Lakers

Lakers Notes: LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves

May 19, 2023

Star forward LeBron James turned his ankle in the Lakers’ Game 2 loss to the Nuggets, but said he’ll be ready for Game 3. The Lakers trail the Western Conference finals series by a 2-0 count.

“Nothing is keeping me from playing,” James said, via Chris Haynes of TNT/Bleacher Report.

By the way, James has missed 19 straight 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, dating back to Game 2 of the first, per ESPN Stats & Info. No other player has missed that many in a row in the fourth in 25 years.

Shooting guard Austin Reaves said James’ struggles shouldn’t deter him from continuing to shoot.

“I mean, he can shoot all he wants,” Reaves said, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “It’s LeBron James. I don’t think anybody bats an eye when he shoots a shot or questions his shot. We want him taking whatever he feels comfortable with, just because he’s a winning basketball player for his whole career and that’s all he wants to do, he wants to win.”

James, 38, is still having success driving to the basket, but jump shots have been a problem vs. the Nuggets. “When you need LeBron to dominate at both ends every single game, I don’t think it’s a fair ask of him at this point,” ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said. “And if the Lakers need that, they’re probably going to keep having struggles.”
Forward/center Anthony Davis struggled shooting in Game 2 but vowed to improve as the series shifts to LA. “I liked all the looks that I got today,” Davis said, via McMenamin. “Just a lot of them were short. I’m going to continue to shoot those shots and I got to be better, more efficient, help the team win. So, I’ll be better.”
James added that the Lakers just need to take the same approach in Game 3. “We still got to play with the same desperation as we did tonight,” he said, via McMenamin. “We came out with an L but doesn’t give us any more comfort. We can’t go into any postseason game with comfort, just because you either haven’t lost at home or you’re going back home.”