LA Lakers face off Phoenix Suns on Thursday in Game 6 of the Playoffs’ first-round series.
It’s a do-or-die situation for the Lakers as the Suns are in the lead now and a win away from reaching the Western Conference Semifinals.
If the Lakers fail to get a win then they would lose a chance to play in the Semifinals.
So they need all their star players on the court now than ever.
It looks like the Lakers will have Anthony Davis and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for Game 6.
Davis and Pope both stayed out in Game 5 against the Suns.
As a result, the Lakers lost to the Suns by an overwhelming number.
The Suns dominated the Lakers for most of the game, ultimately defeating them 115-85 and took the lead.
Davis’s Injury cost the Lakers the series.
The Lakers took a 2-1 lead in Game 3 over the Suns but everything went downhill after that.
Anthony Davis hyperextended his knee in Game 3 and the injury worsened after he played through the pain in Game 4.
But he strained his groin on a missed layup, costing him Game 5.
His groin issue was related to a hyperextended knee he suffered and played through in Game 3.
“They told me everything is connected and that’s exactly what happened. The groin happened because of the tightness in the knee from the hyperextension,” he said.
Davis missed Game 5 and the Lakers lost to the Suns by an overwhelming number.
“We didn’t play well enough on either side of the ball early in the game,” said Lakers head coach Frank Vogel. “They built a big lead, we didn’t respond.”
Besides Anthony, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope each suffered a lower leg injury in Game 3
And ended up sitting out for both Game 4 and Game 5.
The Lakers already had a hard time scoring and losing Davis only worsened their game.
As without Anthony and Kentavious, the Lakers lost their lead in Game 4 and ultimately the Suns took the lead in Game 5.
Hence they need their players in the court more than ever now as the Lakers cannot lose another game.
Cause if they lose then they eliminated from the playoffs’ first round and lose their chance for another Championship.
The Lakers are in a difficult situation and they need their key starters healthy. If not then the other Lakers players need to step up their game to help Lebron.
Besides Lebron other players need to show their playmaking abilities for scoring. Game 5 looked very bad for the Lakers and they cannot afford another game like that.
Good news for the Lakers’ fans.
The Lakers’ fans will be delighted to hear this news.
As per the reports, Anthony Davis is planning to return for Game 6 against the Lakers. He did some work during practice but still hampered by his strained groin.
Anthony Davis (groin) plans to play in Game 6, per @ShamsCharania pic.twitter.com/7hjH7he9yY
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 4, 2021
And also Kentavious Caldwell-Pope cleared to play despite a knee contusion.
Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel revealed that Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Anthony Davis both game-time decisions for Game 6 on Thursday
If Davis plays then he will be playing for the first time in the series since his injury in Game 4.
In four games so far, Davis averaged 21.8 points on 40.3 percent shooting, 8.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 2.0 blocks per game.
His return will have a great impact on the Lakers team performance as the Lakers right now need better scorers from their starters.
Lebron James was the only starter to score in double digits in Game 5 on Tuesday.
While other starters only managed 11 points combined playing 73 minutes in total.
“It’s literally win-or-go-home,” James said Tuesday. “You shoot all the bullets you got and throw the gun, too.”
In fact, James has never been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.
So having Davis by his side is very important for the Lakers.
And as long as his warmups go well then Anthony most likely to play in Game 6, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania
On the other hand, Kentavious plays for the first time in the series since game 3.
He is cleared for Game 6 despite a knee contusion.
But if Caldwell-Pope is unable to play then Wesley Matthews is a likely candidate to enter the starting lineup.
The Suns’ star Chris Paul to play in Game 6
Meanwhile, Chris Paul cleared to play in Game 6 for the Suns.
He hurt his shoulder in Game 1 and struggled in the other two games but showed brilliant performance in Game 4.
General Manager James Jones, “Chris Paul will be ready to go. I don’t know how to say it any clearer than that unless Chris isn’t playing he’s playing.”
The Suns need to keep their Game 5 momentum so that they can close out Game 6 on Thursday so that they get a little more time to rest for the Semifinals.
It won’t be easy for them as it’s likely that Davis will return along with Kentavious for the Lakers and the Lakers already have Lebron.
So it will be interesting to see the game.
Will the Suns take the win and close out the game or will the Lakers turn the table forcing the game to Game 7?
