Darvin Ham faced the media after the Lakers fell to a 107-12 loss to the Nuggets in Game 3, extending their playoff deficit to 0-3 in their 11th straight loss to the Nuggets since 2022.
The Lakers lost yet again to the Nuggets on Thursday, effectively ending their season as they fell to a 3-0 hole in the series. Officially, the Lakers and Nuggets have to play one more game in this series before it’s over.
It was an all-too-familiar feeling for the Lakers on Thursday as they fell to the Nuggets for an eleventh straight time to fall down 3-0 in the series.
After blowing two leads and dropping two close games on the road, the Los Angeles Lakers return home and host the Denver Nuggets in Game 3 of their first round series on Thursday night.
Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets will face each other in Game 3 of the NBA Playoffs Round 1 today, April 25, starting at 10:00 PM ET in the Crypto.com Arena.
Although it’s not a good look for the Lakers to be pointing fingers after a loss, the easy fix would come from the team winning Games 3 and 4 in Los Angeles.
After a demoralizing Game 2 loss, the Los Angeles Lakers have stressed that they are focused on Game 3 and must put that defeat behind them. They now get the chance as they return home to Crypto.com Arena with plans on finally getting in the win column against the Denver Nuggets.
A player that the Los Angeles Lakers are desperately missing is Jarred Vanderbilt, who always provides a ton of energy and hustle. Specifically when it comes to the defensive end, he is someone who could take the assignment of guarding Jamal Murray in their first-round matchup with the Denver Nuggets if he was healthy.
The bench production for the Los Angeles Lakers certainly has been lacking in the postseason, and that goes back to the end of the regular season. But through the first two games of the Lakers’ first-round matchup with the Denver Nuggets, they have only gotten 17 bench points with all of them coming from Taurean Prince.
One of the biggest storylines going into the Los Angeles Lakers’ first round series against the Denver Nuggets was how D’Angelo Russell would hold up and if head coach Darvin Ham would have to adjust his starting lineup next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis the way he did last season.