Amid their worst stretch of the season, the Los Angeles Lakers will work on fixing their issues during back-to-back home games against the Memphis Grizzlies.
The first of those consecutive contests arrives Friday as the Lakers have lost four of their past five games, while the Grizzlies enter on a two-game skid.
The Lakers’ most recent defeat was a 128-106 late collapse against the visiting Detroit Pistons on Tuesday. Austin Reaves has been on an extended absence with a calf injury, while Rui Hachimura also missed the defeat with his own calf issue.
Down two starters, Los Angeles committed 21 turnovers the Pistons were able to turn into 30 points. Point guard Luka Doncic had 30 points with 11 assists, but he also turned the ball over eight times while departing briefly with a left shoulder injury.
Doncic returned in the fourth quarter but missed all three of his shots from the floor in the final period, missed both of his free-throw attempts and had two turnovers. Detroit took charge with a 32-18 scoring advantage in the fourth.
“We played good basketball for three quarters, physical basketball,” Doncic said. “We just kind of let go of the rope.”
The Lakers were 19-7 heading into a Dec. 20 game against the cross-town Los Angeles Clippers but are 20-11 now and have averaged 99.5 points over their last four defeats, well below their 116.8 per game average on the season.
“The flow of lineups and rotations and all that has been challenging for everybody, not just the coaches,” Lakers head coach JJ Redick said after the loss to the Pistons. “It’s a challenge for the players. And building an identity is difficult.”
The Grizzlies arrive in Los Angeles off a 139-136 overtime loss at home against the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday. Ja Morant scored 18 of his 40 points in the fourth quarter to bring Memphis back from a seven-point deficit with 1:54 remaining in regulation.
Morant added six more points in overtime before the 76ers won it on a 3-pointer from VJ Edgecombe with 2.2 seconds left.
Morant was playing in just his fifth game over Memphis’ last 19 contests going back to Nov. 18 as he worked his way through calf and ankle injuries.
Rookie Cedric Coward continued to emerge for the Grizzlies with career highs of 28 points and 16 rebounds in the defeat but missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer that would have forced a second overtime.
“It’s one game out of 82,” Grizzlies head coach Tuomas Iisalo said, according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal, while trying to keep some perspective after the disappointing loss as he increased minutes for Morant and Coward (heel) following recent injuries.
“You try to make the best (of things) in those situations. You try to balance what’s best in the short term and what’s best in the long term.”
Coward, a 6-foot-5 guard who was the 11th overall selection in the NBA draft, has averaged 13.7 points and 6.9 rebounds in 19 games since becoming a starter Nov. 15.
