Through the first three games of the Western Conference Finals, the Denver Nuggets are showing why they’re the No. 1 seed and why the Los Angeles Lakers are the No. 7 seed.
The Nuggets handed the Lakers their first home loss of the postseason on Sunday night, taking a commanding 3-0 series lead, which no NBA team has ever come back from.
Shooting has been a big struggle for the Lakers this series with D’Angelo Russell, in particular, shooting just 8-for-27 from the field (29.6%) and 2-for-14 from 3-point range (14.3%).
If the Lakers are going to get back in the series then they will need to make shots, and it seems they understand they need to be better in that department. Russell and Lonnie Walker IV were both seen getting extra shots up immediately after the Game 3 loss:
Lonnie Walker's IG Story Tonight After Game 3 pic.twitter.com/j8TvK1IWXJ
— 𝘾𝙤𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙎𝙝𝙪𝙗𝙝 (@OVOLakeShow) May 21, 2023
D’Angelo Russell is out on the court practicing after the Lakers fell in a 0-3 hole to the Nuggets pic.twitter.com/mrrN8y7ARi
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) May 21, 2023
Walker has shot pretty well so far in this series, making four of his 10 3-pointer attempts. He has always been an extremely hard worker though, which is why he has been able to make an impact for the Lakers this postseason after being out of the rotation completely for a couple of months.
While coming back from down 3-0 is an incredibly difficult task, it is good to see the Lakers have not lost hope and are still putting in the work to make it happen.
James still has belief and hopes teammates do too
The Lakers have been through a lot this season to get to this point, facing adversity at every step of the way.
Their leadership has allowed them to keep pushing though, and that is the same now as LeBron James expressed that he still has belief and hopes his teammates do as well.
“I mean, it should be. I hope so. I can’t speak for the guys right now because I don’t know what’s going on through all their minds right now. But I still do. So you know, it’s time to go right back home and start to refuel and start the treatment process and recovery process and get ready for Monday. My mindset is always locked in as if it’s Game 1.”
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