NBA — In total control in the first half (up to +15), the Lakers then scared themselves, but with the help of a super collective guided by LeBron James (22 points, 20 rebounds, 7 assists) , they extinguished the Grizzlies in overtime (117-111)!
After taking control of the series with style in Game 3, the Lakers counted on this Game 4 at home to break against the Grizzlies, before returning to Tennessee. It was still necessary to succeed in containing Ja Morantdazzling in the last game and who would once again represent the Californians’ main threat.
Unfortunately for Memphis, the All-Star point guard did not have the same impact on the night, especially as he re-injured his right hand in the third quarter after a fall and was then forced to play mainly… left hand. Not particularly a problem for his team, because Desmond Bane (36 points, 7 rebounds) ensured to compensate for the slack of its leader and give a chance of victory to his people.
Except that in front, Los Angeles was able to rely on a much deeper collective, in the wake of a LeBron James (22 points, 20 rebounds, 7 assists) decisive at the end of the game. Both to hang on to extra time and to make a difference during it and, with forceps, the “Purple & Gold” therefore managed to bend their opponents (117-111), in order to lead 3-1 and win. offer three qualifying balls in the conference semi-finals!
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
— Los Angeles loves to scuttle itself. It was hard to imagine the Lakers going into overtime when you saw them crushing the Grizzlies midway through the second quarter, thanks to stifling defense and near-perfect execution on offense. Except that the “Purple & Gold” paid for their inability to secure the defensive rebound and then left Memphis to regain confidence, like Desmond Bane, to fall asleep and get bogged down in a trap match, then come close to 2-2. Fortunately, the extension was well negotiated, but the men of Darvin Ham will have to be careful not to give the stick back to be beaten, when they dominate…
— LeBron James saves the skin of Los Angeles. Between his decisive basket at 104-104 and 0.8 seconds from the end to snatch the extension, or his 2 + 1 during this one to offer two possessions in advance to his team, the “King” put the Lakers on the royal road to victory in key moments. Not always inspired, especially at 3-point (1/7…) or when he disappears during three-quarters of the last act, he is nonetheless an extremely decisive player. Statistically, it’s also huge: a first career “double-double-double” in the playoffs and the first for the Lakers in the playoffs since Shaquille O’Neal (2004)…
— Memphis will have to write history. So far, the record of teams led 3-1 in a series has been clearly negative since 1984: only 7 qualifications against 163 eliminations (i.e. 96% chance of being eliminated). The positive point, if we had to remember one, is that the Grizzlies can play two more home games: Game 5 (sure) then Game 7 (hypothetical), in the event of victory in Los Angeles in the Game 6. Thus, historically, when the team with the worst record leads 3-1, it has “only” an 89% chance of qualifying, while when the team with the best record leads 3-1, it climbs to 98%.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Desmond Bane. Like his entire team, if not rookie David Roddy, Bane first tore up in style in this part, and this on both sides of the floor. Except that he took advantage of the Lakers’ mistakes in defense to regain confidence at the end of the second quarter and, from then on, he showed a completely different face in the game. Aggressive and successful, the rear of the Grizzlies thus showed the way to his own to exploit the slightest defensive oversight of Los Angeles against less physical defenders. A saving awakening for Memphis therefore, when we know that Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. were not the most inspired in attack.
✅ The Los Angeles Collective. In such a close match, it is important to be able to rely on a group that is both provided and deep to try to make the difference. This is exactly what happened for the Lakers, because between Jarred Vanderbilt, LeBron James, the bench players (Rui Hachimura, Dennis Schröder and Troy Brown Jr.), Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell or even Anthony Davis on certain sequences (mainly defensive), Darvin Ham was able to count on multiple options to punish these Grizzlies who had a lot of trouble “choosing their poison” in this Game 4 (and more generally in this series).
⛔ Anthony Davis. Between his foul problems, his clumsiness, his bad fall on the hip (to be watched) or his lack of good shooting positions, “AD” had a very complicated evening and, for the time being, he alternates excellent match then bad perf’, which obviously does not help Los Angeles to permanently impose its authority on Memphis. Not ideal, but not problematic, however, because the Lakers lead 3-1 and the All-Star interior still knows how to be decisive on certain actions, on the counter or on the rebound. The mark of great players, after all…
⛔ Ja Morant. Difficult to fall on him completely, because he is already not 100% and because he has also re-injured his right hand, but the Grizzlies point guard still cannot vampirize the game of his team to the point of taking… 24 shots when he is so clumsy (33% success rate…). Moreover, when we see him go on the counter-attack, which he certainly particularly likes, but he rushes headlong towards the basket and accumulates falls and strong passages, we wonder if he will manage to finish on both legs, or rather with both wrists, so badly does he land.
THE FOLLOWING
Game 5in Memphis, on the night of Wednesday to Thursday (01:30).
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How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots made / Shots attempted; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D= defensive rebound; T = Total Bounces; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost bullets; Ct: Counters; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Points = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.