5 things the Lakers must do to complete an upset of the Grizzlies

Thing #4: LeBron James has to click on offense

James only appeared in a single game, and practically, some of the things that transpired there were kind of irrelevant because of the makeup of the Lakers then. Rewatching the game film to see how he played and how he got defended should be properly explained.

Memphis primarily had two guys that guarded James most of the time, in Dillion Brooks and Jaren Jackson Jr., which was sort of expected as their best defenders on the team. They did find success in limiting the 38-year-old player, who only shot 8 of 21 from the field to score 23 points but had nine rebounds and six assists.

Again, it’s important to note that the current group of Lakers wasn’t the same back in that game. The Lakers now have a collection of players that make sense, with shooting and defensive versatility around James.

A nuance that deserves an eye, though, is how they defended James, where they were willing to send double once he caught the basketball. This might be a scheme that the Grizzlies can resort to in this series, so the key now for the guys that will be left wide open is to not hesitate and be ready to take those shots.

Here’s one instance where James gets the ball in the post and the Grizzlies send an extra body on him, which was Dillon Brooks, to force him to pass. They would rather have the Lakers beat them not by James in short, and in this case, Troy Brown Jr. willingly obliged to take the wide open look. And yes, these will be shots that will be available for the Lakers.

Sticking to the main point of this section, we all know what needs to pop for James, it’s his transition game. We’ve watched him be unstoppable on the break for a whole decade, yet he remains to be a freak train and a touch cover for the whole league. According to NBA Advanced Stats, James has the second most frequent possessions in this play type for the whole league and is scoring at 1.22 points per possession (PPP).

Against the Grizzlies, look at how effective James fared in transition in the few chances he had. For the series, it could be a deciding factor that can determine the winner of this series. The mere fact of him being a threat at scoring efficiently in transition, finding his teammates on the break, or just pushing the pace, he will be lethal to handle for the Grizzlies’ defense.