Lakers defeat Grizzlies and get some good news about the play-in race
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — On one end, you had the Lakers fumbling their way through the game like someone waking up in a strange, dark room with no idea how to flip on the lights. And on the other end, you had the team the Lakers battled in the first round of the playoffs — all in their street clothes watching a collection of young players, others on 10-day contracts and G Leaguers threaten any shot the Lakers have to move up from 10th place in the Western Conference standings. In all the combinations and permutations that would decide the Lakers’ play-in future, Friday night in Memphis was the gimme. The Grizzlies had lost their last three games by a total of 47 points, their regulars either injured or shut down for the season. Thirteen different players were inactive. No one who played for Memphis on Friday touched the court last year for the Grizzlies in the playoffs. Yet the Lakers got caught, their hands down at their waists, the Grizzlies’ repeated jabs to the chin staggering the team with everything to play for. The Lakers eventually