LAKERS vs. Grizzlies Halftime Post

Score: MEM 46 LAL 51

Alright welcome in to the halftime post of the Lakers' matchup vs. the Memphis Grizzlies where the Lakers have the lead 46-51 at the half.

The Positives

Jeremy Lin, 13 points, 4 assists, 4-6 shooting. No doubt the top performer of the game so far. Lin has had an up and down season for the Lakers, first he'll put up a performance like this and then next game he would put up a dud. But luckily, the good Lin has shown up against a tough Grizzlies team. When the offense couldn't get it going, Lin stepped it up, putting a few high percentage shots and he's being aggressive clamping down the defense and finding the open man. Lin has played a good game so far.

Jordan Hill, 8 points, 4 rebounds, 4-8 shooting. Mr. All-Out Hustle will do his thing. Quite possibly his highlight of the night, a tough fadeaway over Marc Gasol. Keep in mind, Gasol played good defense against Hill and Hill just threw it up there and then it went in. Hill, despite the minimal numbers is playing a solid game, shooting the ball, posting up, and cleaning the boards.

Ronnie Price, 5 points, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block. Ronnie Price is a pest, enough said. He's not known for his offense, but what I like about him is that he'll stick on his man or he will read where the ball is going. Aside from Ed Davis' blocks, Price's play also sparks up the defense as he read the Grizzlies ball movement in one possession for the steal and the breakaway dunk and a few possessions later, he drew a charge and gave the ball back to the Lakers. Both Price and Davis brought the heat defensively off the bench, but Price mostly provided that spark.

The Negatives

Interior Defense. The Grizzlies were having it their way in the paint. Again, the Lakers are heavily undersized and the Grizzlies did a good job exploiting that with Gasol and Z-Bo's size. Luckily enough, the Lakers are shutting everything else down from the baseline jump shots to the three ball, but they are struggling defensively to keep the Grizzlies away from the paint.

Bottom Line

The Grizzlies like to play a slow tempo game and a way to counter that is to play at a high tempo and the Lakers are doing that at times with Lin assuming that mantle of being aggressive and turning up the offense. The Lakers need to keep doing just that and Lin has to keep up with the game he's currently playing right now.