by Marcel Mutoni / @ marcel_mutoni
Having climbed a steep hill just to qualify for the Playoffs, the Los Angeles Lakers don’t seem like they will be sticking around for very much longer.
The San Antonio Spurs have a commanding 2-0 series lead, and the Lakers’ bodies continue to break down. Steve Blake suffered a hamstring injury in the fourth quarter and his status for Game 3 is up in the air; Steve Nash limped around the court after aggravating hamstring and hip injuries.
A frustrated Dwight Howard says the Lakers simply have to continue fighting in order to survive. Per Yahoo! Sports:
“We’ve had a rough year, but we’re not going to hang our heads,” said Lakers center Dwight Howard, who is dealing with back and shoulder injuries, after a 102-91 loss Wednesday night. “Guys will go down, but we’re still a team and still have a great opportunity in front of us. We just can’t lose our faith, with guys getting banged up. With guys falling, other guys will step up and play. It hurts to see people go down. We’ve had guys go down all year. But we’ve still got to stay strong. We’ve still got to believe.”
[Mike] D’Antoni noticed after Game 2 that his players’ “emotions are down right now,” but offered hope in the fact that the next two games are in Los Angeles. “If you want to do anything, Friday is a big game,” D’Antoni told his players.
Metta World Peace told the media that the Spurs may be less talented, but they play with a lot more confidence.
As the series shifts to Los Angeles, the Spurs will need Tony Parker to continue with his offensive assault — the star point guard scored 24 of his 28 points in the second half last night, and says his body is starting to feel a whole lot better. That’s bad news for a Laker team that can ill afford any more of it.
