LeBron James may be 38 years old, but he doesn’t usually look like it on the basketball court. For the past 20 years, he’s been one of the best players in the world and fans are accustomed to seeing him reach the final stages of the NBA playoffs.
In Game 2 against the Nuggets, however, James started to look his age for perhaps the first time in maybe a decade. After missing some layups early in the game, he followed it up with an absolute dud in the closing seconds that could have given the Lakers a chance to send the game into overtime. Instead, he missed the point-blank layup and left many onlookers stunned. James was also 0-6 from the three-point line.
LeBron makes a great steal but Gordon makes him miss the layup! pic.twitter.com/gtguBoKURj
— hoops bot (@hoops_bot) May 19, 2023
LeBron wasn’t the only Laker who struggled in the game. Anthony Davis, despite dropping 18 points, shot just 27% in the game. They were both called out by angry Lakers fans.
LeBron and Anthony Davis tonight: pic.twitter.com/Ulc3FdsQYC
— FanDuel (@FanDuel) May 19, 2023
LeBron James and Anthony Davis today pic.twitter.com/xzjSlmsHJC
— JB (@510JB_) May 19, 2023
Sadly, inconsistency is nothing new from AD but fans expect better from LeBron, who looked pretty good to open the game.
LeBron costing us back-to-back games pic.twitter.com/q6jjVYqc6o
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) May 19, 2023
LeBron might be washed omg 😭💔💔
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) May 19, 2023
I’m not gonna lie, this is one of the first times that LeBron James looks really old.
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) May 19, 2023
Needless to say, LeBron isn’t quite the same guy he used to be, but it’s still too early to count the Lakers out in this series.
How Will Lakers Respond After Losing Game 2?
Now down 0-2, the Lakers are facing perhaps their most challenging stretch yet. Besides protecting home court, they’ll have to win at least one game in Denver if they want to move on to the NBA Finals.
Still, facing a must-win scenario in Game 3, the Lakers are confident they can come back and win the series.
“When you look at me and Bron, we consider ourselves one of the top duos in the league,” said Anthony Davis. “We’re trying to do everything we can to try to take advantage of this window that we have. Championship-built teams don’t always come around.”
The Lakers got this far because of their defense, which has effectively shut down their competition this season. In this series, the Nuggets have found ways to exploit L.A.’s defense thanks to Nikola Jokic and hot shooting from Jamal Murray.
Expect the Lakers to come out desperate on Saturday with their season potentially on the line.
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