"It's first to four wins"- LeBron James says series far from over as Lakers head home trailing 2-0

LeBron James remains optimistic about the LA Lakers' chances of making a comeback in their conference finals series against the Denver Nuggets despite being 2-0 down. For the first time in the 2023 NBA playoffs, the Lakers failed to return home for Game 3 without a road win.

The away win was crucial in their series wins over the Memphis Grizzlies in round one and Golden State Warriors in the conference semis. The Lakers took a commanding 3-1 series lead in both contests to get the opportunity to close their opponents out in Game 6 at home.

That's seemingly not the direction they're trending in against the top-seeded Nuggets. However, James laid out the rules simple and plain, saying that the team that records the first four wins is the one that advances.

"This is not the NCAA tournament. It's the first to four wins... Until a team beats you four times, then you always have an opportunity to come out of it," said LeBron (via SB Nation's Harrison Faigen). "If we can get better from Game 2 to Game 3, then we'll put ourselves in a position to do that."

Harrison Faigen

@hmfaigen

"This is not the NCAA tournament. It's the first to four wins... Until a team beats you four times, then you always have an opportunity to come out of it," LeBron says. "If we can get better from Game 2 to Game 3, then we'll put ourselves in a position to do that."

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"This is not the NCAA tournament. It's the first to four wins... Until a team beats you four times, then you always have an opportunity to come out of it," LeBron says. "If we can get better from Game 2 to Game 3, then we'll put ourselves in a position to do that."

The LA Lakers have been a dominant force at home this postseason. They're unbeaten at the Crypto.com Arena in seven games, including the play-in tournament. Meanwhile, the Nuggets are 2-3 on the road in the 2023 playoffs. The numbers favor the Lakers, but the momentum is on the Nuggets' side after two stellar wins to open the series.

Nevertheless, LeBron James has been in the midst of several playoff battles in his career in which his teams have trailed by a significant margin, so ruling out the Lakers would be premature

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LeBron James largely responsible for LA Lakers being 2-0 down

The LA Lakers have been successful due to LeBron James since his arrival. However, James has been largely responsible for their back-to-back losses to open the conference finals series against the Denver Nuggets.

James' numbers are respectable, but some of his questionable plays have hurt the Lakers big time, especially down the stretch. In Game 1 of the Denver series, James attempted a 3-point shot to tie the game with 45 seconds left. The Lakers could've handled that situation differently by creating a better shot opportunity.

James was struggling from range and shouldn't have been the one to attempt a long-range shot in a crucial Game 1 contest, which was highly winnable. He went 0-for-4 from the deep in that game. James' 3-point shooting struggles continued with three horrendous misses at the rim that cost the Lakers six points.

Sam Quinn

@SamQuinnCBS

The Lakers lost by five points.

LeBron left six very gettable points on the board at the rim tonight with three very uncharacteristic misses.

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The Lakers lost by five points.

LeBron left six very gettable points on the board at the rim tonight with three very uncharacteristic misses. https://t.co/35ctU1xFgU

He went 0-for-6 from the 3-point range in Game 2, including 0-for-3 in the fourth quarter. James only had six points in the fourth period of Game 2. These were head-scratching plays coming from the Lakers star, who has been clinical in the past.

LeBron James will hope to brush aside his underwhelming performances in the conference finals as the series shifts to LA for Games 3 and 4.

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