NBA 2018-19: 3 Talking points from Los Angeles Lakers' loss to Memphis Grizzlies

The path to the playoffs keeps getting bumpier and slimmer with each passing game for the Los Angeles Lakers as they went down struggling against the Memphis Grizzlies in a 110-105 loss.

The Memphis Grizzlies broke their four-game losing streak against the Lakers at the FedExForum. LeBron James and the team now stand at just 4-10 in the last fourteen games and have lost all of the last four games they have played on the road.

There were some great plays on either side and the game finished with Mike Conley for the Grizzlies making 30 points and five assists. Also on the Grizzlies, Jonas Valanciunas made a double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds. On the other side of the court, LeBron finished with 24 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists and made his way in the top-10 all-time points and assists. Alongside James, Brandon Ingram made 32 points and Kyle Kuzma made 22, but together it still fell short to save the game.

Here are 3 talking points from the game:

#1 Evident Lack of Lakers Chemistry

LeBron James is not accused of many things, after all, he's been to the NBA finals for 8 years in a row and is one of the best all-time players, but now he has been blamed of breaking down Lakers chemistry. Further, he has been quite public about knowing and reacting to what's been going on within the team.

This breakdown of dynamic is really costing the Lakers on the court. For example, James had to 'settle' to play with Anthony Davis on his All-Star team despite the Lakers desperately trying to trade him. Further, it is important to understand that the Lakers squad is young and with the looming pressure of trades players are seen to be struggling to get the Lakers to the playoffs. If the Lakers are to be taken as a serious threat as they were thought to become at the beginning of the season, they should have crushed the Grizzlies.

#2 Lackluster Defense From the Lakers

For the last 15 games, LA Lakers has been 27th in the league in terms of defense, and this really seemed to hurt them in this game against the Grizzlies.

The Lakers last night showed slow rotations which pushed the ball to the weaker side, sloppy rim protection and a lack of proactivity when it came to blocking jump shooters. This seemed to be worsened by the evident lack of chemistry.

LeBron especially seemed to be super disinterested in his defensive game. He only jogs in the transition to defense and seems to not care about jump shots being taken in situations where he would have to go out of his way to press on them. Last night there was no resemblance of the high-end wing defender he once was. Most of all, since LeBron sets the tone, this affected the team performance overall.

#3 Mike Conley delivers for the Grizzlies

Mike Conley has evidently dented the potential of the Lakers reaching the playoffs

The Grizzlies had two star performers last night. The leader of the lot was Mike Conley with 30 points and a team-high five assists, bringing him to at least 25 points in four of his last eight games. Second in command was Joans Valanciunas with his eighth double-double of the season. Valanciunas finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds to act as the perfect supporting cast.

In accordance with the past few games, Memphis did seem to struggle with three-pointers throughout the game but pulled it together right at the end. What was debated as a few wrong calls of the 8-second backcourt rule seemed to help them out. The Grizzlies also made sure to pressurize the Lakers offense, leading to 17 turnovers for the side led by Lebron James.

Edited by Kaushal Raj