The Los Angeles Lakers are headed to Crypto.com Arena, LA, for what might be the team’s most important game of the season. In the first two, LeBron and Co. have been unable to find answers to Jokic and his genius plays. However, Anthony Davis has kept up with the Joker offensively, if stopping him doesn’t seem like an option. He will be crucial to the squad if they even want to compete with the defending champions.
Davis is constantly heavy-lifting for the Purple and Gold, on both ends, as without him, the contest wouldn’t have even been close. In his two playoff games, Davis averaged 32.0 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists, while also shooting over 61% from the floor on both occasions. Unfortunately, nagging lower back injuries have once again put Davis on the injury report tagged as ‘Probable’.
The 31-year-old seems to have originally pulled his back during the Play-In matchup against the Pelicans. While the Lakers won the contest on the night, Davis exited the game with six minutes left in the fourth, as the 6’11” star looked to be in serious discomfort during his time on the floor.
To make matters worse, LeBron James is also marked ‘Probable’ in Game 3’s injury listing, due to left ankle tendinopathy. While James and AD will mostly be present for the Lakers’ pivotal game, the team will definitely be without two of their front-court members, Jared Vanderbilt and Christian Wood. But is there still a chance?
How can the Lakers now make a comeback?
Only 7.5% of teams have ever made a comeback from being down 0-2 in a playoff series. While there is a chance, the road to forcing a Game 7 against the Nuggets won’t be easy. The Lakers must make some serious adjustments if they hope to remain in the contest. Firstly, D’Angelo Russell needs more time and space with the ball to shoot and score. Russell has proven himself a great shooter, while he can be a little streaky, the Lakers’ other options haven’t been showing up much.
Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura were also major culprits. Hachimura was undoubtedly the worst-performing member for Game 2, as the Japanese native recorded an abysmal three points and five rebounds on 38 minutes of play, leaving him with a plus-minus rating of -7.
While everyone has already started counting out the Lakers, King James seemed confident in his team. He emphasized the importance of treating each game as its own entity and hoped the team could execute in the next game. It’s definitely “win-now” time for James and the Lakers, as the 39-year-old has confessed that he wouldn’t be opposed to leaving the team to play with his son Bronny James, once his contract expires next season. The franchise might not want to let of the superstar.
