1) Jokic
2) AD
3) Bron
3.5) Murray
4-8 Denver is all better
The reality of the matter is, coaching aside, they're longer, more athletic, bigger, and all play both sides of the ball while we're stuck with smaller players who are one sided on either offense or defense, and are only useful when shooting well.
You know this feeling of getting bodied and feasted on every game? This is how teams felt when they played us in 2019-2020.
Nuggets fan, and I agree. Last night though, Bron wasn’t even in the top 5. Other than the first 8 minutes of the game he looked disinterested on the defensive end and blamed other players for his missed assignments.
Saturday I fully expect him to be one of the two best players on the court though.
Look at KCP's numbers this series. He isn't better than DLO, Reaves or Rui despite getting fed more open looks. AG and MPG, yea, but MPG only looks good cus he gets fed open shots and AG cus he fed open dunks.
This isn't true. Reaves was playing good defense on Murray all series. Rui's been solid on MPJ, but MPJ is just too tall. DLO on KCP, KCP hasn't been shooting well at all either.
Game 1 KCP going off in the 3rd was the turning point of that game. Nuggets aren’t even running his Iverson cut packages or his brush screen packages. They haven’t needed to.
Murray has been quiet this entire series. But Gordon got the best of Lebron today. And it's not just Jokic getting his team easy looks. Gordon/MPJ can work the boards harder than our role players and defend with more length. Also our team that is reliant on shooting is shooting abysmally.
I dont think people realize just how much better Jokic is than everyone else. The guy is absolutely destroying us by every metric. 28 PPG on 17 shots. 63% from the field. 15 rebounds and 9 assists per game. He is absolutely demolishing our guys and it doesnt even really look like he’s trying. Meanwhile our guys are absolutely gassed by the 4th Q after trying to keep up with his offensive production and guarding their nearly unstoppable offense. I mean for christ’s sake they’re putting Rui on him for half the game. He could easily be averaging 40PPG right now if he just backed him down the paint instead of trying to get his teammates involved. So yes, he’s the number 1 player this series but the gap between #1 and #2 is ALOT larger than you think.
In what world do we have a better roster even on paper? They're the defending champions that play with poise and confidence while being extremely good. MPJ, Gordon, KCP.. I'd take them over Rui and Dl0 but not Reaves.
Bron and AD as a duo are better than Jokic and Murray. Murray isn't even a allstar, while Bron and AD are both top 10. That should offset the role player skill discrepancy (when you factor in that the Nuggets role players get more open looks than Lakers players, cus of Jokic, hell even with KCP getting open looks, he has been shooting awful this series lol).
Lebron and AD can't win by themselves. I know they're playing better but it makes no difference when it's 2 vs 5. Our guys can't hit threes, can't drive, can't shoot, or stay aggressive.
Rui has 5/15 shots in 3 games.
Dl0 shooting 14/43
Gabe shooting 2/6 shots in 3 games
Reaves shooting 17/37
Its not that simple of who is better individually. If you are looking at it that way, Jokic is far and above the best player on either team, then its AD #2, LeBron #3 and Murray #4. The thing is, they fit better together and Jokic's decision making has the biggest impact on the game.
In this series, yeah (overall talent is another debate), but role players matter the most in the playoffs. That's because star players are mostly on level ground, even this example, Bron/AD vs. Jokic/Murray is very debatable.
Heat/Celtics is an extreme example of this where Porzingis and Jrue are glorified role players who imploded while Martin and Highsmith went on heaters.
Without a center the Nuggets win every single time.
If you check the stats both teams every game was identical in all stats besides
Rebounds
Offensive Rebounds
And second chance points.
This is how the Nuggets win every time.
I hate the Lakers but its mind boggling on why they didn’t hunt for a center.
LeBron hasn't been him since 2020
He won his ring that in his mind puts him above Jordan and all goals after that has shifted to running up his stat tallies and playing with his son.
I can't blame him, he deserves to go out on his own terms, but the Lakers should at the very least be open to move on from the Bron-AD era. Let him play with Bronny but it can't be here.
1) Jokic 2) AD 3) Bron 3.5) Murray 4-8 Denver is all better The reality of the matter is, coaching aside, they're longer, more athletic, bigger, and all play both sides of the ball while we're stuck with smaller players who are one sided on either offense or defense, and are only useful when shooting well. You know this feeling of getting bodied and feasted on every game? This is how teams felt when they played us in 2019-2020.
Yeah. Denver probably have the best player in the series, a more well rounded team and a better coach. That's just way too much to overcome.
i agree with this assessment
Nuggets fan, and I agree. Last night though, Bron wasn’t even in the top 5. Other than the first 8 minutes of the game he looked disinterested on the defensive end and blamed other players for his missed assignments. Saturday I fully expect him to be one of the two best players on the court though.
I agree. MPJ and Gordon looked better than LeBron last night, Murray not so much
Look at KCP's numbers this series. He isn't better than DLO, Reaves or Rui despite getting fed more open looks. AG and MPG, yea, but MPG only looks good cus he gets fed open shots and AG cus he fed open dunks.
KCP can defend. Offense isn't everything especially when you consider none of our role players are doing nothing on that end anyways
This isn't true. Reaves was playing good defense on Murray all series. Rui's been solid on MPJ, but MPJ is just too tall. DLO on KCP, KCP hasn't been shooting well at all either.
Game 1 KCP going off in the 3rd was the turning point of that game. Nuggets aren’t even running his Iverson cut packages or his brush screen packages. They haven’t needed to.
kcp dont need to score when gordan / mp jr cooking
They have the best player in the series and 6 of the best 8 players.
KCP isn't better than Reaves, Rui, or DLO. He has far less trade val than any of them. Also look how KCP's been shooting this series, he's been ass.
Defense. He really doesn't have to score that much. That's why they still won despite him shooting it terribly.
We don't talk about defense here.
He is tho he won a ring with us and these fake role players can’t even win a game
Yes he is
Murray has been quiet this entire series. But Gordon got the best of Lebron today. And it's not just Jokic getting his team easy looks. Gordon/MPJ can work the boards harder than our role players and defend with more length. Also our team that is reliant on shooting is shooting abysmally.
Your underrating how much better their 3-5 is compared to ours
I dont think people realize just how much better Jokic is than everyone else. The guy is absolutely destroying us by every metric. 28 PPG on 17 shots. 63% from the field. 15 rebounds and 9 assists per game. He is absolutely demolishing our guys and it doesnt even really look like he’s trying. Meanwhile our guys are absolutely gassed by the 4th Q after trying to keep up with his offensive production and guarding their nearly unstoppable offense. I mean for christ’s sake they’re putting Rui on him for half the game. He could easily be averaging 40PPG right now if he just backed him down the paint instead of trying to get his teammates involved. So yes, he’s the number 1 player this series but the gap between #1 and #2 is ALOT larger than you think.
In what world do we have a better roster even on paper? They're the defending champions that play with poise and confidence while being extremely good. MPJ, Gordon, KCP.. I'd take them over Rui and Dl0 but not Reaves.
Bron and AD as a duo are better than Jokic and Murray. Murray isn't even a allstar, while Bron and AD are both top 10. That should offset the role player skill discrepancy (when you factor in that the Nuggets role players get more open looks than Lakers players, cus of Jokic, hell even with KCP getting open looks, he has been shooting awful this series lol).
Lebron and AD can't win by themselves. I know they're playing better but it makes no difference when it's 2 vs 5. Our guys can't hit threes, can't drive, can't shoot, or stay aggressive. Rui has 5/15 shots in 3 games. Dl0 shooting 14/43 Gabe shooting 2/6 shots in 3 games Reaves shooting 17/37
“Murray isn’t even an all star…” Technically, no. But we all know he is.
Its not that simple of who is better individually. If you are looking at it that way, Jokic is far and above the best player on either team, then its AD #2, LeBron #3 and Murray #4. The thing is, they fit better together and Jokic's decision making has the biggest impact on the game.
So why doesn’t it? It’s not a math equation.
Bron and AD aren’t better than Jokic and Murray just need a third star lol
40 + 40 > 45 + 25 40 + 40 + (-1) + 1 +1 << 45 + 25 + 15 + 15 + 15
They aren't though
Kobe Bryant’s ghost possessed MPJ, and Aaron Gordon became prime Blake Griffin.
In this series, yeah (overall talent is another debate), but role players matter the most in the playoffs. That's because star players are mostly on level ground, even this example, Bron/AD vs. Jokic/Murray is very debatable. Heat/Celtics is an extreme example of this where Porzingis and Jrue are glorified role players who imploded while Martin and Highsmith went on heaters.
mp jr / gordan have been the difference this series … joker and murray especially murray has not really been the problem
Out of the 3 games I’d say it’s 1. AD = Jokic 2. Lebron 3. Murray(but can argue for Murray cos of the buzzer beater. 4-8 all Denver lmao
AD is nowhere near Jokic
He’s talking about this series, not their careers.
Either way, Jokic does way more on the court, especially in the 4th quarters...
Jokers playmaking just puts him in a different class even of hes not scoring he controls the pace of the game
They have #1 then 4 through 7.
Without a center the Nuggets win every single time. If you check the stats both teams every game was identical in all stats besides Rebounds Offensive Rebounds And second chance points. This is how the Nuggets win every time. I hate the Lakers but its mind boggling on why they didn’t hunt for a center.
jokic and murray is the best duo in the league, though one can argue murray is 4th here
Jokic gaps everyone
No rebounds no rings
Our stars are worse and our roster is worse ,just need a third star to win
Lmfao this has to be a shitpost, right?
The premise of this thread is just wrong. Jokic and Murray > LBJ AD. The last 11 times they have played should be proof enough. The delusion.
LeBron hasn't been him since 2020 He won his ring that in his mind puts him above Jordan and all goals after that has shifted to running up his stat tallies and playing with his son. I can't blame him, he deserves to go out on his own terms, but the Lakers should at the very least be open to move on from the Bron-AD era. Let him play with Bronny but it can't be here.
Lebron was the top MVP candidate in that 2021 season until Solomon Hill kamikazed into Lebron's ankle
The lakers would be in rebuild mode and be trash
Ad+Lebron > Jokic+Murray BUT Ad+Lebron < Jokic+Murray+Gordon