D’Angelo Russell is looking to keep proving to the Lakers that he provides value as their starting point guard, despite the inconsistency in form and lackluster defensive effort. At least he’s addressing the latter in the best way he can.
Russell looked to go for a clean swat on Jamal Murray as he was going up for a layup. While he did end up fouling and missing the ball, Russell was surprisingly called for a flagrant one despite not intentionally hurting Murray.
D'Angelo Russell was hit with a flagrant 1 foul for this foul on Jamal Murray.
Good or bad flagrant call? 🤔pic.twitter.com/uFcScNCYno
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 19, 2023
LeBron James was not happy about the call, repeatedly asking the referees what did Russell do to warrant a flagrant being called on that play.
LeBron James: "What did he do?"pic.twitter.com/8fsYseF33w
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 19, 2023
Midway through the second quarter, the Lakers lead this game by eight points with a 40-32 scoreline with 7:46 left in the quarter. It hasn’t been the Anthony Davis or LeBron show, in fact, it’s been Rui Hachimura’s sensational 13 points on 5/5 shooting off the bench that’s keeping the Lakers ahead. Fans were upset that Rui didn’t start Game 2.
Nikola Jokic has 11 points and is leading his team admirably, but the Lakers have managed to make scoring much harder for players like Jamal Murray and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
The Lakers Need To Win Game 2
The Lakers have some very unique stats to their name this postseason. The most interesting one of all is that the team has won every game so far in the playoffs when they’re coming off a loss. What’s even more remarkable is that the Lakers are averaging over a 25-point margin of victory in these games. They are 4-0 coming off a loss and usually look dominant.
As a lower-seed, the Lakers need to steal road wins to give themselves a shot at winning. Game 2 will be crucial for their hopes to qualify for the Finals, as it’ll let them take a tied series back to LA for Games 3 and 4. The Nuggets are undefeated at home in the playoffs, so the Lakers need to do something nobody has done in the postseason to advance to the NBA Finals.
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