The Lakers (17-18) head to Memphis (21-14) on Wednesday evening for the tail end of a back-to-back set of games coming off Tuesday night’s 132-123 win at Houston. L.A. lost to Memphis, 108-95, on Dec. 9, and beat the Grizzlies 121-118 back on Oct. 24. The game tips at 5:00 p.m., with the pregame show starting at 4:00 p.m. Pacific on Spectrum SportsNet.
Below are three things to know about the matchup:
WHO’S IN, WHO’S OUT
The Lakers got some good news on Wednesday morning, with Wayne Ellington rejoining the team after missing Tuesday’s game with a non-COVID illness. They’ll get two more players back on Friday:
As such, L.A. should have close to their full roster available soon, with the notable exceptions of Anthony Davis (out for at least three more weeks with a knee sprain) and Trevor Ariza, who remains in health and safety protocols. Frank Vogel will have some decisions to make from a rotation standpoint at that point. But against a rested Memphis, winners of 7 of 10, they’ll need all available players to play well.
The Grizzlies are the only team in the NBA that have beaten both Golden State and Phoenix, and are currently sixth in scoring (111.1 points per game), second in rebounds (47.3), first in steals (10.4) and third in blocks (5.8).
They’ll be without Dillon Brooks, John Konchar, De’Anthony Melton and Jarrett Culver, who are all in health and safety protocols.
STARTING LINEUP CRAZINESS
Due to all the injuries and protocol absences, the Lakers have been forced to throw out an absurd number of different starting lineups this season: 19. The latest version included Stanley Johnson, up on a hardship exception, and Malik Monk, who played a season-high 40 minutes.
Don’t be surprised to see yet another new group against the Grizz, one of the NBA’s biggest teams, who punished the Lakers in the paint two weeks ago. Neither Dwight Howard nor DeAndre Jordan played against the smaller Rockets, but we could see one or both against Memphis.
Speaking of Johnson and Monk, each played well in their respective role last game. Johnson’s size and athleticism on the wing has been important, allowing L.A. to go super small with LeBron starting at center (more on that in a moment). And Monk was impressive offensively, scoring 25 points on 7 of 14 FG’s, with three triples plus 8 of 8 free throws. He also managed a pair of blocks, coming over from the weak side to help in the paint.
MR. EVERYTHING
In his 19 NBA seasons, there was one thing LeBron James had yet to do: start a game at center. He not only started in the middle, but also played nearly all of his 39 minutes there on defense. On offense, he provided his typical on-ball excellence on the perimeter, but he also functioned as a big man throughout the game, setting screens, rolling to the rim, posting up … whatever.
“I can play any type of basketball game,” said LeBron afterwards. “This is year 19 for me, and I’ve been successful at the offensive end my whole career. If it’s a game that calls for a big line up I can be successful. If it (calls for) a small lineup, I can be successful.”
He finished with 32 points - which put him over 36,000 for his career, as he continues to trail only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone - 11 boards, 11 assists, two blocks and a steal, joining Russell Westbrook with a triple-double.
“I don't think you guys realize what this guy just did,” said assistant coach David Fizdale, who continues to coach for Frank Vogel until he exits protocols in the next couple of days. “He just played the five for four quarters and dominated at the position. This guy is unbelievable.”