The excitement of reaching the conference finals is fading; can we skip on to the title game already? The Denver Nuggets took control with a 119-108 victory over the Lakers on Saturday. On Monday night, the Lakers will host the Nuggets at the Crypto.com Arena, hoping to avoid a whitewash.
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Denver Nuggets: Injury Update
The Denver Nuggets, who concluded the regular season as the best team in the Western Conference, are poised to sweep their way into the franchise’s first NBA Finals appearance.
As expected of a No. 1 seed, the Nuggets breezed over their competition. They didn’t give up until Winning Time on Saturday, and from there they pulled away for a 119-108 victory.
The Nuggets have a 3-0 lead, and you’re well aware of the several NBA clubs that have rallied from such a deficit. If you’re wondering how many times this has happened before, the answer is never.
Jamal Murray was the best player on the field, as seen by his 37 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists.
Despite getting fouled early, Nikola Jokic still managed to score 24 points, dish out 8 assists, and pull down 6 boards. This ended his run of four straight triple-doubles in the playoffs.
An end appears to be in sight for the Lakers’ incredible postseason run. In order to make the playoffs, they needed to win a play-in round, and then they had to defeat the second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies and the defending champion Golden State Warriors.
All three games of the Western Conference Finals have been close, but the Lakers have been unable to take advantage of their opportunities.
It’s common knowledge that the Lakers don’t stand a good chance of making it to the NBA Finals if they fall behind in the series by three games.
Lakers star LeBron James stated the team is just taking things one game at a time after Saturday’s 119-108 loss in Los Angeles.
On Saturday, James played well, scoring 23 points, handing out 12 assists, and pulling down 7 boards, but he shot just 8 of 19 from the field and missed 4 of 6 attempts in the fourth quarter.
James (foot) is expected to play in Game 4 on Monday.
Despite re-injuring his left ankle in Game 3, James is still labeled as probable owing to right foot pain that has plagued him throughout the playoffs.
If the Lakers are to have any hope of staging a historic comeback in this series, James will need to play without restriction, barring any injuries.
Davis (foot) is expected to play in Monday’s Game 4 against the Nuggets, according to Harrison Faigen of SBNation.com.
Davis is still dealing with a right foot stress issue, but he has been able to play recently and will most likely do so again Monday as the Lakers try to avoid elimination.
Over the first three games of the series, he has averaging 28.7 points, 14.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 2.7 blocks in 41.7 minutes per game.
The Lakers have removed Mo Bamba‘s name from their injury report, so he should be OK to go for Monday’s Game 4.
After missing the last nine games with an injury, Bamba will be able to play against the Nuggets on Monday, a game that the team needs to win.
The big man seems to be on track to play, but he may not make the rotation considering his limited playing time over the past month and the significance of this game. Bamba, if he plays, will likely be used as a bench player to supplement Nikola Jokic.
