The Rui & Reaves Show: Lakers Prevail in Game 1 Against Memphis

NBA Articles
April 17, 2023
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In a much-anticipated matchup between the new-look Lakers and the two-seed Memphis Grizzlies, the purple and gold had rough patches in between but were mostly dominant, surging to a 128-112 victory on the road.

One Laker had 29 points on 11-of-14 shooting while another scored 14 points in the 4th quarter to close out the game. Neither were named LeBron James or Anthony Davis.

Rui Hachimura’s graceful 29-piece and Austin Reaves’ boastful closing touches in crunch time showed how the Lakers finally don’t have to depend on LeBron or AD to have superstar offensive outputs to win games. Hachimura was huge mostly in the 3rd quarter, first hitting a contested three in the corner which opened up the floodgates. The former 9th overall pick was 5-6 from three, feasting off of open looks generated from LeBron or AD’s gravity on the defense plus Memphis sagging off of him and daring him to make shots and he made them pay. 

Down the stretch with Lebron and AD on the court, it was Austin Reaves getting ball screen after ball screen and absolutely killing the Grizzlies’ drop coverage every time down. Reaves snaked around a reaching Jaren Jackson Jr. for a layup, hit a deep pull-up three as Desmond Bane went under the AD screen, then hit a leaning pull-up midrange jumper to put the dagger in the coffin and screamed “I’M HIM!” while running to the bench. The duo of Reaves and Hachimura combined for an absurd 14-of-15 shooting performance in the 2nd half and it was a much deserved coming out party for the two new Laker fan favorites.

All of that isn’t to say that LeBron or Davis didn’t play well though, especially Davis who had one of his best defensive performances to date with 3 steals and a playoff career-high 7 blocks. The big man set the tone early with 3 blocks in the first 9 minutes of the game and the rest of the team followed his lead on that end while he continued to dominate defensively until the final buzzer. Davis finished with 22 points, 12 rebounds (4 offensive), 3 assists, and was a staggering plus-27. LeBron even chipped in with 3 blocks of his own, all in a pin-the-glass fashion which is a LeBron favorite, and he also pitched in an efficient 21 points and 11 rebounds.

As far as Memphis and what to look for in the rest of the series, obviously the main concern is the health of Ja Morant. Morant took a hard fall and landed on his wrist after a charge attempt from Anthony Davis with under 6 minutes to go in the 4th quarter and was ruled out the rest of the game. Without him, you can wish the Grizzlies’ chances farewell but when Morant was in, the Lakers did contain him fairly well, limiting him to only 2 assists to go with 6 turnovers and zero free throws attempted on the night. Morant rarely, if ever, got a full head of steam toward the rim for layups, and when he did he was met by the defensive stalwart that is Anthony Davis. 

Jaren Jackson Jr. had a superb game in what was really the only great performance by a Memphis Grizzly. The newly-minted All-Star had 31 points on 13-of-21 shooting with 2 threes and brings a potential problem for LA to solve. With or without Morant in the next couple of games, the Lakers have to think about sending more bodies toward Jackson Jr. when he’s posting up. His playmaking is not one of his standout skills and when going up against anybody not named Anthony Davis, he dominated 1-on-1 matchups in the interior. 

The Lakers crushed Memphis on the glass, with 45 rebounds (10 offensive) to Memphis’ 34 (6 offensive). Related, and as a potential swing factor for the series, LA won the fastbreak points battle with 26 to Memphis’ 17.

If the Lakers get even better offensive outputs from LeBron or Davis with the rising performances of the supporting cast, things could get tricky for Memphis in a hurry, especially with their superstar’s health in limbo.

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