After giving up a 20-point lead to the defending champs on Monday, the Los Angeles Lakers did not position themselves well to pull off an upset in round one. Even so, it didn't stop veteran guard D'Angelo Russell from making a bold promise to Lakers Nation on his discord.
"I can't say what I wanna say because then I'll get fined and it will go viral. Ima just say I told you I would make them b*tches. We still gonna win," wrote Russell. "Don't give up on us."
It's not a huge mystery what D'Angelo is holding himself back from saying. It is well known that the Lakers were displeased with the officiating in the game, especially in the end when they made some controversial calls that could have gone either way. LeBron James was the first to voice his frustration after the game, and he directly challenged the refs after they overturned a clear foul on D'Angelo Russell.
The feeling in the Lakers locker room is that the mistakes from the refs cost them the game and, quite possibly, their season. At one point during the night, the Lakers were rolling with a 20-point lead, and the trio of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and D'Angelo Russell were hitting their shots all night long.
In the end, however, it still wasn't enough to put away the Nuggets, who stormed back in the final quarter to win the game off a Jamal Murray game-winner. As they head back home to Los Angeles, the Lakers will be desperately looking for answers on any way to slow down this offensive juggernaut. Despite Russell's unwavering confidence, the Lakers' are facing incredible odds to even push this series past five games. It will take nothing short of a miracle to win the next four out of 6 against the team.
Los Angeles Lakers Are Outmatched
The Purple and Gold came into this post-season with a lot of optimism about their team. With their core players healthy and coming off an impressive stretch toward the end of the regular season, it's no surprise that the Lakers embrace the challenge of facing Denver and there was some level of faith that this year would be different than how it played out in 2023.
Through the first two games, however, the signs are not looking good for the Lakers. Game 1 wasn't that close, and the Nuggets pulled away in the second half thanks to big performances from Nikola Jokic and Michael Porter Jr. Game 2 appeared to go the other way for a while until the Nuggets mounted an insane comeback in the final minutes to beat the Lakers by two points.
So far, it appears that nothing has changed for either team since last season, and it looks like history may be bound to repeat itself in this Western Conference rematch. Ultimately, the game that will determine this series happens on Thursday back in Los Angeles. If the Lakers cannot win Game 3 and show some fight at home, they will be facing the impossible challenge of trying to come back from down 3-0.
Head coach Darvin Ham implied after the first game that he still to some tricks up his sleeve but it will take more than that to keep the Lakers' season alive for much longer. In the minds of most experts, this series is already over and the Lakers never really stood a chance.
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