MEMPHIS – Hey everyone and welcome back to the Lakers newsletter. I'm Dan Woike, and we've been on a small hiatus as I've tended to a crazy stretch where the Lakers worked through an insane set of tiebreak scenarios up to the final minutes of the regular season before covering a play-in game and the first five games of a playoff series.
It's an excuse…but it's a good one!
Anyways, the newsletter is back as the Lakers head into closeout game No. 2 Friday in Los Angeles.
Let's get right to it.
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What happened?
The scene inside the Lakers' locker room postgame Wednesday night was something you could probably imagine.
The effects of a physical playoff game were everywhere. Ice buckets sat in front of virtually every locker, wraps were on nearly every joint. Some players were mostly silent. Others stared at the postgame box score and tried to make sense of what just went down in the Lakers' 116-99 loss to the Grizzlies.
The energy was somber, a mixture of exhaustion and disappointment with the result. There was also some acceptance. Austin Reaves said this was going to be really, really hard.
"They're the two seed in the West for a reason," Reaves said. "They're really good. We didn't come in thinking it was going to be a cakewalk. We knew it was going to be a battle."
So, what did the Lakers think?
In our time inside the locker room, I asked a handful of players a version of that question privately. Here are the three answers I heard most.
"We've got to make shots."
Sometimes, this whole thing is simple.
The Lakers' perimeter shooting has been far too inconsistent, with players the team is counting on to hit from deep struggling.
Rui Hachimura has made almost 58% from three. Reaves has hit 40 percent. No other player is above 33.3%. LeBron James? He's at 16.7% on 7.2 per game.
Malik Beasley, Dennis Schroder and Troy Brown Jr. are struggling, too, with Brown making just one from deep all series after the best shooting season of his career.
Multiple players cited shot-making as the single biggest reason for their loss in Game 5, the three-point numbers being the most damning.
"We need to pass the ball better."
Part of this is tied to shot quality.
One player told me he thought the Lakers weren't doing a good enough of job of attacking off the dribble and kicking out to shooters. Memphis has created more of these three-point shots for Desmond Bane (good for the Grizz) and Dillon Brooks (good for the Lakers) than the Lakers have for any player. They've combined for 56 attempts on catch-and-shoot threes.
James and D'Angelo Russell, the leaders in catch-and-shoot attempts, have taken only 42 combined (and made just 10).
There's been some chatter about the Lakers' bench lineups especially being stagnant, which could be a reason why so few of the Lakers reserves are in any real rhythm at this stage of the series.
One player said that the Lakers have a tendency to stand and watch James and Anthony Davis at key moments, and that slows the team down behind the pace they'd prefer to play at.
"We have to rebound."
Another simple one — the Lakers have to keep Memphis off the offensive glass.
If the Lakers are going to double either Bane or Ja Morant, it's going to put them into a scramble for the rest of the defensive possession which means players have to find bodies to box out. The Lakers allowed too many second (and third) chances to the Grizzlies in an area that should be an advantage for them.
The team has been fortunate that it hasn't had to deal with Steven Adams in this series or the rebounding margins would be severely tilted against them.
When the Lakers get stops, the Lakers can run and they're a much better team in transition than in the half court. Ending possessions early has been the key to every major Lakers run of the series, and it'll be crucial in Game 6.
In case you missed it
Anthony Davis not rattled by tired Lakers' Game 5 loss: 'Our team will get better'
Lakers need LeBron James to live up to his promise: 'I'll be better in Game 6'
Lakers will need to tighten defense on Morant and Bane if they want to win Game 6
Lakers win Game 4 in overtime to put Grizzlies on brink of playoff elimination
Beating Grizzlies with his grit, LeBron James claims full ownership of the Lakers
D'Angelo Russell's trio of treys sparks late rally in Lakers' Game 4 win
Lakers' path past Grizzlies? Anthony Davis as No. 1 option
'Getting used to it': Lakers' Austin Reaves shakes off blows to the face to deliver again
The bear pokes back. LeBron James dominates Dillon Brooks and Grizzlies
Anthony Davis and Lakers take command early in Game 3 victory over Grizzlies
Song of the week
"Fight Test" by The Flaming Lips
There's no virtue in being cool, The Flaming Lips sing in this acid-soaked song from the early 2000's. And with the Lakers not technically facing elimination Friday, it's a good reminder that this is most certainly time to fight. Another thing that got said after Game 5 is that Memphis was "supposed to" win on their home floor. Now, it's on the Lakers to get that done, or Memphis will be the team that's "supposed to" close the door on the Lakers' season in Game 7.
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