The Los Angeles Lakers are down 3-2 and face elimination tonight. The effort that was displayed in Game 5 was absolutely horrific. LeBron James and crew came out with some aggression at first but once the Phoenix Suns punched back, the Lakers cowered away.
It’s one thing to just lose a playoff game but to go down by 30 before halftime is ridiculous. The Lakers will be better because they have to be better but I think most fans will ask this one favor…
Go down swinging.
Dennis Schroder was 0 for 9 but stopped shooting once his confidence was shaken. His performance does not help the outlook of his future with the team. He was not alone in that regard as Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Kyle Kuzma and Markieff Morris continued to turn down open shots, which resulted in turnovers.
At the end of the day, nobody would be mad if those guys took those opportunities because at least you gave it your best shot.
Going into Game 6, the Los Angeles Lakers should be ready to empty the clip.
LeBron is not absolved of this issue as well. In Game 5, LeBron put up only seven points in the first half. That’s not going to cut it especially with AD being out injured. Anything less than 25+ field goal attempts in Game 6 for LeBron is unacceptable. AD’s status is still in the air for game six, so LeBron has no excuse to not go down swinging.
Vogel has some blame on his shoulders as well. The starting lineup in Game 5 had a combined ZERO minutes played together in what was a pivotal match. The time to try out lineups to see what works is done, Vogel has to commit to proven players in this situation who have chemistry.
Also, I would like to see Vogel run more actions with LeBron in the post, which would require playing a secondary ball-handler at all times with LeBron.
In conclusion, the Lakers need to bring back the intensity they had as the number one ranked defense in the league. It’s okay to miss shots but to give up uncontested drives to the basket over and over again demoralizes the team.
Going down swinging isn’t just about shooting as much as you can, it also pertains to forcing Phoenix to play their absolute best to beat you. Each Laker should take it as a challenge anytime somebody from the Suns tries to drive to the rim.
If the Lakers are going to force a Game 7, it will come down to how much are they willing to fight for it. It has been quite some time since the Lakers have had a do-or-die game and I for one was excited to see what these players are made of.