The Los Angeles Lakers fell to the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night after a solid effort on their home floor against a very good defensive team led by Marc Gasol.
Along with the loss to his former team, Lakers newcomer Xavier Henry was deemed ineffective against the Grizzlies and therefore benched for most of the game according to head coach Mike D’Antoni via Lakers Nation reporter Serena Winters:
No injury with Xavier Henry according to D’Antoni, he just decided to go with other guys that played better
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) November 16, 2013
Henry has played well during his time with the Lakers this season making an impression on his teammates, fans and the coaching staff. Unfortunately, the former lottery pick simply couldn’t get it done in the seven minutes he played on Friday night at the Staples Center.
With D’Antoni mixing things up with the starting lineup and rotation on a nightly basis so far this season, it comes as no surprise that certain players see extended minutes one night and barely any the next night.
It remains to be seen whether D’Antoni is starting to see something that he doesn’t like with Henry’s effort on the floor.
In seven minutes on the floor on Friday night, Henry missed two shots, grabbed one rebound, dished out one assist and committed one turnover. Nick Young on the the other hand scored 18 points off the bench in 33 minutes going 7-of-14 from the floor.
____________________________________________________________________________
VIDEO: Pau Gasol: “There Isn’t Much We Can Do Different Against Any Other Team.”
