Game 56: Memphis Grizzlies (28-27) @ Los Angeles Lakers (41-12) - 10:30 PM ET

[ducler]

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[Whole Truth]

Anderson is the best Laker so far. Jenkins spotting LA a 19 pt halftime lead. MF, why?. pulling everyone but Anderson.

Ja drive & dish to Anderson, ain't nobody closing out & he's still reluctant to shoot.

Anderson under the Laker basket behind Jonas

[Whole Truth]

Lakers came to take Memphis confidence & Jenkins is helping.

If Jenkins comes back in the 2nd half with Anderson, I'm probably done watching.

[E S V L]

Grizzlies starting lineup of

J. Morant
D. Brooks
K. Anderson
J. Jackson Jr
J. Valanciunas

before trade deadline:
100.6 Off rating, +8.3 net rating 54.9 eFG%

after trade deadline:
76.5 Off rating, -37.0 net rating 38.6 eFG%

[Whole Truth]

Grizzlies starting lineup of

J. Morant
D. Brooks
K. Anderson
J. Jackson Jr
J. Valanciunas

before trade deadline:
100.6 Off rating, +8.3 net rating 54.9 eFG%

after trade deadline:
76.5 Off rating, -37.0 net rating 38.6 eFG%

How many games?.

It looks like the book is out on that lineup. Teams are daring them to shoot, where both Ja & Anderson are reluctant. Doesn't help & maybe partly responsible that 3J & Brooks are also in a bit of a shooting slump. When combined, it's making it easy for teams to shut Jonas & Ja's game down by simply crowding the paint where they have 2-3 players swiping at Jonas when he puts the ball on the floor & simultaneously closing all of Ja's driving lanes & gaps, where he prefers to drive & cut, than shoot.

3J going down forced, aided, Jenkins to moving Anderson to the 4 spot, resulting in Memphis having a much better 2nd half closing to within 4. Shame they didn't have Jaren though, that Jonas sub killed the momentum, with them forcing post touches against Davis. IMO, they should have had him rolling to the rim. 3 bad offensive possessions by him sealed the game.

[Whole Truth]

The good news... with Memphis not playing well, shooting well, & leaving considerable points on the FT line they made a game of it.

They not only showed that they can hang when they believe but IMO they can actually beat that team if they play to their potential.

Take note Jenkins. Every time Memphis make runs they're usually coming to an end with a cluster of FT's. Call them out.

[VCfor3]

I'm ready to see Winslow start at SF for us.

[Whole Truth]

I'm ready to see Winslow start at SF for us.

Same, how far away is he from returning ?.

However, Memphis don't need to rush Winslow back, they just need to realize Anderson is a clear 4 & not the solution at SF.

Worst case scenario is to rush Winslow back & have him go down for when they really need him most. Unfortunately, depending on how long 3J will be out, Memphis are loaded at PF, with Clarke & Bell as depth options where not playing Anderson at the 3 likely means the bench & or limited playing time. They find themselves in a similar situation as the Magic with Gordon, where Magic prefer Isaac but realize they & Gordon are both better, when he's at the 4.

Memphis have other solutions besides Winslow but as mentioned, it likely means the bench or limited playing time for Anderson. They could simply start Josh, Yuta & or move Brooks to SF, run Melton at starting SG & or have Tyus play some additional minutes with Ja, in a 2 PG backcourt where Raptors have found their success with 2 undersized PG's & OKC is running Paul, SGA & Schroder as their best rotation. Tyus would give the starting rotation another shooter, ball handler & play maker, when teams have the clamps on Ja. Jenkins hasn't deviated since he put Melton into the rotation.

If Memphis fall out the playoff race, they should turn focus on boosting Anderson's value for trade & move him in the offseason, if possible.

Josh is showing some life, potential & IMO needs to be retained.

If there's a veteran shooter available, they should also consider waiving Marko for him.

[Whole Truth]

Some potential consolation.

If Warriors win tonight, Memphis will still have 5 games in the lost column despite 2 bad games.

[VCfor3]

I'm ready to see Winslow start at SF for us.

Same, how far away is he from returning ?.

However, Memphis don't need to rush Winslow back, they just need to realize Anderson is a clear 4 & not the solution at SF.

Worst case scenario is to rush Winslow back & have him go down for when they really need him most. Unfortunately, depending on how long 3J will be out, Memphis are loaded at PF, with Clarke & Bell as depth options where not playing Anderson at the 3 likely means the bench & or limited playing time. They find themselves in a similar situation as the Magic with Gordon, where Magic prefer Isaac but realize they & Gordon are both better, when he's at the 4.

Memphis have other solutions besides Winslow but as mentioned, it likely means the bench or limited playing time for Anderson. They could simply start Josh, Yuta & or move Brooks to SF, run Melton at starting SG & or have Tyus play some additional minutes with Ja, in a 2 PG backcourt where Raptors have found their success with 2 undersized PG's & OKC is running Paul, SGA & Schroder as their best rotation. Tyus would give the starting rotation another shooter, ball handler & play maker, when teams have the clamps on Ja. Jenkins hasn't deviated since he put Melton into the rotation.

If Memphis fall out the playoff race, they should turn focus on boosting Anderson's value for trade & move him in the offseason, if possible.

Josh is showing some life, potential & IMO needs to be retained.

If there's a veteran shooter available, they should also consider waiving Marko for him.

Not sure when Winslow will be back, but I don't mind Anderson. He can't shoot 3's which is an issue, but he does a lot of other stuff that helps. The problem has been that no one else can hit from deep either and Ja has hit a bit of a rookie wall coming out of the break. The reason I'm excited for Winslow is that he should be Anderson but with a 3pt shot which will be huge given how many open looks Anderson gets.

[Whole Truth]

Not sure when Winslow will be back, but I don't mind Anderson. He can't shoot 3's which is an issue, but he does a lot of other stuff that helps. The problem has been that no one else can hit from deep either and Ja has hit a bit of a rookie wall coming out of the break. The reason I'm excited for Winslow is that he should be Anderson but with a 3pt shot which will be huge given how many open looks Anderson gets.

The issue is more than Anderson not being able to shoot 3's, he's not even taking them for there to be any kind of threat. Lakers weren't even bothering to contest Anderson on his wide open looks. Crowder himself was shooting 36% from the field, 22% from 3 but teams guarded him on the perimeter because he was a threat to take & potentially make them, not that he was. It''s also where he was operating, on the perimeter.

Besides being that lack of threat from range, Anderson is operating in the same space as Jonas & Ja, dragging an extra defender into the paint, where there's more hands to swipe at Jonas when he puts the ball on the floor & extra bodies occupying driving lanes including Anderson with Jonas already taking up some of that space, for a drive first PG, who's also reluctant to shoot. On a few occasions during this game, Anderson was under the apposing teams rim behind Jonas, why is he continually deeper than the post big, where his man can trail him into the paint & bog it down?. Especially now with teams daring Memphis to shoot where they weren't before. Then he's also too slow in combination with Jonas, which is killing the pace of the unit & it's overall transition game. Which keeps them operating in the half court with teams actively trying to take the paint away, with a shot happy Brooks, who will take guarded shots, while Anderson & Ja are reluctant to take their open looks. Recipe for low scoring blow out losses.

It's not just Brooks & 3J struggling to shoot, the entire starting rotation has systematically gone into a slump due to the lack of spacing. Someone rationalizing for Anderson will say, Ja has hit the wall after the 7 day Allstar break, (JA had 2pts / 2ast at the half against the Kings who's front court was decimated & Jonas got benched, when he should have been dominating the paint). 3J, Brooks are just off forcing up bad shots & Jonas TO rate has gone up, well just because.

IMO, Anderson is a clear 4. With 3J potentially out, watch things kind of regulate with Anderson playing more minutes at the 4. Hopefully, off the bench with Clarke starting next to Jonas & someone more willing to play on the perimeter, get out in transition & take wide open 3's hit or miss at SF.