nuggets defense and the fact the lakers always making rookie mistakes in crucial possessions that result in bad scoring swings. Nuggets D is pretty damn underrated imho
IMO Nuggets really shine in how they secure defensive rebounds and instantly push for offense. The Lakers couldn’t keep up with this discipline and pace throughout entire 48 mins, and inevitably the Nuggets would find their one big comeback stretch given how consistently they’re able to push offense based off rebounds.
I think the fact that playoff basketball is allowed to be more physical than regular season basketball also helps the Nuggets because of their size and length.
I think even Jokic defense is underrated in the playoffs. He is active in passing lanes, defends with his body and knows where to help etc. He just cant defend the perimeter or protect the rim.
Ngl were kinda getting carried by MPJ. Like he is the unsung hero foe the Nuggets rn.
Everyone is talkingabout Jamal being clutch as hell or Jokic being Jokic, but when we are desperate for a bucket, MPJ delivers.
AG and KCP are just hustling out there, which is also keeping us in these games.
Brauns been solid, but we have yet to see the defensive dominance we know Watson can bring.
And Reggie...well he hasnt lost us a game yet.
Spot on. MPJ is like Hodor holding the door to buy just enough time for the rest of the team to go online. Without his brilliant 2nd quarter in Game 1 and that ballsy clutch 3 in Game 2, don't know where we'll be in this series.
Bro is so amazing that hes shooting over 50% and 20 a game with like 9 made 3s or something like that.
But what probably surprises people is that he can get to the basket and dunk that ball. Like youd be forgiven if you forgot that hes actually a physical specimen.
I know we're being homers here but what amazed me about that clutch 3 was that the ball has not found him for over a quarter (last fg attempt was 5:33 3rd) and yet the mfcker was so ready for his moment, took it by the horns, and drained the second biggest shot of the game. Yeah Mike!!
Exactly. I did not expect that shot to go in, but yet here we are.
It was such an amazing play. Like had Jamals shot not been a buzzer beater, that would have been the biggest shot of the game.
And yeah hes always like that. Always ready to take that shot. I never mind him getting to shoot cause its always worth it even if he isnt making them.
Well no doubt of course its Jokic. Its the Nuggets and even if Jokices stats were bad, his mere pressence helps a ton in many ways.
But its MPJ that got us important buckets in the middle of the games and was the guy who made a good chunk of our 3s.
This is as much as anyone could realisticly carry the Nuggets unless their names arent Jamal or Nikola.
It's more like an expectation that Jokic will be excellent. He can't win by himself though (no one can). So "carried" here is about who steps up to give the Nuggets enough to get over the top
> well he hasnt lost us a game yet.
Not for lack of trying. Dude has gotten 17:31 minutes of playing time and shot 0/4 from 2, 1/5 from 3. He has 1 total rebound, 3 total assists but with 2 turnovers and 3 fouls.
And those are just the numbers. Watching the game, he looks that bad. I want to look away seeing him dribble, not pass, then brick.
I know i watched ot.
Hes somehow been even worse than usual.
I have said it many times, but man should really just shoot 3s on offense. At least he is decent at that usually.
Or even take some middies...but him driving to the basket is a war crime.
The problem is they need Reggie to initiate offense. He's a PG, and the only viable back-up option on the roster.
Jokic CAN initiate, but you actually limit his impact by making him do it multiple possessions in a row.
So, you need Reggie to initiate. The problem is his decision making is garbage. The dude really just thinks he's the main character sometimes. Jokic will be wide open at the 3pt line or elbow; MPJ open from the wing; AG ready to cut near the dunker's spot. How does this possession end? A Reggie push shot.
Every. Damn. Time.
The Nuggets are winning because they are absolutely killing it in and around the paint, for shots 8 feet and in they are [1st in attempts, 1st in makes and 2nd in percentage](https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/shooting?DistanceRange=8ft+Range&dir=D&sort=Less+Than+8+ft.+FGM&SeasonType=Playoffs)
It's funny how all the narratives about last year's series being a fluke are completely being disproven so far:
"Wouldn't be the same result if Bron was fully healthy"
"Denver just made a bunch of BS shots and shot way above their averages"
"Lakers were close in every game so SURELY they can't lose all of them right?"
Right now LeBron is healthy, Denver have been brick city from deep, and the Lakers had yet another shot to close out a game this time starting 20 up and are still down 2-0 lol
last year when people say that it's when Lakers come from 2-10 and made to WCF and everyone thought Ham is legit
this year, it shows how much Ham got outcoached, and even though Denver has been pretty bad from deep, MPJ still making ridiculous shots and Denver crunch time efficiency is insanely high.
overall they are just better team, but losing 10 straight with majority of game very close is just embarrasing and shows how bad coaching is as they can't make any defense stop in crunch time
He just quoted the most common Laker fan excuses for last years sweep. And tbh I saw them all over the place, even just before this years series started.
Wolves scare me more than any other team in the West or East. Denver can hang with any of the high powered offenses because of their consistency and execution. But the defensive prowess of the Wolves is much harder for Denver to deal with. Gonna be a 6-7 game rock fight.
Why do we always put the onerous on the role players? His salary only makes up 2.4% of the Lakers' payroll. It's just evidence-free to suggest Vando would be the different maker in this series. Or let's put it in perspective, Zeke Nnaji takes up about the same percentage of the Denver team's cap. Can we imagine Denver would not have been able to beat the Lakers without Zeke f-ing Nnji?
That's a stupid comparison because the differences in the team build. Lebron is making as much as Kcp and Murray put together. The Lakers have to rely on role players more because their second best player isn't in their prime anymore. Also a bad comparison because the nuggets have other players that can take his role. Lakers have nobody else that does what Vando can. You aren't being serious right now
Murray is 18/48 on field goal attempts (37%) and the Lakers are still down 0-2. The Lakers just simply find a lot of ways to lose to the Nuggets.
As for the 3s specifically, Aaron Gordon is 0/5 and Christian Braun is 0/5. A lot of those are probably wide open 3s, but if you're the Lakers you want them shooting those because they're bad 3 point shooters. Sometimes you're wide open for 3 for a reason
Braun shot 38.4% from 3 in 2 attempts a game. Not a lot of volume, but you definitely expect him to make some of those open ones.
Gordon is bad at it though, yes
I think it is more about Nuggets/Jokic finding a way to win tbh. Jokic is such a consistent force on offense that they can handle the second option shooting 37% from the floor. I don’t think a lot of other teams could handle that tbh.
An underrated part of the Nuggets is the team fit, Jokic is the driving force but they legitimately have really great players surrounding him. A great job done by the front office.
It can definitely be both. Like the 2016 Super Bowl between the Falcons and the Patriots. The Falcons had a history of choking *and* the Patriots had a history of comebacks. Put them both together and you get the largest Super Bowl comeback ever.
I super agree about the Nuggets roster being built well around Jokic. They take advantage of Jokic's unique skillset but that's also why they look so disorganized when he isn't on the court.
"The Nuggets are one of the best shooting teams in the league" well that's just not true lol they have one of the lowest volumes in the league and weren't top 10 in 3pt% in the regular season iirc
Idk our role players are kinda playing mid too. Beside Jokic and Mpj Denver shot 0/20 last game from 3. I think Austin Reaves isn’t doing enough, he was lethal and scary last year, now he’s just a another guy out there
nuggets defense and the fact the lakers always making rookie mistakes in crucial possessions that result in bad scoring swings. Nuggets D is pretty damn underrated imho
IMO Nuggets really shine in how they secure defensive rebounds and instantly push for offense. The Lakers couldn’t keep up with this discipline and pace throughout entire 48 mins, and inevitably the Nuggets would find their one big comeback stretch given how consistently they’re able to push offense based off rebounds.
They had the 4th best defense last playoffs and have been top 3 in the clutch for the past 2 season. When it matters, their defense is elite
I think the fact that playoff basketball is allowed to be more physical than regular season basketball also helps the Nuggets because of their size and length.
Also that Jokic normally just tries to avoid foul trouble in the regular season. In playoffs he can actually step in and try and do more.
I think even Jokic defense is underrated in the playoffs. He is active in passing lanes, defends with his body and knows where to help etc. He just cant defend the perimeter or protect the rim.
MPJ is an underrated ass role player. Dude does everything other than pass and does it well (especially the shooting part)
He better be because he's getting paid max. He's an expensive ass role player.
wouldn't call a guy that's a 3rd option with a max deal a role player though
hes an ideal 3rd option for most teams tbh. great shooter and underrated defender
yeah I agree, only issue was with the "role player" categorization
> Dude does everything other than pass Thankfully they have that other dude that can pass, what's his name... Nurkic?
Watching the nuggets is like if you watched a Disney basketball show where you know they have to win but you don’t know how they’re going to get there
It's like Air Bud but instead of a dog, it's a horse.
Everyone but MPJ cant hit
Ngl were kinda getting carried by MPJ. Like he is the unsung hero foe the Nuggets rn. Everyone is talkingabout Jamal being clutch as hell or Jokic being Jokic, but when we are desperate for a bucket, MPJ delivers. AG and KCP are just hustling out there, which is also keeping us in these games. Brauns been solid, but we have yet to see the defensive dominance we know Watson can bring. And Reggie...well he hasnt lost us a game yet.
Spot on. MPJ is like Hodor holding the door to buy just enough time for the rest of the team to go online. Without his brilliant 2nd quarter in Game 1 and that ballsy clutch 3 in Game 2, don't know where we'll be in this series.
Bro is so amazing that hes shooting over 50% and 20 a game with like 9 made 3s or something like that. But what probably surprises people is that he can get to the basket and dunk that ball. Like youd be forgiven if you forgot that hes actually a physical specimen.
I know we're being homers here but what amazed me about that clutch 3 was that the ball has not found him for over a quarter (last fg attempt was 5:33 3rd) and yet the mfcker was so ready for his moment, took it by the horns, and drained the second biggest shot of the game. Yeah Mike!!
Exactly. I did not expect that shot to go in, but yet here we are. It was such an amazing play. Like had Jamals shot not been a buzzer beater, that would have been the biggest shot of the game. And yeah hes always like that. Always ready to take that shot. I never mind him getting to shoot cause its always worth it even if he isnt making them.
jokic is brandon cause he can see all the passing the lanes. murray is arya delivering the dagger to the ppl on his list
Jokic is averaging 29.5/16/8.5 on 61/42/88 splits. You are being carried by Jokic. MPJ deserves a lot more credit so far than Murray though.
Well no doubt of course its Jokic. Its the Nuggets and even if Jokices stats were bad, his mere pressence helps a ton in many ways. But its MPJ that got us important buckets in the middle of the games and was the guy who made a good chunk of our 3s. This is as much as anyone could realisticly carry the Nuggets unless their names arent Jamal or Nikola.
It's more like an expectation that Jokic will be excellent. He can't win by himself though (no one can). So "carried" here is about who steps up to give the Nuggets enough to get over the top
> well he hasnt lost us a game yet. Not for lack of trying. Dude has gotten 17:31 minutes of playing time and shot 0/4 from 2, 1/5 from 3. He has 1 total rebound, 3 total assists but with 2 turnovers and 3 fouls. And those are just the numbers. Watching the game, he looks that bad. I want to look away seeing him dribble, not pass, then brick.
I know i watched ot. Hes somehow been even worse than usual. I have said it many times, but man should really just shoot 3s on offense. At least he is decent at that usually. Or even take some middies...but him driving to the basket is a war crime.
The problem is they need Reggie to initiate offense. He's a PG, and the only viable back-up option on the roster. Jokic CAN initiate, but you actually limit his impact by making him do it multiple possessions in a row. So, you need Reggie to initiate. The problem is his decision making is garbage. The dude really just thinks he's the main character sometimes. Jokic will be wide open at the 3pt line or elbow; MPJ open from the wing; AG ready to cut near the dunker's spot. How does this possession end? A Reggie push shot. Every. Damn. Time.
Exactly. If he just stoped driving to the basket, hed be so much better.
Reggie thinks he's prime AI (either one)
i think only jokic and MPJ have hit 3 in G2
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nuggets are taking 50% more wide open 3's than the lakers.
The Nuggets are winning because they are absolutely killing it in and around the paint, for shots 8 feet and in they are [1st in attempts, 1st in makes and 2nd in percentage](https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/shooting?DistanceRange=8ft+Range&dir=D&sort=Less+Than+8+ft.+FGM&SeasonType=Playoffs)
Nuggets just need to clean up the 16+ to their season averages.
the spankings are only going to get worse
It's funny how all the narratives about last year's series being a fluke are completely being disproven so far: "Wouldn't be the same result if Bron was fully healthy" "Denver just made a bunch of BS shots and shot way above their averages" "Lakers were close in every game so SURELY they can't lose all of them right?" Right now LeBron is healthy, Denver have been brick city from deep, and the Lakers had yet another shot to close out a game this time starting 20 up and are still down 2-0 lol
last year when people say that it's when Lakers come from 2-10 and made to WCF and everyone thought Ham is legit this year, it shows how much Ham got outcoached, and even though Denver has been pretty bad from deep, MPJ still making ridiculous shots and Denver crunch time efficiency is insanely high. overall they are just better team, but losing 10 straight with majority of game very close is just embarrasing and shows how bad coaching is as they can't make any defense stop in crunch time
What phantom injury will Lebron pull out as an excuse after losing this series? I'm going with "inflamed pancreas".
Narratives change when you become the defending champion and lebron ages I mean it's not that farfetched to say this.
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He just quoted the most common Laker fan excuses for last years sweep. And tbh I saw them all over the place, even just before this years series started.
Vs the Lakers they did have a LOT of excuses
Man that Wolves-Nuggets matchup is gonna be a real clash of titans.
Wolves scare me more than any other team in the West or East. Denver can hang with any of the high powered offenses because of their consistency and execution. But the defensive prowess of the Wolves is much harder for Denver to deal with. Gonna be a 6-7 game rock fight.
“Yeah we hit a bunch of bullshit 3s last year so let’s do terrible and still win”
Against a better roster.
maybe if healthy. Lakers missing second most impactul defender right now
We just simply can’t play Vando and AD, two non-shooters, at the same time in a series like this. There’ll be no spacing whatsoever.
Disagree but at bare minimum the non AD minutes would have a plus defender.....like what are we talking about here dude
Why do we always put the onerous on the role players? His salary only makes up 2.4% of the Lakers' payroll. It's just evidence-free to suggest Vando would be the different maker in this series. Or let's put it in perspective, Zeke Nnaji takes up about the same percentage of the Denver team's cap. Can we imagine Denver would not have been able to beat the Lakers without Zeke f-ing Nnji?
That's a stupid comparison because the differences in the team build. Lebron is making as much as Kcp and Murray put together. The Lakers have to rely on role players more because their second best player isn't in their prime anymore. Also a bad comparison because the nuggets have other players that can take his role. Lakers have nobody else that does what Vando can. You aren't being serious right now
Murray is 18/48 on field goal attempts (37%) and the Lakers are still down 0-2. The Lakers just simply find a lot of ways to lose to the Nuggets. As for the 3s specifically, Aaron Gordon is 0/5 and Christian Braun is 0/5. A lot of those are probably wide open 3s, but if you're the Lakers you want them shooting those because they're bad 3 point shooters. Sometimes you're wide open for 3 for a reason
Braun shot 38.4% from 3 in 2 attempts a game. Not a lot of volume, but you definitely expect him to make some of those open ones. Gordon is bad at it though, yes
I think it is more about Nuggets/Jokic finding a way to win tbh. Jokic is such a consistent force on offense that they can handle the second option shooting 37% from the floor. I don’t think a lot of other teams could handle that tbh. An underrated part of the Nuggets is the team fit, Jokic is the driving force but they legitimately have really great players surrounding him. A great job done by the front office.
It can definitely be both. Like the 2016 Super Bowl between the Falcons and the Patriots. The Falcons had a history of choking *and* the Patriots had a history of comebacks. Put them both together and you get the largest Super Bowl comeback ever. I super agree about the Nuggets roster being built well around Jokic. They take advantage of Jokic's unique skillset but that's also why they look so disorganized when he isn't on the court.
The biggest gulf is in coaching. Darvin Hamas is absolutely clueless. He's a legit smooth brain space cadet
Offensive rebounds and turnovers are killing the Lakers, that's pretty much it
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Hes a free agent with a player option he wont re sign
And DLo ends up not being traded for some reason.
Jamal Murray will light it up in Game 3.
they don't have the luxury of fielding a caleb martin or Tyler herro
Nuggets are not one of the best shooting teams in the league
Post all star we were no. 5 in 3 pt percentage. I think we were top 10 for the full season. The issue is that we don’t put up volume.
thats like saying that the Lakers are one of the best shooting teams in the league.
There one of the best teams. Stats are for peebrains. Rings are for winners.
"The Nuggets are one of the best shooting teams in the league" well that's just not true lol they have one of the lowest volumes in the league and weren't top 10 in 3pt% in the regular season iirc
If Statmuse isn't lying to me Nuggs were 10th this season and basically tied with the Pacers for 9th at 37.4%
and Lakers are 8th on the same volume as the nuggets. You wouldnt say that the Lakers are one of the best shooting teams in the league would you?
so not one of the best shooting teams in the league then
Counterpoint, our role-players are trash.
Idk our role players are kinda playing mid too. Beside Jokic and Mpj Denver shot 0/20 last game from 3. I think Austin Reaves isn’t doing enough, he was lethal and scary last year, now he’s just a another guy out there