Memphis Grizzlies: 3 Keys to Foiling the Playoff Push of LeBron James, Lakers
Force L.A. Into Three-Point Shots
On offense, the Los Angeles Lakers currently rank seventh in the NBA in shooting percentage (47.4%). They are as good on the road as they are at home.
Relative to the previous key, if the Memphis Grizzlies can force LeBron James to pass the ball off onto his teammates, the job is still not done. There is more to it.
Once guys like Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, and Reggie Bullock catch the ball, it is important to keep them to the outside of the arc. These three particular Lakers are known to be hot shooters at times, so a Grizzly body must always be on them. L.A.’s opponents have found success by forcing them into three-point reliance.
Memphis Grizzlies Must Improve from the Three-Point Line. light. Related Story
On the season, Los Angeles is shooting it with 33.8% accuracy from outside. This is ranked 27th of 30 NBA teams (with Memphis falling in 29th at 33.6%).
This stat shows why the Lakers had much desperation at the NBA Trade Deadline and landed themselves a shooter in Reggie Bullock, who is a career 39.9% three-point shooter, including 45% from deep since joining L.A.
Additionally, Brandon Ingram is coming off of a 29-point performance in which he went 3/4 from downtown. Though he is just 32.2% from long-range over his three-seeason career, Memphis must ensure hot shooting does not become a trend for this young Laker.
Still, even with the Bullock addition and Ingram’s hot shooting hand, numbers show that it is much easy to defeat LeBron James’ Los Angeles Lakers when they are forced to chuck away from long-range. If they can bully their way inside the arc, it will likely be yet another loss for the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday.