The Los Angeles Lakers have been off to a better start than last season and after winning four of their first 10 games, the team will play against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night starting at 10:30 pm from the Staples Center and streaming online from the NBA League Pass.
The Lakers have had some nice play from Pau Gasol, who is averaging 13 points and 10 rebounds this season, while Steve Blake is tops in assists with Steve Nash out and with Kobe Bryant also hobbled, the team has relied on the bench, including Jordan Farmar and Wesley Johnson. The team is currently in fourth place in the Pacific division standings and they are ahead of the Sacramento Kings who are 2-5 while the Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers are ahead and the Clips are leading along with the Warriors at 6-3 and the Lakers will try and climb up against the Grizzlies on Friday. The team is coming off of a loss by over 10 against the Denver Nuggets and despite 25 points from Pau Gasol, it wasn't enough to win and after playing Memphis, the team will play against the Detroit Pistons and that game will be in the Staples Center.
Check here for the Lakers and Grizzlies live coverage.
The Lakers are coming into the game ranked 16th in the league in points scored per game with just under 100 and the defense has not been quite where it wants to be, as they are ranked 27th in the NBA with 105 points allowed per game. The team is ranked third in rebounding and ninth in assists and now they are hoping for Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash to get back on the court, with the point guard likely back before the star. Bryant has been out while dealing with recovery from his Achilles surgery and now the Lakers season and their success will likely be determined by how healthy they can get and how fast it happens and that will help determine how Mike D'Antoni uses the rest of the roster.
Nash has returned to the court after dealing with back issues and it is likely that he will be missing from the lineup for at least the next two weeks and he likely will be back by the end of the month. The Lakers are coming into the Staples Center after ending their sellout streak at the arena and that one stretched all the way back to the 2007 season and it went down with the game against the New Orleans Pelicans, as the team finished 500 spots short of the sellout and amazingly enough, the last time it happened with against New Orleans as well and that was back when they were the Hornets and dealing with Hurricane Katrina.
The Lakers now will play the Grizzlies and Memphis will be on the road out west on Sunday to continue their road trip against the Sacramento Kings and they are coming in after a loss to the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday. The team comes in at 3-5 and the Grizz come in scoring 95 points per game and they are ranked 24th in the league and the defense is ranked 15th in the league, while they are ranked 27th in rebounding and 13th in assists. The Lakers have the Pistons next and then the Golden State Warriors and Kings at home before heading east for a bit and the team plays the Washington Wizards, Brooklyn Nets and the Detroit Pistons on the road as well.