In this crazy season, Game 5 is a must-win for the Lakers.
They have a 3-1 series lead over the Rockets in the first round of the playoffs. They’re going to have multiple chances to clinch. They’re firmly in control.
This season, nothing has gone as expected for the Lakers. Nothing has made sense. Nothing adds up.
For a long time, the Lakers looked like they were a play-in team. Then they somehow figured things out and went on a stunning 16-2 run this spring.
Just when we digested that wild turn of events, they lost Luka Doncic (hamstring) and Austin Reaves (oblique) to injuries with five games remaining in the regular season.
That left our heads reeling. They had no chance in the postseason without their top-two scorers. Scribes were writing the Lakers’ obituaries before they even played Game 1.
About an hour before the series opener, we found out that Kevin Durant — who only missed four regular-season games — would miss Game 1 because of a knee injury he sustained in practice. He’d go on to also miss Games 3 and 4 due to a left ankle sprain.
All of a sudden, the hapless Lakers featuring a 41-year-old LeBron James and a bunch of role players had a 3-0 series lead over the Rockets before losing Game 4 on Sunday, 115-96.
So, here’s the deal right now. No team has ever recovered from a 3-0 series deficit in NBA history. Teams with that advantage are 159-0.
But in this topsy-turvy, unpredictable season, wouldn’t it be the icing on the cake if the Lakers once again made our jaws drop and lost the series?
It would be the twist no one saw coming at the end of the movie. It would be the team’s worst nightmare.
So, the Lakers need to slam the door on this series before the impossible can happen again.
The Lakers fell apart in Game 4. They had 24 turnovers which led to 30 points for the Rockets. They shot 22.7% from beyond the arc.
James, who has played superstar-caliber basketball this series, had one of his worst playoff performances in his 23-season career, finishing with just 10 points on 2-for-9 shooting and eight turnovers.
Marcus Smart went from being a Rottweiler in Games 2 and 3 to devolving into a Maltese in Game 4, finishing with the worst plus-minus (-20) of anyone on the court.
Luke Kennard went from having a coming-out party this postseason as a playmaking, sharpshooting star to having a complete disappearing act on Sunday, finishing with just seven points and two assists.
The Lakers are tired. They’re weakened. There’s a dent in their armor.
And if the series is extended beyond Wednesday’s contest, games would be played every other day.
That’s a dangerous prospect for the Lakers’ exhausted legs, especially considering James has already carried this depleted roster on his arthritic-prone body more successfully than anyone anticipated. There are rumblings that Reaves could return for Game 5, but the Lakers can’t count on that.
They can’t let this young Rockets team believe they have a chance in this series. They can’t let the team’s shooters find their stroke. They can’t let Durant return and take over.
They can’t crack the door open for what could potentially be the biggest upset in NBA playoff history.
In this wild season where the rug seems to constantly be ripped out from under them at every turn, the Lakers need to treat Game 5 as though it were an elimination game.
Or else they could set themselves up for the ultimate shocker.
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