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In Game 3 of the Lakers' 116-104 loss to the Timberwolves in their opening-round Western Conference playoff series, it became clear--as if it were not already--that this series is lined up to be a grind for whomever wins. While L.A. is the No. 3 seed and entered with homecourt advantage over the No. 6 Timberwolves, the fact is, the two sides are evenly matched.
In fact, after Game 3, the buzz word was, "margin," as in, margin of error. There is not much for these teams, either way. And the 19 turnovers committed by the Lakers proved to eat too far into their margin for the team to come away with a win.
“It’s just, we don’t have a huge margin for error,” coach JJ Redick said after the game.
Star forward LeBron James, who carried the scoring load as Luka Doncic struggled with a stomach virus, agreed.
Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77)Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images
“In the postseason, obviously you’re not gonna play a perfect game,” James said. “But the more that you make mistakes on top of mistakes on top of mistakes, things that can be controlled, then it’s not gonna give you an opportunity to be in the best possible chance to win.”
For the Lakers, getting to something close to full health in time for Sunday afternoon's Game 4 (3:30 ET in Minnesota) will do wonders for that slim margin. The Lakers are dealing not only with Doncic's illness, but also with a banged-up James, who has had injuries to his groin and hip down the stretch of the season.
On Saturday night, the NBA released the official Lakers injury report -- and the good news is that neither Doncic nor James is on it.
That does not mean either is 100% healthy, of course.
As Athletic reporter Jovan Buha wrote on X: "JJ Redick said he thinks LeBron James is moving better each day and he needed about two weeks from his left hip flexor strain he suffered against Houston to begin looking more like himself."
Continue reading...
In fact, after Game 3, the buzz word was, "margin," as in, margin of error. There is not much for these teams, either way. And the 19 turnovers committed by the Lakers proved to eat too far into their margin for the team to come away with a win.
“It’s just, we don’t have a huge margin for error,” coach JJ Redick said after the game.
Star forward LeBron James, who carried the scoring load as Luka Doncic struggled with a stomach virus, agreed.
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Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77)Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images
“In the postseason, obviously you’re not gonna play a perfect game,” James said. “But the more that you make mistakes on top of mistakes on top of mistakes, things that can be controlled, then it’s not gonna give you an opportunity to be in the best possible chance to win.”
For the Lakers, getting to something close to full health in time for Sunday afternoon's Game 4 (3:30 ET in Minnesota) will do wonders for that slim margin. The Lakers are dealing not only with Doncic's illness, but also with a banged-up James, who has had injuries to his groin and hip down the stretch of the season.
On Saturday night, the NBA released the official Lakers injury report -- and the good news is that neither Doncic nor James is on it.
That does not mean either is 100% healthy, of course.
As Athletic reporter Jovan Buha wrote on X: "JJ Redick said he thinks LeBron James is moving better each day and he needed about two weeks from his left hip flexor strain he suffered against Houston to begin looking more like himself."
Continue reading...
