The Los Angeles Lakers (1-5) are coming off their first victory of the 2014-15 season, while the Memphis Grizzlies (6-1) are coming off their first loss of the year. In this manner, the Lakers and Grizzlies are opposites, but the opposites do not stop there.
The most noticeable way the Lakers and Grizzlies are opposites is size. The Grizzlies get the majority of their offensive production from the big man tandem of Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol. In sharp contrast, the Lakers rely on the backcourt duo of Kobe Bryant and Jeremy Lin to get their engine going.
Sharing of minutes also offer a major differences between these two teams. Whereas the Grizzlies depend on a core of six players, the Lakers have an eight-man rotation that could even expand to 10. Only six players on the Grizzlies average 20 or more minutes per game. Wayne Ellington, Ronnie Price, Ed Davis, Carlos Boozer, Jeremy Lin, Jordan Hill, Wesley Johnson and Kobe Bryant all average greater than 20 minutes per game for the Lakers.
Speaking of Bryant, Memphis was the site of the injury that shelved no. 24 six games into his 2013-14 comeback. Six games into the 2014-15 season, Bryant appears to have regained his sea legs. Averaging 26.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game, Bryant's individual match up against Tony Allen should be spotlighted.
In the past, Bryant has singled out Allen as one of the elite defenders worthy of covering the all-time great shooting guard. Allen famously matched up against Bryant in the 2008 and 2010 NBA Finals, back with Allen was a member of the Boston Celtics. The 32-year-old is still considered one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA, and matching up against a 36-year-old Bryant offers a strong any player who takes pride in defense.
The Lakers enter the Memphis' Grind House as decided underdogs on Tuesday night, but that will be a recurring theme for these 2014-15 Lakers. As long as they have Bryant, though, the Lakers always have a chance. Tip-off is 5 p.m. Pacific Time.
Game Notes: For the first time in many years, this will not be a match up of Gasol brothers going head-to-head. Pau Gasol left the Lakers for the Chicago Bulls in the offseason. Lakers forward Ryan Kelly's status was upgraded to questionable as the second-year recovers from a tightened hamstring.
