The Los Angeles Lakers are two wins away from the NBA Finals, but this Denver Nuggets team doesn’t go away quietly. The Lakers need one more burst from LeBron James and then even more if they reach the Finals.

On the daily Locked On Lakers Podcast, hosts Anthony Irwin and Pete Zayas (LakerFilmRoom) discussed LeBron James' performance in Game 3, how the Nuggets are guarding him, and if he has another big game in him.

Anthony Irwin: With this one, if it comes down to the Lakers needing that LeBron Game, it's going to require other guys to make it a little bit more possible for him to get to that level. I think that the way that Denver is guarding him, they’re saying, ‘Hey, beat us from outside, bro, have fun, take those outside jumpers.’ If LeBron is at no point in this series comfortable taking those jumpers, then we're talking about a series that is a lot closer than I would have envisioned heading into it.

Pete Zayas: Yeah, maybe this is a father time type thing, right? Where he's not able to access that, or not as often. I remain confident that he has that fastball, and that maybe Game 4 is one of those games. In fact, I think that that would be something that would single handedly swing it, especially if it's joined by some other adjustments.

If LeBron makes his jumpers, we’re having a different conversation tonight. If he's taking and making them in, there isn't enough physical degradation that I'm seeing, like he's getting blocked at the rim or these, like, decrease of athleticism plays. That's part of why I just want to see us using him from different places. I think we're doing the same thing over and over again, to the degree where if you do that enough that the team opponent can adjust, and I'd like to see that out of LeBron. Those high-post touches, those getting him off across screens, just different actions, rather than stagnant high-ball screens. So, I still think he's got that in him.