Lakers 248 Wonders If LA-Memphis Series Is Already Over After Game 1 Victory

Or are we overreacting?

Following an exciting 128-112 win in the opening game of their 2-7 first round playoff series with the Memphis Grizzlies and a bummer of a right hand bruise injury to Memphis All-Star point guard Ja Morant that could limit him even if he plays, your Los Angeles Lakers are clearly in the driver's seat of an exciting postseason bout.

The second game of the series tips off right now on TNT.

Our Lakers 248 podcast team of Doug McKain, Noah Camras and Noel Sanchez spoke about how they feel following LA's huge triumph on the road.

"That was a great all-around game by the Lakers," Camras opined. "They never really went down by too much. There are a lot of games where they go down big [and have to] claw their way back, this was not one of those games. They were in it the whole time. They had some big leads, they squandered them, [but] for the most part they were in this game all 48 minutes... The biggest thing was not having LeBron and AD [Anthony Davis] carry the load."

"I had Lakers in five, I still feel good about, but what do you think [given Morant's injury], is it Lakers in four?" an optimistic McKain asked.

Though this podcast was recorded prior to this afternoon's news that Morant will indeed miss at least this second game with that bruised hand, the group was fairly confident even then based on the extant evidence that Morant would be out.

"I think losing Ja is a... humongous blow," Sanchez noted. "Obviously he's one of the most talented players in the game. We could even see what he was dong in the fast break, [there are] times where the Lakers just can't stop him. You're going to have Desmond Bane and Tyus Jones stepping up... I originally had [the Lakers winning] in seven, just because I really respect what Ja brings and he's really [a] generational [talent], but I can see it now ending around five or six just because you can't really replace a guy like Ja."

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