Prior to Game 2, Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone tried to rally his team some more by saying everyone is counting out his team after the Los Angeles Lakers made an adjustment of having Rui Hachimura guard Nikola Jokic.
Creating a false narrative seemed to work for Malone as the Nuggets were able to overcome a double-digit deficit in the second half to take Game 2 from the Lakers. Los Angeles played well for the most of the night and looked on their way to evening the series, but weren’t able to withstand an offensive avalanche from Jamal Murray in the fourth quarter.
While Murray’s hot shooting will be what most people remember from Game 2, there was an incident earlier in the game where LeBron James lingered on the ground after slightly twisting his ankle. James has had to deal with ailing foot and ankle issues throughout the playoffs, so it was no surprise to hear him say he’ll be ready to go for Game 3 via Dave McMenamin of ESPN:
LeBron James twisted his left ankle late in Game 2 by stepping on Aaron Gordon’s foot. He was evaluated after the game but Saturday’s Game 3 isn’t in question. “They’re still there,” he told ESPN, pulling a towel off his ankles. “A little ankle isn’t going to stop me”
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) May 19, 2023
James would later confirm in his postgame press conference that he is feeling OK.
“Yeah, I think I stepped on somebody’s foot. I think it was maybe Aaron Gordon or one of the guys underneath the basket, but it will be fine.”
With his team down 2-0, there’s just no way the Lakers would have a chance to get back into the series without James on the floor. While James had arguably his worst performance of the postseason in Game 2, L.A. needs him to be a rim threat and playmaker to stress out the Denver defense as much as possible.
However, there is some cause for concern as the every-other-day play schedule works heavily against a team like the Lakers and James. Without as much time to recover in between games, it’s fair to wonder how much James can muster up for such a pivotal Game 3.
Knowing James, he’ll do everything in his power to heal up as much as possible and the purple and gold will need him at his best if they hope to finally take a win in the series.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope believes LeBron James got spark back following trade deadline
When watching James on the court, one can get the sense he truly believes his team can win the title this year. That wasn’t always the case throughout the 2022-23 season as he seemed to coast during games, but Kentavious Caldwell-Pope believes that James has got that spark back following the trade deadline.
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