Los Angeles – The lakers‘ 127-97 Game 3 win Golden State Warriors Being on a Saturday meant that for the second consecutive series, Los Angeles started with a win, followed it up with a loss and then responded with another win to go up 2–1.
There appears to be a swing with Los Angeles — only to win by 30 two days after losing by 27 on Thursday — Lebron James Urging his teammates to ignore the extraneous noise that follows the result of each game.
James, after putting up 21 points, eight rebounds and eight rebounds, gave advice, “For young guys who haven’t been a part of the post season or don’t have much experience in the post season, just stay off TV and stay off social media.” helps. “You win a game, everyone is the greatest player in the world; you lose a game, they’re throwing dirt at you. It really is that simple. It’s about training your mind for the next challenge.” And, ‘What’s next’ challenge? It’s game over, we played well. Okay, cool. But we got another one on Monday.'”
Anthony Davis Has become the face of the Lakers’ ups and downs after the season, with some fans suggesting his nickname, Eddie, stands for “alternate days”, because of the disparity in his play from night to night.
While it’s only been nine games so far — a small sample size compared to the fixture that showed averages of 25.9 points, 12.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in 56 games in the regular season — the hot and cold game continued for Davis on Saturday.
He notably started the series with 30 points and 23 rebounds in the Game 1 victory. He followed with 11 and 7 in a Game 2 loss. And then had 25 points and 13 rebounds in Game 3.
After the Lakers improved to 6–3 in the playoffs – 10 wins away from a title – Davis said he heard no criticism of his performance and did not believe his approach varied from game to game, regardless of his numbers. Are.
“I’m not on social media,” Davis said. “My peers aren’t talking about it, my circle, my inner circle isn’t talking about it, so I haven’t [heard about it], this is madness.”
Davis was 7-for-10 from the field and 11-for-12 from the foul line in Game 3. He was 5-for-11 from the field (1-for-1 on free throws) in Game 2 and 11-for-19 (8-for-8 on free throws) in Game 1.
“I had the same shots in Game 1 as I had in Game 2. I made Game 1, I missed Game 2,” he said. “The same shots I had in Game 2, had in Game 3. And I missed in Game 2 and I made it in Game 3. So, I look at it like I just missed shots. I didn’t do anything different.
“I know, especially this time of year, I lay it on the floor and that’s all I can do.”
The biggest change in the Lakers’ approach in Game 3 was coach Darwin Hamm Lonnie Walker IV Leap Troy Brown Jr., And Malik Beasley In his affair Walker, who played 27 total minutes in the playoffs coming into Saturday, had 12 points on 4-for-6 shooting in 25 minutes, including four rebounds and two steals.
The biggest difference in the Lakers’ effectiveness was their perimeter defense. After allowing the Warriors to make 42 3-pointers in the first two games – a record for most 3-pointers in two games to open a series – Golden State shot 13-for-44 (29.5%) in Game 3.
“We are one of the best defensive teams in the league, if not the best,” James said, repeating the same line he said after the Game 2 loss. “And for us to reach our potential, we have to defend at a high level. And there’s no team in this league that tests you more on that side than Golden State.”
The Lakers Know That Nothing Happened In Game 3 — Including d’angelo russell21 points on 8-for-13 shooting, starting with the first 11 points in the first quarter — a guarantee of what’s to come in Monday’s Game 4 of this Western Conference semifinal in Los Angeles or Wednesday’s Game 5 in San San Francisco. Francisco or beyond.
Just as Ham has been preaching since the Lakers scrambled to make up for their 2-10 start to the season by qualifying for the play-in tournament, they can control play with energy, effort and urgency.
Shots will fall. Shots will be missed. Players’ feet will feel fresh in one game and tired in the next.
However, as James and Davis said on Saturday, the Lakers’ mentality can be stable as long as they are disciplined.
Ham said, “Make no mistake about it, the loss, whatever we win, 30 doesn’t represent who that team really is. Just like losing Game 2 doesn’t represent who we are.” “It’s going to be a fight till the end.”
