33 teams in NBA history have come back from down 0-2.
LeBron has done it three times (2007, 2016, 2018)
The odds may be stacked against us, but I refuse to lose hope. 😤 pic.twitter.com/t3MJ1jMmH4
— Lakers All Day Everyday (@LADEig) April 24, 2024
JJ Redick is a ‘serious candidate’ for the Hornets’ head coaching position and could land ANOTHER interview, per @ShamsCharania
“JJ Redick has interviewed for the Charlotte Hornets head coaching job, I'm told, he could have another interview soon as well, he's a serious… pic.twitter.com/iFcaiH6Wc1
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) April 24, 2024
"We still gonna win. Don't give up on us."
– D'Angelo Russell pic.twitter.com/oq8gedgtsc
— Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) April 24, 2024
Lakers Video: James Worthy & Robert Horry Have Strong Criticism After Game 2 Loss To Nuggets https://t.co/dVTlTgLtdU
— LakerTom (@LakerTom) April 24, 2024
Lakers are immediately turning their focus to Game 3 after gut-punch Game 2 loss to Nuggets https://t.co/j10jDvDYDj
— LakerTom (@LakerTom) April 24, 2024
There isn’t any quick way to recover from a loss as demoralizing as the one the Lakers suffered on Monday. After looking on the brink of snapping their nine-game losing streak to the Nuggets and, more importantly, evening the series at 1-1, the Lakers collapsed in the fourth quarter and Jamal Murray delivered a buzzer-beating dagger to the heart.
Now down 2-0, the Lakers said all the right things postgame — after they took aim at the officials, at least — even if it came out of the mouths of frustrated faces.
“We’ll be better from this,” head coach Darvin Ham said. “Definitely be better from it. But they did what they were supposed to do, they held serve. Again, it’s not the first to one, two or three. It’s the first to four. We just have to go home and do the same, starting with Game 3.”
That was the focus of everyone on Monday: Game 3. It makes sense. The Lakers can do nothing now about Game 2, so the quicker they move past the feeling of that game and onto the next, the quicker they can put that in the past.
“It stings. Remember this feeling as we take it back home to LA,” Ham said. “Now we have to give them that same feeling in Game 3. That needs to be the sole focus. Recovery process has to start now in filling our cups back up. Game 3. It’s all about Game 3 right now.”
In his lengthy career, LeBron James has grown familiar with falling behind 0-2 in a series. This is the eighth time he’s dropped the first two games of the series. In the other seven instances, he is 3-4.
“Protect home. That’s where my mindset goes,” LeBron said. “Only game that matters now is Game 3 and how we can get better, how we can figure this team out. Game 3 is where my mindset is.”
LeBron has come back from down 0-2 to win the series just twice: the 2016 NBA Finals against the Warriors and the Eastern Conference Finals against the Celtics. Even for the arguably greatest of all time, this is a steep hill.
Lakers Will Be Better From Game 2 Buzzer-Beating Loss To Nuggets https://t.co/oUwOGVcihw
— LakerTom (@LakerTom) April 24, 2024
Murray had 14 points in the final frame, scored the last six for his team and that is all he needed to get the job done. Ham broke down what he saw during that final sequence leading up to the buzzer-beater.
“They came down, they wanted to get their two best players in the action, which they did,” Ham said after losing 101-99. “Jamal Murray hit a tough shot. Fading away on the baseline to his right, AD with an outstretched arm and good contest, kid hit a tough shot.”
The Lakers cannot overcome the boogeyman as after starting both games strong, they’ve shot themselves in the foot. Denver capitalizes off every missed opportunity and no lead is truly never safe against them, if that is not clear by now. Ham was asked about the second-half struggles once again and believes the team will be better from last night’s performance but stressed that they can’t take any possessions off.
“Once we watch the game, we’ll figure that out,” he said. “We played a solid basketball game defensively for three quarters. That’s a tough team, you got to come with it. You can’t take any possessions off. The ball gets knocked around, it falls into Michael Porter’s hands and he hits a big 3 for them. So we got to be on deck at all times versus this ballclub. Offensively, we got some good stuff, Bron had it going, DLo had it going from 3.
“We’ll be better from this, definitely will be better from it. They did what they were supposed to do, they held serve. Again, it’s not the first to one, two or three. It’s the first two four. We just got to go home and do the same starting with Game 3.”
Now, it becomes an even taller task to pull off this first-round upset for the Lakers. Once this series wraps up, L.A. has nobody to blame but themselves as they cannot execute at a high enough level down the stretch of games.
Game 3 now likely decides the fate of the Lakers’ season, so it will be interesting to see if Ham has his team ready to go.
While the doubters and naysayers have declared the Los Angeles Lakers dead in the water after Game 2’s crushing loss, the reality is the Denver Nuggets are lucky to be up 2–0 and have just held serve on home court.
While last night’s discouraging loss to the Nuggets was the Lakers’ 10th straight in row, this was not only the closest game but also the first time the Lakers showcased their new 3-point prowess and almost won the game.
Headed back home to L.A., there’s no reason to believe the Lakers will be anything but greatly encouraged at how they shot the ball and competed last night. If anything, the Lakers cannot wait to play the Nuggets again.
The Lakers and Nuggets first round playoff series now moves to Los Angeles for two critical games on Thursday and Saturday nights, which the Lakers desperately need to win to even up the series at 2 games each.
While many NBA observers have already written the Lakers off after having lost ten straight games to the Nuggets, the reality despite the record is that the two teams are fairly evenly matched when both are fully healthy.
The Lakers’ problem is they’re missing two of their bigs in in 6′ 10″ forward Jarred Vanderbilt and 6′ 10″ forward Christian Wood. That’s left them with just three playable bigs: Anthony Davis, LeBron James, and Jaxson Hayes.
The good news is there’s a realistic chance one of Vando or Wood may be healthy enough to play on Thursday. Having one or both of these players available the rest of this series and the rest of the playoffs could be critical.
Last season’s conference finals sweep and L.A.’s current 10-game losing streak have totally distorted how evenly matched L.A. and Denver are. Let’s look at the bad news and good news that support L.A. winning the series.
The Bad News!
The Bad News is the Los Angeles Lakers lost their 10th straight game to the Denver Nuggets, blowing a 20-point lead and opportunity to steal home court advantage and set themselves up to win the series in L.A. in 6 games.
To say this was a crushing defeat is an understatement. After doing almost everything right to build a 15-point half-time lead and 20-point lead early in the 3rd quarter, the Lakers once again took their foot off the proverbial gas.
This time it was a 5-minute period in the third quarter that cut the lead in half and multiple stretches in the fourth quarter that eventually eliminated the rest of the Lakers’ lead and opened the door for the Nuggets win.
Statistically, the game was a reversal of Game 1, where the Nuggets outshot the Lakers from three by 21 points. This time, the Lakers’ newfound prowess from deep prevailed and L.A. won the 3-point war by 15 points.
Unfortunately, the Nuggets won the free throw battle in Game 2 by 5 made free throws after losing it to L.A. by 12 made free throws in Game 1. Lakers average 25 free throws per game but shot just 13 free throws in Game 2.
Once again, the Lakers’ lack of size due to the injuries to Christian Wood and Jarred Vanderbilt was costly as L.A. lost both the points-in-the-paint and offensive and defensive rebounding battles to the bigger Nuggets.
Los Angeles likely blew their best opportunity to make this a series. While the Lakers next two games are at home, the harsh reality is that the Denver Nuggets currently have a 4-game winning streak at Crypto.com Arena.
After losing their 10th straight game to Denver Nuggets, the odds of the Los Angeles Lakers turning things around and beating the world champions in four of the next five playoff games don’t even qualify as a puncher’s chance.
The Good News!
The good news is, though the path is challenging and the odds long, the Los Angeles Lakers still have a realistic opportunity not only to win this series but also to win the Western Conference and make it to the NBA Finals.
Due to their slow start, the Lakers have essentially been in various levels of playoff mode for over a month. They’ve survived by focusing on winning one game at a time and that’s what we should expect the next two games.
When you’ve lost 10 in a row to them, it’s hard to believe all the Nuggets did by winning those two games in Denver was hold home court but that’s the truth. If the Lakers can win their two at home, the series will be even.
Despite losing both games, the Lakers shot better from the field (49.0% to 45.3%) and from deep (35.6% to 35.3%) than the Nuggets. Last year, Denver shot better from the field (49.3% to 47.6%) and from deep (40.3% to 34.9%).
Where the Lakers are getting killed in on the boards and in the paint but it looks like reinforcements may be on the way with both Christian Wood and Jarred Vanderbilt hopefully available to play starting Thursday night.
Right now, the Lakers can’t look any further ahead than the next game but if they can win Thursday and Saturday nights, the series will be tied 2–2 and the Lakers will be the team with the winning streak and momentum.
The addition of Wood and Vanderbilt should enable the Lakers to better match the Nuggets on the boards and in the paint and it’s highly unlikely the Nuggets will shoot more free throws than the Lakers going forward.
The basketball gods giveth and taketh. Sometimes, what almost kills a team actually makes them better. The Lakers are angry and hungry and still have a viable path not only to winning this series but also winning #18.
Big question is what does LeBron think of Darvin as his head coach?
It would be an obvious & logical move to make sure you have a coach you trust before signing to remain a Laker for the next three years.
We hear all the time about LeGM. Maybe it's time for James to be that. https://t.co/778qWk2vqn pic.twitter.com/KPSrNbo4S6
— LakerTom (@LakerTom) April 23, 2024
D'Angelo Russell sends Lakers fans important message after Game 2 heartbreak https://t.co/nbpApnR5Oe
— LakerTom (@LakerTom) April 23, 2024
The Los Angeles Lakers suffered a gut-punching loss to the Denver Nuggets in Game 2. They were up 20 in the Mile High City only to watch their lead slowly slip away. Jamal Murray hit the game-winning shot over Anthony Davis and left Lakers Nation feeling heartbroken and dejected.
AD sounded off after the game as did other Lakers. They were upset about the officiating, coaching, and losing a tough game to fall behind 0-2 in the series. The Nuggets swept LA on their way to the 2023 championship and have won ten straight over the Lakers. Ham has been a problem, but LeBron James and company must win on Thursday to have any chance in this series.
Monday’s loss was the type that can break a team. The Lakers gave their best effort. LeBron was lights out down the stretch. Davis had 32 points and D’Angelo Russell got hot after a rough Game 1. It would be easy for LA to fold, but D-Lo is not letting that happen.
D’Angelo Russell urges fans not to give up with a positive message
Russell had just 13 points in Game 1 on six of 20 shooting from the field. He made just one of his nine 3-point attempts after struggling in the conference finals series against the Nuggets in 2023. D-Lo has been a key piece for the Lakers all season and head coach Darvin Ham had faith in him heading into Game 2.
Russell responded by hitting six threes, dropping six assists, and finishing with 23 points in 39 minutes of action. He was a crucial part of building the massive lead, and the Lakers outscored Denver by four with him on the floor.
After Monday’s loss, D-Lo made it clear that the LA was going to win this series on his podcast Discord. Fans should not give up. The Nuggets won two games in Denver. The Lakers still just need to steal one game in the Mile High City and take care of business in Los Angeles. Nothing will be easy against the defending champions, but the Lakers have the talent and produced plenty of positives in Game 2.
They need the fan’s help as the series shifts to Crypto.com Arena on Thursday night. Expect a sellout crowd, but the Lakers need them cheering loud for the home team. LeBron James is still elite and Anthony Davis deserves All-NBA consideration. They can win two games in LA and shift the series back to Denver tied at two games apiece. The Lakers need D’Angelo Russell and others to step up too. It will take a total team effort to beat the Nuggets.
This series is far from over. The Los Angeles Lakers desperately need to snap their losing streak against the Nuggets and get on the board. One win could sway things, and the pressure will continue to mount on the defending champs. Can LA take advantage? D-Lo thinks they can. Stay tuned to find out if he is right.
LeBron walked out on postgame presser after Game 2 loss after discussing frustration with officiating pic.twitter.com/HzeiiCiulI
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 23, 2024
Lakers’ D’Angelo Russell Blasts NBA Officiating After Controversial Ruling https://t.co/JAGc6wI48L via @heavysan
— LakerTom (@LakerTom) April 23, 2024
#Lakers could be getting Jarred Vanderbilt back in Game 3.https://t.co/8U6z3qeLzb pic.twitter.com/WutruiPxyw
— Lakers Nation (@LakersNation) April 23, 2024
Christian Wood returning immediately reminds me of the Lakers running a successful 3 big lineup of AD, Wood, & Hayes against the Clippers early in the season. You already can run a steady dose of 2 big now, might as well pull out the big guns. https://t.co/k6SFsLao2E pic.twitter.com/1bBmFJ8uCd
— Ishan Ghosh (@ishanghosh824) April 21, 2024
BREAKING: Both Jarred Vanderbilt and Christian Wood are targeting Game 3 against the Nuggets to make their returns, per @mcten
— Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) April 23, 2024
Nikola Jokić drops 27 PTS, 20 REB, 10 AST as Denver COMES BACK FROM 20 DOWN to beat the Lakers 101-99 and take a 2-0 series lead! 🤯
Jamal Murray had 20 PTS, 3 REB, 5 AST, 2 BLK and the GAME-WINNER! pic.twitter.com/WoDibDrfWf
— Basketball Forever (@bballforever_) April 23, 2024
Your starters… pic.twitter.com/mIANZizwL8
— Trevor Lane (@Trevor_Lane) April 23, 2024
Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell warming up… Gonna need a big game from these two pic.twitter.com/9z2Cstq066
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) April 23, 2024
The Lakers finished second in a 4-way tiebreaker for the 2024 NBA Draft order after closing the season tied with Philly, Orlando and Indiana with 47 wins.
The teams will pick as follows:
16) Sixers
17) Lakers
18) Magic
19) Pacers— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) April 22, 2024
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