Luka Doncic wont be playing tonight (Image via Imagn Images)
It was unexpected that the Los Angeles Lakers would start their first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets with a 2-0 advantage. Now, the Lakers are preparing for a pivotal Game 3 matchup with the Houston Rockets.
But without Luka Doncic, their leading scorer, Los Angeles has had to adjust to life without him.Many thought the short-handed No. 4 seed was doomed. However, the Lakers are only two victories away from making it to the Western Conference semifinals because to back-to-back outstanding games from shooter Luke Kennard and age-defying contributions from LeBron James.
Lakers aim to take control in Game 3 as Luka Doncic remains sidelined
Although they don’t exactly need to win Game 3, Los Angeles has to take a dominating 3-0 lead because they are short-handed.
Naturally, the Rockets want to avoid that by getting their offense back on track. Without superstar Kevin Durant, they shot only 38% in Game 1, and their performance wasn’t any better with him. In Game 2, Houston scored just 94 points on just 40% of their field goals. In his comeback, Durant did score 23 points. Unfortunately for the Lakers, Doncic has already been ruled out for the upcoming postseason matchup, so they will still be without him on Friday night when they play the Rockets in Game 3.
A new update was given by Shams Charania of ESPN. Doncic isn’t anticipated to play in this series against the Rockets, he said.
That is a setback for Los Angeles, but with the Rockets leading 2-0 and successfully defending home court, all the emphasis is on them. Reaves might be able to make a comeback if the series goes to six or seven games.Shams claims that Reaves is getting closer to making a comeback than Doncic. The ideal situation for Los Angeles would be to win either Game 3 or Game 4 and finish the series in Game 5 back in Los Angeles.There would have been far more stress going into Friday if Los Angeles had lost either of their first two playoff games against the Rockets. Not having Doncic in the lineup isn’t the end of the world, either, since the Lakers have total control over the series and, really, just need one road victory to feel secure about finishing it.The Lakers’ ultimate objective is to easily defeat the Rockets in the first round so that Doncic has enough time to recuperate before playing again. The Lakers are following the plan thus far, and it is already helping them.
