Alright welcome in to the full recap and the final full recap of the 2013-14 regular season of the game between the Lakers and the Memphis Grizzlies where the Grizzlies, are still very much alive for the race for 8 as they beat the Lakers 102-90 and the Lakers end their last home game of the season with another loss.
It's only fitting that the Lakers would end their home finale after this season of turmoil with a loss. It's a disappointment for the Laker fans that there is nothing positive to take in after this home loss. While we can't lament on this, let's go straight to the whole positives, negatives, and conclusion, one final time for this season.
The Positives
Jodie Meeks, 20 points, 7-12 shooting. Meeks bounced back this game after a really ice cold shooting night on Friday against the Warriors. Like I said in my halftime post, I thought he made really good decisions regarding his shot selection. What more can I say, he's been the most consistent all-around player for the Lakers all-season, he deserves at least a mention for the Most Improved Player award, even though it's likely he won't win it. There are times this season, that Meeks frustrated us Laker fans with his shot selection and missing the high percentage shots, but I tip my hat to him this season because he was one of the lone bright spots of the season.
Wesley Johnson, 15 points, 15 rebounds. Like I said also in the halftime post, this is Wesley Johnson's final chances to prove he can make decent contributions for the Lakers down the stretch and he put up decent points and shot well and he was a rebounding machine this game getting every missed shot the Grizzlies have to offer.
Nick Young, 14 points, 5-12 shooting. Awesome 360 reverse layup highlight for Swaggy P. Nothing much to say for Nick Young, hopefully we keep him long term because at this point, there is no other destination where he wants to play.
The Negatives
Offensive rebounding. Huge disparity on the offensive rebounding numbers where the Grizzlies grabbed 16 offensive rebounds compared the Lakers' 5. Obviously you can credit the fault to lack of size on the Lakers' part, but the Grizzlies were out-hustling the Lakers fighting for the ball and that's why they are a tough and gritty team for other West teams to handle. There are times in the game, where the Lakers played good defense, but they couldn't finish that by boxing out and securing a rebound and that was difference maker this game.
3rd Quarter. This quarter is basically where the dagger was for the Lakers. The Grizzlies scored 34 points in the 3rd quarter compared to the Lakers' 17. It was a lackluster shooting display for the Lakers that quarter, really reminiscent of the Houston game when the Rockets dropped 49 in the 3rd. This was always the knack for the Lakers that they would keep games competitive, then either in the 2nd or 3rd quarter, they would let the teams turn it up and not put up much of a fight.
Conclusion
Overall, the Lakers competed as much as possible for this home finale. They pushed the tempo and tried to turn up the intensity, but the Grizzlies fought harder because this was must-win game for them. It would really suck for either Phoenix or Memphis gets eliminated because Phoenix, even though I give no sympathy to a division rival, they are a Cinderella story in the making this season and Jeff Hornacek did a masterful job in his first year as head coach. For Memphis, they let go of Lionel Hollins, Marc Gasol was injured for the 1st portion of the season, but when they're in, the West is gonna have to make a change of underwear because facing the Grizzlies in the 1st round makes teams crap their pants. But regardless, the West in the playoffs is going to be a blood bath, many interesting matchups unlike the East. Lakers go out to end their season on the road, it's going to be tough to grind it out in Utah and San Antonio. Anyway, last Q-by-Q, Halftime Post, and Full Recap for the Lakers' 2013-14 campaign, this ride has been full of turmoil, frustration, but I stick by my team no matter what. Thank you guys for following this season. After the Utah and San Antonio games, I will post my Season in Review and I won't see you guys until the NFL Draft and the NBA Finals.
By the way for any of you Raider and Laker fans that are also into video games, anime, particularly into Bleach and Final Fantasy, I am collabing with my best friend, Stillmattic on his renowned blog, http://bleachzealot.blogspot.com/. Currently, we are in progress of a Bleach Fantasy fight night mania from April-May pitting Final Fantasy characters (handpicked by me) and Bleach characters (handpicked by Stillmattic). Be sure to check our collaboration out, we've already started Friday with Uryu Ishida (Bleach) vs. Zack Fair (FF), so catch up on that if you like and we're gonna post again tomorrow night. I will be spending the rest of this month and next month with Stillmattic doing the Bleach Fantasy tournament. Alright guys, I'll see you later, I'm out.
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