The Los Angeles Lakers are heading to Texas in a situation very few people thought they could be in. LeBron James has led L.A. to a shocking 2-0 series lead over the Houston Rockets, looking like clearly the better team in both games thanks to massive steps forward from James, Luke Kennard and Marcus Smart.
Many predicted the Lakers to handily lose this series once both Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves were ruled out indefinitely. It seems unlikely that either will return in this series — Reaves more likely than Doncic — but the Lakers may be able to win without them. James, though, isn’t getting ahead of himself.
“It means nothing,” James said emphatically of L.A.’s series lead. “Series are not won until you win four. It’s the first to four. But our only mindset is Game 3. The game is always played in between the lines, and that’s all that matters. We have an opportunity to play the next one and that’s all we can ask for.
“We’re in the postseason and to have an opportunity to play another playoff game, we should be excited about that. But we also should make sure we take care of our bodies. That was a hard-fought game and we got tomorrow and then gotta fly down to Houston on Thursday and get ready to play on Friday.”
Nobody in NBA history knows better what it takes to win a playoff game and a playoff series than James. He’s won the most playoff games and playoff series’ of any player in league history, and he knows not to get too confident with two wins remaining.
The Lakers, though, have set themselves up better than anyone expected to be able to win this series without Doncic or Reaves. And that’s a testament to the work that James has already put in the take back the reigns as leading scorer.
LeBron James cautions Lakers about Kevin Durant
The Lakers got the best of Kevin Durant in the second half of Game 2. They held him to three points on 1-of-5 shooting after halftime, showing a window into how the team can stop him moving forward. But James cautioned the Lakers that he’s still Durant, and he’ll have his moment in this series.
“None. That just makes him even madder going into Game 3,” James said after the win. “No satisfaction. You know, we did our job. We did that. But the guy’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer and he’s going to make way more great plays than not. So, we don’t have no satisfaction… That game is over and done with, but it’s still a tall challenge — 7-foot tall, too… He hates that. He might be mad at me if he sees that. He wants to be 6-9 or 6-10 so bad, but he’s 7-foot for sure.”
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