AGAINST ALL ODDS, LAKERS THINK IT’S POSSIBLE
It’s never been done, but they’ve faced an uphill battle since 2-10 start
They gathered on Sunday to watch film with the idea that the Lakers could solve this puzzle in the Western Conference finals that is the Denver Nuggets. They remain confident that this group of Lakers can overcome the long odds they see in front of them that no one in NBA history has ever beaten when having faced such dire circumstances.
So, here the Lakers stand, down 0-3 in the best-of-seven series the Nuggets have complete control of because of their better play during all the key moments.
Not one team in the NBA has ever dug out of that playoff hole, the teams on the end of that having gone 0-149.
“You’ve just got to take it one game at a time,” Austin Reaves said. “Obviously, you see the numbers and, like you said, it’s never been done. You think about just as winning four games in a row, I’m sure there’s a lot of guys in this gym that have won four games in a row. Maybe not against the same team, over and over again, but if we put our best foot forward every day, every game, you know, we’ll have a chance.”
The Lakers heard the chatter after they lost Game 3 Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena and again on Sunday at practice and will hear it again before Game 4 at home tonight.
They are one game away from elimination.
“We’re alive, man. The series is not over,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said after practice. “People want to throw out the odds. Yeah, don’t get me wrong. We’re facing a hell of a ballclub, one talented bunch that’s very well coached. But we have things that we can do as well. The only thing we have to do is just focus on one game. We don’t have to be overwhelmed about the outside noise or the overall series. We just have to worry about one game, what’s exactly in front of us.”
In many ways, the Lakers have been up against gloomy prospects this season and have found a way to survive.
When they started the season 2-10, their analytical department told the Lakers they had a 0.3 percent chance of reaching the playoffs. Yet, here they are in the conference finals..
When they were 13th in the Western Conference as late as Feb. 25, the possibility of making the playoffs looked remote. Yet, the Lakers still have a chance to continue in the playoffs with a victory.
But this feels and looks different this time.
The Nuggets are a determined and talented team.
Their two stars, Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic, have essentially been too much for the Lakers to handle in the first three games. Murray is averaging 35 points per game, 7.3 rebounds and
5.3 assists. He’s shooting 52.1 percent from the field, 45.5 percent from 3-point range.
Jokic is averaging a tripledouble of 27 points, 14.7 rebounds and 11.3 assists. He’s shooting 52.6 percent from the field, 45.5 percent from 3.
And they are getting plenty of help from their role players such as Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who is averaging 15.3 points per game and is shooting 51.4 percent from the field and 45 percent from three; Michael Porter Jr., who is averaging 15 points per game, 9.0 rebounds and shooting 47.3 percent from three; and Bruce Brown, who off the bench is averaging 14.3 points per game and is making 51.5 percent of his shots and 40.0 percent of his threes.
As a team, the Nuggets are shooting 49.6 percent from the field, 41.4 percent from three-point range.
Still, Ham said his team
remains positive despite all of that because they have “likeminded people.”
The Lakers have to believe that stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis will carry them and that more of their role players can improve their play.
Davis is leading the Lakers with his 28.7 points per game, 14.0 rebounds, 2.7 blocks and 51.8 percent shooting in 41.6 minutes per game.
James is doing his thing with 23.7 points per game, 9.3 rebounds, 10.3 assists and 48.1 percent field goals — but just 15.8 percent on threes — in 41.0 minutes per game.
He tweaked his foot in Game 3 and was listed as “probable” in the Lakers injury report with right foot soreness, but Ham said, “he’s going to be there ready to rumble.”
Reaves (22.7 points, 4-0, rebounds, 6.0 assists, 55 percent field goals, 56.5 percent on 3s) and Rui Hachimura (17 points per game, 56.5 percent shooting) are playing at a high level.
But starting point guard D’Angelo Russell, who is supposed to provide the outside shooting, has been abysmal in the first three games. He’s shooting 29.6 percent from the field, 14.3 percent from 3point range, and the Nuggets hunt for him on defense because he hasn’t guard well at all.
“We definitely need him to make more 3s,” Ham said. “We need to make more 3s. So, him being able to do both, just being solid within our defensive structure and him being aggressive, again, make your next shot our best shot. That has to be his mentality.”