Who: Los Angeles Lakers (29-30) vs. Memphis Grizzlies (23-38)
When: Monday, Feb. 25; 5:00 p.m. PST; FedEx Forum
Where: Spectrum SportsNet
The Los Angeles Lakers parlayed their big win over the Houston Rockets into a debilitating loss to the Anthony Davis-less New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday, continuing a trend of disappointing losses after optimistic wins.
Consistently inconsistent
There are few things the Lakers have consistently done this season other than continue to be inconsistent. Los Angeles has been frustrating all season long without any form of continued strong play since Christmas Day.
The Lakers can’t afford those frustrating performances moving forward. With the games quickly ticking away, the playoffs are becoming less and less of a possibility. The Lakers remain three games back of the seven and eight seed but are down to just 23 games remaining.
Must-win
There have been a couple must-win games this season, but those were only must-win in order to keep head coach Luk Walton’s job safe. Those days are long gone and the must-win nature of these games are for the sake of keeping the team in the playoff race.
The math gets real ugly real quick when looking at making a three-game deficit in 23 games. It’s hard to overstate the importance of this stretch of games for the Lakers, which includes a trip to Memphis, home against New Orleans, at Phoenix and home against the Clippers.
No Jaren Jackson
The Grizzlies’ best young asset, Jaren Jackson Jr., has been shut down for either tanking reasons or an injury. With Marc Gasol, Garrett Temple and JaMychal Green all dealt at the deadline, the Grizzlies are depleted.
As if the Lakers had any other reason to not drop the game, they’ll have a heavy advantage in depth in talent. All signs are pointing to the Lakers being heavy favorites on the night, meaning a loss should be incoming based on how this season has played out.
