San Antonio is waiting for Victor Wembanyama. Philadelphia is waiting for Joel Embiid. The Los Angeles Lakers are waiting for Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
Injuries and recoveries are already having a pronounced impact on the NBA playoffs, which continue Friday night with a trio of Game 3 matchups: San Antonio at Portland (series tied 1-1), Boston at Philadelphia (series tied 1-1) and the Lakers at Houston (Los Angeles leading 2-0).
Wembanyama is in
the process of recovering from a concussion suffered in a Game 2 loss to the Trail Blazers and flew with the Spurs to Portland.
“I think guys are ready," Spurs guard De'Aaron Fox said. "If he’s out there, great. If he's not, so be it. We're ready for it.”
Embiid is also making progress in his comeback after an emergency appendectomy. He's listed as doubtful for Game 3, but the 76ers still think he can play sometime in the series.
“We’re obviously really hopeful, and I think he’s really hopeful,” 76ers coach Nick Nurse said Thursday after Embiid went through a light workout. “He wants to play, and we want him to play. I don’t know how close we are to that at this point, but I think there’s some progress being made. Let’s hope it keeps that way, keeps going that way.”
The Lakers, even without their starting guards, took the first two games against the Rockets — and LeBron James, when put in this situation, has never lost.
Give James' teams a two-game lead in a series, and history says it's over.
— This is the 25th time that a team with James has taken a 2-0 lead in a series. In the first 24, he's won the series 24 times — 15 with Cleveland, seven with Miami, two with the Lakers.
— Of those 24 series wins for James' teams after 2-0 leads, 12 ended in sweeps, seven ended in five games, four ended in six games and one went the full seven-game distance.
— His teams have also taken 3-1 leads in eight other series that didn't start with 2-0 leads. The teams won all eight of those series as well.
Add it up, and the series record for James' teams with a two-game lead is 32-0. The Rockets have to win four of the next five to keep it from getting to 33-0.
Rockets coach Ime Udoka said he's seen enough good things on defense to believe Houston still has a real chance in the series, noting that 2-0 “is nothing.”
“We've all kind of been there before. Things flip quickly in a series,” Udoka said. “We've seen some things that work well."
When/Where to Watch: Game 3, 7 p.m. EDT (Prime Video)
Series: Tied, 1-1.
Betting line: Celtics by 7.5.
What to Know: It's a swing game and both teams know it, with the winner of Game 3 after the first two games are split going on to win a best-of-seven series 74% of the time. Philadelphia will be electric for this game, with the city already enjoying a hot start to the playoffs by the NHL's Flyers and reveling in the 76ers getting what might have been a surprising win in Game 2 in Boston after losing Game 1 by 32 points.
When/Where to Watch: Game 3, 8 p.m. EDT (Prime Video)
Series: Lakers lead, 2-0.
Betting line: Rockets by 9.5.
What to Know: Houston had two of its worst shooting games of the season in Games 1 and 2, connecting on just 37.6% of its shots in Game 1 (without Kevin Durant) and 40.4% of its shots in Game 2 (with Durant back). Durant is listed as questionable for Game 3 with an ankle sprain, the Rockets said, news that caused oddsmakers to make Houston slightly less of a favorite for Friday. The Rockets are now 6-16 this season when shooting 44% or worse, and 0-7 in games (like Game 2) where they shoot 24% or worse from 3-point range. Meanwhile, James — who is playing brilliantly — has gotten enormous help from Luke Kennard (25 ppg on 65% shooting) and Marcus Smart (20 ppg) in the first two games of this matchup.
When/Where to Watch: Game 3, 10:30 p.m. EDT (Prime Video)
Series: Tied, 1-1.
Betting line: Spurs by 1.5.
What to Know: San Antonio wasted a 14-point lead in the final minutes of Game 2, and Portland surely will be hoping that the momentum of its big finish carries over into Friday night. The Spurs know they have to do a better job defensively against Blazers guard Scoot Henderson, who averaged 24.5 points on 64% shooting in the first two games. Jrue Holiday has 20 assists so far in the series for Portland, which got a split in Texas despite shooting only 30% from beyond the arc.
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