Vista of Lake Buena, Fla. – The Los Angeles Lakers are far from a win to reach the NBA Finals since Kobe Bryant overtook the Boston Celtics a decade ago.
As such, it was right when, in describing how the Lakers suppressed their emotions in moments, Dwight Howard sounded horrible like Bryant on Friday.
Howard was asked about his team’s mindset of entering Game 5 in the Western Conference final against the Denver Nuggets on Saturday, “Easy.” “The job is not done.”
In the 2009 final, Bryant was asked by a reporter why he didn’t smile during his postgame news conference after the Lakers took a 2-0 lead over Howard’s Orlando Magic team. “What to be happy about?” Bryant reacted. “The job isn’t done. Is the job done? I don’t think so.”
The Nuggets team has proven to be resilient when the Lakers are on the verge of elimination. Denver trailed the Utah Jazz 3-1 in the first round and won the series. She trailed the LA Clippers 3-1 in the conference semifinals and also won the series. In light of that, Howard says the Lakers have to play like a team that could see the end of their season on Saturday, rather than give Denver any daylight.
“They’re going to give us their best shot. They’re not going to move,” Howade said. “They’re a really good team, very well coached. We understand that. We’re one step closer to our dreams, so we’re not going to take a step back from the gas. I think we’re going to bring more. Intensity than we brought before.”
“Our team has a lot of experienced people, even coaches. We understand how important this series is and how important this game is and we treat it like our Game 7 with our intensity and our efforts and we should play as hard as we can. We can do it. “
As impressive as the Nuggets, they are one of two 13-1-1 in league history and the first team to return 3-1 twice in a postseason, with their close history next to the Lakers.
ESPN According to statistics and data research, LeBron James is 14-0 in his post-season career in the series, leading his teams 3-1. Eleven of those series ended in Game 5, including two of these playoffs, as the Lakers eliminated the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 5 in the first round and the Houston Rockets in Game 5 in the West Semis.
“In all of these playoff games, our team’s behavior is like winning everyone,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said Friday. “I would say the same mindset has applied to close-out games against Houston and Portland, and we know it’s always been the hardest win in the series, and we expect this to be no different.”
The Lakers listed Anthony Davis as a question mark ahead of Saturday’s game due to a sprained ankle. Davis landed a weird ankle in the fourth quarter of Game 4 but remained in the game. Earlier Friday, Vogel said Davis was “experiencing something to eat” but that it would be “good to go” on Saturday.
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