Another series, another virtual must-win Game 6 for the Los Angeles Lakers.
It happened in the first round of the NBA playoffs against the Memphis Grizzlies. The Lakers lost Game 5 by a wide margin despite being armed with a 3-1 series lead. They responded as well as possible, taking Game 6 by 40 points and leaving no doubt they were the superior team.
Their current scenario — up 3-2 over the Golden State Warriors after losing Game 5 on Wednesday, 121-106 — is similar, but different.
The similarity is if the Lakers fail to take care of business in Game 6 on Friday, they will be forced to play a Game 7 on Sunday afternoon in San Francisco. Road teams rarely win Game 7s, especially when they have lost the prior two contests of the series.
But what casts more doubt on L.A.’s situation is it’s going up against the Warriors — the defending NBA champs who have won four titles since the 2014-15 season. They have been in almost every conceivable situation and have overcome a 3-1 series deficit.
In the 2016 Western Conference finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, they trailed in the fourth quarter of Game 6 on the road but won when Klay Thompson went into volcano mode, much as he did in Game 2 of the current series. That victory made it painfully obvious Golden State would take Game 7 at home, which it did.
By losing in Game 5, the Lakers essentially performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on Golden State. They must pull the plug in Game 6, or Thompson and company will likely make a full recovery and send the Purple and Gold to the coroner.
The reasons Lakers fans should have hope
Anthony Davis, after another strong performance, took a blow to the head late in Game 5 and had to leave the game. It was feared he might have a concussion, but, according to Chris Haynes, an early evaluation revealed he may have avoided one.
Early diagnosis indicates Anthony Davis appears to have avoided a concussion and is doing much better now, league sources tell @NBAonTNT, @BleacherReport.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) May 11, 2023
His status for Game 6 is still unknown, but if he’s able to play, there is plenty of reason for optimism.
The Warriors have struggled all season on the road, and they had the second-worst road record in the regular season (11-30) behind the Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs and Detroit Pistons, who had eight road wins apiece.
Furthermore, the Lakers have been rock solid at home lately. They have won eight straight home games and 11 of their last 12. They haven’t lost at home since March 26.
Davis has had three straight games with at least 23 points, breaking his trend of seemingly playing well only every other game, and if he’s good to go for Game 6 on Friday, one should expect him to play up to his standards once again.
LeBron James also acknowledged after Game 5 that the team will essentially treat Game 6 as if it is a Game 7 (at 5:29).
LeBron James speaks on the “flopping” comments and making the All-NBA team for his 19th straight season. pic.twitter.com/PqEpAmkFFO
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) May 11, 2023
Game 6 will reveal to the basketball world a lot about what this Lakers team is made of.
