No. 3: Los Angeles Lakers 108, Memphis Grizzlies 103 —- 04/02/2017
I was super close to putting their other road loss to the Lakers, but the circumstances are different here.
Going into this game, the Grizzlies were fighting for playoff positioning. On the other hand, the Lakers were looking to improve their lottery odds.
The Lakers weren’t in a position where they were trying to lose, but it sure looked obvious. They decided to sit their veterans and let the young guys run loose. Furthermore, Corey Brewer was getting playing time, so it should’ve been a winnable game.
For the Memphis Grizzlies, nothing seemed wrong. Mike Conley scored 20 points and dropped 12 dimes. They also had six players reach double-figures in points.
However, the Lakers used their free throw advantage (21-27 against Memphis’ 10-14) to counteract the Grizzlies’ 3-point advantage (13 3’s against LA’s 7).
At this point of the season, you shouldn’t be losing to lottery team. Period.
Moving on.