NBA record champions Los Angeles Lakers convincingly defeated the Memphis Grizzlies in the playoffs and are in the semifinals of the Western Conference for the first time since the title three years ago. The team around the basketball stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis as well as national team captain Dennis Schröder got the necessary fourth win in the series in front of their own fans in Los Angeles with a clear 125:85. The Lakers won the series 4-2.
“To win in the playoffs at 40 against a team that I haven’t had in my career,” Schröder told the German Press Agency. “And then against such a strong team. They are very good.”
Schroeder wants to play cards
The Lakers face either defending champions Golden State Warriors or the Sacramento Kings in the next round. A 118-99 win forced the Kings into a seventh game of the series on Sunday. “Of course we’ll watch the game and play a bit of cards to cultivate team chemistry. Then we’ll see who we’re playing against. But it doesn’t really matter,” said Schröder. The first duel in the semi-finals of the Western Conference is scheduled for the German night on Wednesday.
As the second best main round team in the West, the Grizzlies were significantly higher than the Lakers, who had only qualified for the play-offs via the so-called play-in. Two days after the 99-116 loss in Memphis, the Lakers showed an aggressive attitude from the start of game six. Anthony Davis in particular excelled on defense and had a strong 5 blocks as well as 14 rebounds and 16 points. The best pitcher was D’Angelo Russell with 31 points. With a 32-point lead, Lakers coach Darvin Ham put his stars on the bench and brought on the reserves with nine minutes to go.
In addition to two steals, Schröder contributed five assists and has now survived the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2015. At that time he reached the finals of the Eastern Conference with the Atlanta Hawks. Since then, the 29-year-old from Braunschweig and his teams have either missed the playoffs completely or dropped out in the first round.
