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Lakers at Grizzlies: 10 Things to Know

Here is what you need to know before the Lakers tip off on the road against the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday.

1) Ed Davis is currently second in the NBA in field goal percentage (71.1). The first-year Laker has gone 27-for-38 from the field and is scoring 10.3 points per game. He trails only Dallas’ Brandan Wright (75.0 percent, 27-for-36), who is averaging 1.2 fewer attempts per contest.

2) Ronnie Price has quietly been among the league leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio. Price is fourth in the NBA with a 5.8 mark, having dished out 29 assists and coughed up the ball only five times.

3) Plenty of current Lakers have spent a portion of their career in the Grizzlies organization. Davis played last season and part of the year before in Memphis. Xavier Henry was the Grizzlies’ 2010 first-round draft pick and spent one season there. Wayne Ellington was with Memphis for half of the 2012-13 season. Even head coach Byron Scott suited up for the Grizzlies while the club was still in Vancouver during the 1995-96 season.

4) The Grizzlies have allowed a league-low 18.4 free throw attempts per game this season, which has translated into an average of 13.1 points off foul shots. On the flip side, the Lakers are allowing a league-high 33.0 free throws per game and yielding 25.3 points off free throws.

5) Memphis has constructed a league-best 43-16 record in the 2014 calendar year. The Grizzlies secured this mark with a franchise-record six consecutive wins to open the season, which ended Saturday when Milwaukee’s Brandon Knight hit a game-winning 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds left to hand Memphis its first loss, 93-92.

6) The Grizzlies have not lost at home since Feb. 11 of last season. Memphis has defended its own court better than any team in the league, winning a club-record 16 straight home games.

7) Though they Grizzlies are only seven games into their season, Marc Gasol has made as big of a defensive impact as anyone in the league. The 2013 Defensive Player of the Year is tied with Stephen Curry — who leads the NBA in steals — with a league-high 0.7 defensive win shares.*

8) Tony Allen has also given opposing teams headaches on defense. The three-time All-Defensive Team selection is second in steal percentage (4.7), behind Curry (4.8), and fourth in defensive rating (90.1)**.

9) In five games this season, Courtney Lee has been the league’s most dangerous shooter. The Memphis two-guard currently leads the NBA in both 3-point (66.7 percent, 12-for-18) and true shooting percentage (72.1)***.

10) The Lakers sport a 48-22 all-time record against the Grizzlies. However, L.A. has found the Grizzlies to be a tougher opponent since they moved to Memphis, as they Lakers are just 26-21 since the location change.

*Defensive win shares are the estimated number of wins a player’s defense contributes to his team.
**Defensive rating is the estimated number of points a player’s team allows per 100 possessions while he is on the floor.
***True shooting percentage is a calculation of a player’s shooting efficiency that weighs free throws, 2-point and 3-point field goals accordingly.