard Ja Morant with that No. 2 pick was the first step in the right direction for a better future in Memphis, but few expected the young Grizzlies (32-33) to be competing for a playoff spot already.

Morant is running away with the Rookie of the Year vote, averaging 17.6 points and 6.9 assists per game. (To be fair, Zion Williamson missing so much of the season cleared the way for Morant.)

He’s been helped by a breakout second year from 2018 lottery pick Jaren Jackson Jr., who is averaging 16.9 points and 1.6 blocks per game while hitting 39.7 percent of his 3-pointers, leading the team in 3-point makes.

The Grizzlies are also getting double-digit scoring from Dillon Brooks, Jonas Valanciunas, Brandon Clarke and Josh Jackson. First-year head coach Taylor Jenkins is in the NBA Coach of the Year conversation.

While this is a new-look Memphis team, they are still in a sense winning with what put them on the NBA map in the first place: Balanced offense and solid defense. The Grizzlies ranked ninth in the league in opponent field goal percentage and 13th in forcing turnovers.

The Lakers went 3-1 in their four regular-season games against Memphis, however, the last one was a blowout win for the Grizzlies in which Anthony Davis was held to 15 points and three Grizzlies scored 20-plus. One of L.A.’s wins was by only one point in Memphis.