4 Christmas Day games Grizzlies fans have been robbed of heading into 2023-24
By Mark Nilon
1. Memphis Grizzlies vs Los Angeles Lakers
Though the self-anointed “bear poker” Dillon Brooks may no longer be residing in Memphis, it seems as though the franchise still has their ill-fated first-round series against the Lakers fresh in their minds.
Just recently, in fact, Grizzlies star Jaren Jackson Jr. spoke out on how their 2023 postseason ouster forced by Los Angeles has proven to be a constant spark for his training and motivations throughout this summer.
“I’m motivated by [the loss to the Lakers] every day,” Jackson told Michael Wallace of Grind City Media. “[I] Probably won’t ever stop being motivated by that until we get to where we want to go which is a championship and we know that. I probably think about it more than I probably should.”
Of course, the banter is by no means only coming from the direction of Grind City, as LA’s shooting guard Austin Reaves recently went on record calling out “all of Memphis” for their in-game trash talking, and went as far as to say that it “felt good beating them in the playoffs.”
Just as we saw heading into last season following their second-round loss to the Warriors, coming into 2023-24 the Grizzlies are undoubtedly champing at the bit as they wait for another crack at taking on LeBron James’ Lakers.
Christmas Day would have been an exhilarating time to make such a rematch take place, and, considering all the chatter that has been swirling throughout the months since their series concluded back in April, it’s a shame Memphis fans won’t be seeing it come about on such a primetime occasion.
