With LeBron James leaving the court, boos rained down from the very top row of Crypto.com Arena on Thursday night. The Los Angeles Lakers, who entered the NBA Playoffs on a roll and were looking to make noise against the Denver Nuggets, have suddenly been met with a reality that head coach Darvin Ham wished for, whether he knew it or not.
“We want all the smoke and we ain't ducking no fades,” Ham said after they defeated the New Orleans Pelicans in the 7-seed play-in game.
Well, smoke is certainly what the Lakers have received from the Nuggets, except it's the smoke from their own organization being on fire, with James and Anthony Davis left shaking their heads in disbelief.
The Lakers trail the Nuggets 3-0 in their first-round playoff series after losing 112-105 on Thursday night, yet another game in which Los Angeles led Denver by double-digits. Between their inability to close games and the mental strain of playing against the defending champions, the Lakers have looked like a very incomplete team after entering the postseason as one of the hottest groups in the entire NBA. After blowing leads in Game 1 and Game 2 of this series in Denver, the Lakers yet again found a way to disappoint their fans, only this time on their home floor.
Nobody said that taking down the reigning champs would be easy. For the Lakers, this was an even harder task since they entered this series after losing eight straight to Denver. That losing streak is now up to 11 straight games, and nothing James and company do ends up working. Nikola Jokic has had his way in this series, and the Nuggets are outscoring the Lakers 177-135 in the second half.
The Lakers entered this series with a ton of confidence and were ready to get revenge on the team that swept them in the Western Conference Finals last year. Now, LeBron and Davis find themselves one loss away from being swept in back-to-back playoff series at the hands of the Nuggets.
A total of 151 series in NBA playoff history have faced a scenario where a team wins the first three games. The team that does so is 151-0 all time. History is not on LeBron's side in this one. Then again, when has history ever stopped greatness?
If there is any team that could possibly work their way back into a series after being down 3-0 in the opening round to the defending champions, it would be one led by James. But the days of LeBron single-handedly taking over games are long gone, and the NBA is no longer a league where a single individual can dominate. You must have steady play across the board, something the Lakers have learned the hard way by watching the Nuggets walk all over them the last few years.
“I think I said one time that winning is a lifestyle for us,” Jokic told reporters on Thursday evening after his team took a 3-0 lead in Los Angeles. “It’s really good when you’re winning…everybody is happy. Everybody wants to play. Everybody is buying into the system.
“I was here when we were losing, so I don’t want to go back.”
Winning is also in the blood of the Lakers organization. After all, those 17 championship banners all represent historic moments in NBA history. The fact of the matter is the Lakers have lost their touch this season. More importantly, they have lost their confidence after the Nuggets ripped out their hearts in Game 3.
Lakers' confidence is lost
When the Lakers won the first-ever NBA In-Season Tournament, it masked the overarching problem of James and Davis being their only reliable players. Austin Reaves, D'Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura are all talented secondary pieces, but the Nuggets have completely neutralized them since the very start of this series, making the Lakers as a whole lose confidence as each game has progressed.
Body language means everything. Whether you are winning by 10 points or trailing by 20, one's body language always tends to tell the tale of every game. For the Lakers, their energy was high coming out of the gates in Game 3 at home. Davis and LeBron set the tone early by putting the Lakers up 14-5, followed by extending their lead to 10 points at the end of the quarter. However, the Nuggets continued to just hang around, and not once did they get down on themselves.
The same couldn't be said for the Lakers on Thursday night, as it was very apparent that Russell and the other secondary players lacked the intensity needed to come away with this game. From Reaves' perspective, the Nuggets simply want this series more than Los Angeles right now.
“I think Denver is just beating us to be honest,” Reaves said in his postgame availability. “You can talk about adjustments, you can talk about this and that, but at the end of the day, we gotta go put our best foot forward playing basketball games. You can talk about everything else outside the talks of everything; at the end of the day you gotta man up and go win.”
Perhaps the biggest sign the Lakers have lost confidence in themselves was what transpired with Russell in Game 3. In addition to putting up a goose egg across the board in terms of scoring, the first time Russell has been held scoreless in a game since he played just one minute against the Indiana Pacers on January 20, 2017, the Lakers' point guard was also seen sitting on the bench by himself late in Game 3 while the rest of the team was huddled up.
Not only was Russell not in the team huddle, but he was seen on a cell phone with the Lakers trailing late in the game. The optics of this are absolutely terrible for the Lakers, but then again, it shouldn't come as a shock, seeing as their focus hasn't been on this series whatsoever.
James looks frustrated, Davis looks frustrated and the Lakers just simply aren't as engaged as the Nuggets on a nightly basis. That is why this series is on the verge of being over in four games. If Los Angeles does end up being swept by Denver for the second straight season, all the questions surrounding this franchise will center on LeBron and his future in the league.
LeBron James' upcoming offseason decision
Another disappointing loss in the postseason will obviously lead to questions about James' future in the NBA. At 39 years old and wrapping up Year 21 in the league, LeBron has nothing else to prove. James could win more championships, but his legacy as one of the greatest players in league history will never be changed. The end of the road is coming, but LeBron is going to be the one to decide when he is ready to call it quits.
Based on what he has said throughout the course of the 2023-24 season, as well as Bronny James possibly entering the league via the 2024 NBA Draft, it doesn't appear as if LeBron is ready to retire. This is the general sense around the league as well, with many anticipating James giving much more thought to the idea of retiring after his 40th birthday. Of course, a lot factors into James' decision whether to continue his basketball career.
Does he truly want to play with Bronny, a prospect he's discussed countless times but recently walked back, when the young James begins his NBA journey? Does LeBron want to retire as a Laker, or are there other friends he wants to play alongside before the end of his career? Most importantly, is LeBron still of the belief that the Lakers value winning right now over focusing on their future without him?
These are three major factors that will influence what happens with James in the offseason, as he has a major contractual decision to make.
Once the Lakers are eliminated from the postseason, which could be this upcoming weekend, the focus for this organization shifts to what LeBron does with his $51.4 million player option. Despite being in the final years of his career, James would still hit the free agency market as the best name available, with various teams vying for his services. Again, whether or not rival teams would have a realistic chance of landing him depends on the reasons why James could potentially opt out.
It is possible James restructures his current deal, signing another “1+1” type of contract in order to give the Lakers some flexibility if they were looking to pull off a big offseason move. Insert the “trade for Donovan Mitchell or Trae Young” takes here. Then, there is the possibility of James opting out in order to truly pursue his one-time dream of playing with Bronny, assuming his son remains in the 2024 NBA Draft.
The fact of the matter is that LeBron will have teams wanting to sign or trade for him if he wishes to leave the Lakers, one of which may come as a surprise to many. As crazy as it sounds, James leaving the Lakers to join the Golden State Warriors is not crazy whatsoever.
After being sworn enemies for years, James has developed great relationships with both Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. He is also best friends with Chris Paul, whom the Warriors will need to make a decision on entering the offseason. Curry and James have always talked about playing alongside one another, and they will get the chance to do so this summer for Team USA during the 2024 Olympics in Paris. There will no doubt be some interesting conversations had behind closed doors.
Staying in the Western Conference, the Phoenix Suns are another team worth talking about. Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal are walking a very thin line in their first-round series with the Minnesota Timberwolves right now, and the Suns clearly need a point guard. Throw James on that team, and all of a sudden, they may be better than the 2016-17 and 2017-18 Warriors teams that Durant was a part of. The New Orleans Pelicans and Memphis Grizzlies would obviously look to throw their names in the hat for James if he were available, but neither are seen as realistic landing spots for the 20-time All-Star in any scenario.
Over in the Eastern Conference, the Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks stand out as teams James could be interested in. The Sixers will have the ability to free up the most cap space out of any team in the league this season, and the Knicks have long been linked to James, dating back to when he made his decision to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers for the first time in 2010 to join the Miami Heat. Speaking of the Heat, you can't rule out a reunion there, either, despite LeBron and Pat Riley having a love-hate relationship. A return to the Cleveland Cavaliers is always going to be brought up for James as well should he look to leave the Lakers.
If LeBron wants out of Los Angeles, there is going to be a lot of noise surrounding the possibility of him joining the Warriors. This scenario was explored by Golden State's braintrust ahead of the trade deadline, and owner Joe Lacob is dedicated to winning as many championships as he can before Curry retires. LeBron wants to win right now and have fun doing so. Nothing would break the internet more than James taking his talents to the Bay Area and retiring alongside Curry with a championship.
Alas, nothing is certain. Nobody truly knows what James is feeling right now, and nobody knows if he wants to remain with the Lakers. The only thing that is known is that LeBron isn't happy with the way things have gone against the Nuggets.
“It's just basketball. At the end of the day, it's just basketball.”
LeBron said this with a smirk on his face and a quick shoulder shrug during his postgame media availability after the Lakers lost Game 3 to the Nuggets. This is pretty unorthodox for James, and it just sets the stage for what will be a very important offseason for the Lakers.
The latest on Darvin Ham's future with Lakers
Lakers fans have been very vocal about not wanting Darvin Ham to be their head coach moving into the 2024-25 season. While the fans are on one wavelength, the organization has been on a completely different wavelength, as they have valued Ham's leadership and commitment to coaching this team. Controlling owner Jeanie Buss and executive Rob Pelinka have voiced their support for Ham as well, despite the up-and-down season at hand.
Whether or not Ham is truly on the hot seat comes down not only to how Buss and Pelinka evaluate his season at hand in the summer but also to what both LeBron and Davis think of their head coach. If there is any inclination that James will leave if Ham remains the head coach, the Lakers would undoubtedly make a switch. From Davis' perspective, he has already dropped small pieces of information to make everyone believe that his relationship with Ham is not as strong as it seems.
After losing Game 2 in Denver, Davis had some interesting comments about the team “not knowing what they are doing” throughout the course of the game. Many viewed this as a subtle jab at Ham and the coaching staff for their inability to make the right adjustments, especially in their series against Denver. While discussing Davis' comments ahead of Game 3 on Thursday, Turner Sports' Jared Greenberg reported that there are some within the organization that were “upset and disappointed” with Davis' comments.
With the Lakers on the brink of elimination from the playoffs and tensions rising, there is reason to believe that Ham's time with the Lakers is on thin ice. Ahead of Game 4, Ham's focus is on winning one game at a time.
“It's as simple as win or go home. It's as simple as that,” Ham told reporters on Thursday. “We've got to come with competitive pride and try and get one here. Stay alive one game at a time. That's all we have is the next game. So, that's all we should be concerned with. Coming in here Saturday, have a competitive pride, and try to put this thing together.”
The unfortunate aspect of everything transpiring with the Lakers is that Ham could wind up being the scapegoat. The Lakers made no substantial changes to their roster in the offseason, even though they knew they were not on the same level as the Nuggets in the 2023 Western Conference Finals after getting swept. No immediate help joined this team, and Ham was put in a position to essentially figure things out with a roster that wasn't bred for deep postseason success. Quite honestly, if you swap Michael Malone with Ham right now, things probably aren't much different for the Lakers other than them being more motivated to play.
Winning Game 4 at home could just buy Ham another season in Los Angeles. Granted, losing 4-1 to the Nuggets doesn't look very appealing, but it is definitely better than losing 4-0 in back-to-back seasons. After all, Ham did coach the Lakers to the Western Conference Finals in 2023, and they won the first-ever In-Season Tournament this year.
It will be interesting to see what types of changes are made in Los Angeles following their departure from the playoffs at the hands of the Nuggets. LeBron has a massive decision to make about the end of his career, and Ham's future is set to be re-evaluated once more. The Lakers will not be the same team they are now when the 2024-25 season begins.
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