It is rather difficult for a team to maintain its poise when it blows its opportunity to claim a very winnable game, and on a gut-wrenching buzzer-beater loss, no less. On Thursday night, the Los Angeles Lakers’ resilience was put to the test, as they faced a must-win scenario in Game 3 of their 2024 first-round matchup against the Denver Nuggets.

However, the Lakers may not have much left in the tank; despite leading by 10 after the first quarter, they proceeded to struggle for the rest of the game, surrendering another dominant second-half run to the Nuggets en route to a 112-105 loss that has them on the brink of elimination.

The Lakers have now lost 11 straight games to the Nuggets dating back to last season, and at this point, Denver appears to be the puzzle that LeBron James and company couldn’t seem to solve. Any team with James on the roster has a fighting chance, but it’s important to remind everyone that no team in NBA history has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in the playoffs, and this iteration of the Lakers doesn’t appear likely to pull that off barring a magical turn of events.

But if the Lakers keep playing the way they do, then fans better count the days before the 2024-25 season begins, as their current playoff run is about to come to an end. Here are a few players who played well below expectations as the Nuggets’ dominance continues.

LeBron James and accountability

LeBron James, upon a cursory look at the box score, looked like he had a stellar outing despite the loss. The Lakers star put up 26 points, six rebounds, and nine assists, and he did so on 60 percent shooting from the field on 20 attempts. That is the output you would expect from James, even at his advanced age.

However, James looked checked out when the Nuggets were making their run in the third quarter. With the Lakers blowing coverages and allowing offensive rebounds, James was pouting, putting his head down in frustration, and his shoulders were slumped. This isn’t the body language one would expect from a player of James’ caliber, especially when the game was still a bit in striking distance in the late third and early fourth.

He knows that his days in the NBA are numbered, and his contending days, even more so. LeBron James might look impervious to the hand of Father Time, but he is approaching his 40s and he has needed more help to contend for a championship than ever. James has gotten so accustomed to winning that it’s no surprise to see him be this dejected when he has been giving it his all for the Lakers and yet they couldn’t figure out the Nuggets problem.

But for someone the team looks up and listens to, James must know that the team takes after him, for better or for worse. There’s no sense in giving everyone the vibe that you have given up — especially when the game’s not over. Credit must go to James for playing this well late into his career, but he also deserves to be called out for when he falls short of his lofty leadership standards — especially when he has proven capable of so much better throughout his career.

D’Angelo Russell and the Lakers fire blanks

Much was made about the Lakers’ acquisitions of D’Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura at the 2023 trade deadline. They gave the Lakers better spacing, and as a result, the team, as a whole, have played better. But those two have lacked consistent impact for when the stakes are at their highest, and in Game 3, Russell and Hachimura put the Lakers in such a difficult spot, especially when the Nuggets had four different players score 20 or more, with Aaron Gordon leading the way with a playoff career-high of 29.

In Game 2, it seemed as though Russell had exorcised his Nuggets demons. Last season, fans were imploring Darvin Ham to bench Russell after the man with ice in his veins went frigid from three. But on Monday, Russell made seven of his 11 three-point attempts, and even though it came in a loss, it boded well for what he could give the Lakers moving forward.

Adding the fact that Russell allegedly declared on his Discord server that the Lakers are “still gonna win”, then the stage was set for him to reproduce his heater of a Game 2. But in Game 3, Russell looked like his 2023 WCF self. He fired nothing but blanks, missing all seven of his shots from the field, including six from deep, as he became unplayable.

Last year, Russell became a meme when he started putting up shots following losses to see if he could get himself back on track. What would he do now that the Lakers’ season is on the line?

Meanwhile, Rui Hachimura has been a total non-factor on offense. He scored just five points in 28 minutes of play, and he was a team-worst -12 on the night. If Hachimura is not making shots, does he make it up for it in other areas? He is not an elite defender, although his size can pose some problems to the Nuggets, while his playmaking is as close to non-existent as it can get.

It’s hard to win when two of your starters, who are known for their scoring, combine for five points on 2-11 shooting, and the Lakers certainly figured that out the hard way on Thursday night.