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

Thing #3: The Lakers have to hit outside shots

This may be a common box that will need to be checked in today’s game, but outside shooting should unlock the Lakers’ half-court offense.

To be fair, the perimeter game isn’t the strongest suit of either the Lakers or the Grizzlies. After the All-Star break, the Lakers were at 36.9% from deep and the Grizzlies were at 36.3%, which ranks 13th and 19th, respectively. The difference lies in the frequency of attempts, where Memphis was ranked seventh (37.6 attempts per game) and the Lakers ranked 22nd (31.7 attempts per game).

Even having said that the threat of the outside shot will be key to spacing the floor enough, especially when their two best superstars feast inside the paint. The concern now is the quality of their shot profiles from deep.

Since part of the Grizzlies’ defensive mantra is to send early help to the ball handler, it is key for their guards to be decisive and make quick decisions. The play finisher, who will be the shooter, should be ready to take the shots.

Though we haven’t seen D’Angelo Russell play the Grizzlies in a Laker uniform, the same blueprint might work with how Austin Reaves tried to find the gaps in the defense back in their regular-season encounters.

On the other end, defending the movement sets of the Grizzlies needs to be on premium, specifically for Desmond Bane and Luke Kennard. If they do such, the perimeter game of Memphis might just be stalled at all.