LOS ANGELES — Even for those who fervently believe in what we call Lakers exceptionalism, it’s time to face the facts.
This series, this exercise in futility against the reigning NBA champion Denver Nuggets, might as well end now. It will likely officially end Saturday night in downtown Los Angeles, the same way the previous 11 meetings between the teams were decided.
If the scenario holds, the Lakers will stay close for a while. But eventually the Nuggets will make a run and impose their will, that will be it, and the assessment of blame among the fans will begin in earnest.
Thursday night, and this is not the first time, fingers were pointed in the direction of D’Angelo Russell after he missed his seven shots and his six 3-point baskets, in a game lost by the Lakers 112-105. trailed 3-0 in the first round playoff series.
“It’s unfortunate, man,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “You know he had a good look that he just didn’t knock over. It’s that simple, like in the first game, he managed to bounce back in the second game. And I expect him to bounce back in Game 4.
And that wasn’t the worst. A viral video made the rounds after the game, showing D-Lo scrolling through his phone messages on the bench while his teammates were in a timeout.
D’Lo refuses to participate in the caucus now. https://t.co/GjGz17ZNp0 pic.twitter.com/rRL39WSK5z
– Lakers all day every day (@LADEig) April 26, 2024
Ouch. It’s not a good insight, even beyond the question of why on earth a player would have his phone with him on the bench.
But it was a night where a number of this Lakers team’s flaws stood out. Anthony Davis finished with 33 points, LeBron James had 26 and Austin Reaves 22, and everyone else had 24 total. And it’s obvious when you watch the Lakers for any length of time that James, 39, is the only consistent player on this team, the only guy you can count on night in and night out. Otherwise, it’s feast or famine, even with Davis.
The Lakers also gave up 14 offensive rebounds and, as Davis noted afterward: “Sometimes, you know, it’s the guards of the bigger players.” But other times it’s just simple boxing or just trying to get it. You know, there are times today where guys are missing shots and getting their own rebounds. I think, you know, everyone expects the other guy to get it instead of one of us getting it.
This too constitutes an indictment.
Patterns continue to reappear in this match, and they favor the defending champions. Denver erased the Lakers’ slim 53-49 halftime lead Thursday night, going on a 22-8 run that ate up nearly 6½ minutes of the third quarter, then adding a 10-2 run at the end of the period for an 83-71 lead.
As Austin Reaves later noted, Denver outscored the Lakers in the third quarter in every game this series, and in two cases it wasn’t close: 32-18 in the first game, 34 -22 in the third game. 2 (they outscored the Lakers by five in the third quarter and by 12 in the fourth).
“Our third quarters were atrocious,” Reaves said. “If we want to get back in this one, we obviously have to be good in all quarters – but especially the third quarter.”
And why was this a problem?
“I think they’re just getting more detailed,” Reaves said. “Their execution is picking up, (and) they’re a little more locked in than we come out of halftime.” You know, we’ve seen Denver all year long. They take advantage of any opportunity. You know, it’s thanks to them. This is a well-coached team. They play hard, do things the right way and play ball the right way. So we had to put together 48 minutes to beat a team like this.
In and of themselves, those words are high praise for Denver coach Michael Malone and a team that has shown it can put it all together against anyone. (And how they managed to place second in the West is beyond me, even though this conference has been hypercompetitive all year.)
But taken in another context, this is a coaching comparison that Ham can’t win, especially in the eyes of his critics on social media who will likely take these comments, and those of Davis after Game 2 , suggesting that there were times when the Lakers fell short. I don’t know what they were doing on the field and will take that as proof enough that coaching is the problem.
Really ? Or are these Lakers a really good team in a tough conference that ended in the worst possible playoff game?
Anyway, I think I mentioned before the series that if everything went well — more specifically, if the Lakers tightened the fourth quarter “and tried not to depend on (LeBron) to bail them out,” they might have a chance to strike. against Denver.
Then again, I didn’t expect it to be the third trimester that would cause so much torment. Either way, this puncher’s luck seems to be about to run out. No NBA team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a series, and these Lakers certainly don’t seem capable of succeeding against these Nuggets.
But they will continue their perseverance.
“You lose, you go home,” James said. “So you go out with the mindset of: Let’s take one, force a Game 5, and then go from there. As long as you still have life, then you obviously believe. You play until the wheels fall off.
The problem is, right now, those wheels are terribly wobbly.
jalexander@scng.com
California Daily Newspapers
