Lakers News: Grizzlies' Dillon Brooks Excited To Face LeBron James And LA In First Round Matchup

So are we, Dillon.

Even prior to your Los Angeles Lakers vanquishing the Minnesota Timberwolves to lock up a first round playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies, Grizz small forward (and frequent Lakers irritant) Dillon Brooks revealed that he hoped to face off against LA specifically in that series.

Per Mark Giannotto of The Memphis Commercial Appeal, Brooks openly professed his interest for a Lakers matchup.

“I wouldn’t mind playing LeBron in a seven-game series,” Brooks said. “The legacy is there. First time back in the playoffs, knock him out right away in the first round. It’ll test us good. They got good pieces, good players, and that’ll be a good first round matchup for us.”

At 51-31, Memphis occupies the second seed in the Western Conference. The 43-39 Lakers are clear underdogs in this fight, but the Grizzlies' advantage has been leveled a bit thanks to two major long-term Memphis absences: starting center Steven Adams (lingering right knee PCL strain) and reserve power forward Brandon Clarke (torn left Achilles tendon) are both done for the season with series injuries.

The Grizzlies like to run, while the Lakers struggle to defend the fast break. Memphis is young and athletic, the Lakers' two best players are both on the wrong side of 30, and quite creaky.

LA did get the best of Memphis in its season series, 2-1, but there are a lot of caveats baked into that apparent Lakers edge. The first Lakers victory happened on January 20th, before the team had made any of its trade makeovers. This is a significantly different club than that Los Angeles roster. 

The second win, with LA's revamped role players now in tow, happened without Grizzlies All-Star point guard Ja Morant, who was at the time away from the team following a series of controversies. The two teams' third matchup, a 121-109 loss in March, happened without All-Star Lakers small forward LeBron James or starting point guard D'Angelo Russell, the club's third-leading scorer.

So these prior results paint, at best, a very incomplete picture of what a postseason matchup between Los Angeles and Memphis might look like.

Are you following us on Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube yet? Join the conversation as we discuss the latest Lakers news and rumors with fans like you!