Los Angeles Lakers: 3 keys to closing out the Grizzlies, advancing to West semis

1.  Start strong

The Los Angeles Lakers are undoubtedly an extremely talented team. So sometimes they may think they can take their foot off the gas, and turn it up at any moment. Unfortunately, at this level in the playoffs that doesn’t work, and is an extremely dangerous philosophy to live by. Even if a team does have a 3-1 series lead.

Throughout this series, we’ve seen what happens when the Lakers come out with the appropriate energy.

In Game 1, they came out strong and they won by a deciding amount. In Game 2, they came out flat and lost. Rebounding in Game 3, they came out guns-a-blazing, and the huge cushion they gave themselves early on led to a semi-comfortable win. In Game 4, they started a little slow but picked it up later in the 1st quarter and won a tight one.

Setting the tone starts with your stars LeBron and AD. A big defensive play or aggressive offensive take should do the trick.

If the Lakers can come out with a strong start in Game 5, all signs lead to a victory.