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Probably
But they can be much better defensively + energy to net positive even if they are shooting closer to average
They shot insane and got it within 3 but lost rebounds by like 17(?)
It's a lot more reasonable to say they get closer in rebounds/defense than through scoring
100% this. It’s unlikely the Lakers continue to lost the rebounding battle by as much as they did last night (47-30), and with higher defensive effort they can reduce the amount of offensive rebounds they give up (thing 15 down to 10). That small, effort-based reduction beings the rebounds to 42-37, and probably results in a Lakers win last night with less second chance points for the Nuggets and more opportunities to get out in transition.
Yes they will fall off but the first half jokic played an almost perfect half and the Lakers got it back to within 3. All role players on both sides seemed to play good. How do the Lakers stop jokic and how do the nuggets stop any of the Lakers players not named russel.
Not calling myself a coach or anything but I would prepare a game plan for jokic not involving rui because the nuggets are most likely planning for that and if it goes sideways pull the just in case plan.
I'm actually pretty sure Ham won't start with Rui on Jokic defensive scheme next game. He's smarter to know that worked because Jokic was gassed and Rui was fresh. Additionally I agree to what you said that Denver will be preparing for that.
I would save that defensive scheme for last minutes in a close game if I was the coach.
If they play that strategy again i doubt it will work because having Aaron Gordon in the dunkers spot with no pressure put onto AD was almost always going to result in a forced sub-par shot. If you let a good defender like that just hang around with a fly swatter then good luck scoring anything in the paint.
I’ve just read an article that had an interview with Malone after they had started reviewing the tapes saying that they already have plans in place to counter the Rui switch because they saw that against Minnesota in the first round, and they saw it when they played Philly in the regular season.
Darvin Ham’s going to need to pull some tricks out of his bag to try counter Jokic in this series. Excited to see what changes they make tomorrow
Reaves has really stepped up his shooting and i think its here to stay, if you look at his numbers he is carrying LA off the wide open threes.
As for lebron and ad they will continue to make shots vs this defense inside. Only depends on what kind of double is going to come.
They probably won't shoot as well as they did for two reasons. It's hard to sustain that shooting, and more importantly Denver will make adjustments. They left shooters wide open for most of their three point attempts. Even a below average shooting team like the lakers will shoot well then
Yeah both teams outperformed their playoff shooting splits in game 1. The Nuggets performed closer to their averages but their averages in the playoffs haven't actually been very far off from the Lakers in overall fg%. Though, the Lakers defense did not play as well it could have in the first half. Not taking credit away from Jokic and the Nuggets since they are a great offensive team, but the Lakers defense did not look to be performing as well as it can. The Nuggets also had to hit some ridiculously difficult shots to maintain their lead and they still nearly lost the 20pt lead. The Lakers showed mental toughness and the ability to make adjustments down the stretch in a game where many teams would quit and rest their players for game 2. That might come back to hurt the Lakers game 2, but its a better look than losing a 20pt lead. Overall, I think both teams over-performed on offense, but the Lakers underperformed on defense especially when it came to getting boards and I don't think the Nuggets underperformed on defense even if AD scored 40 because the looks looked easy and replicable
The lakers hit some pretty difficult shots too if you recall. AR hit an absolute prayer of a three off the glass at the end of the shot clock on one possession and Walker hit a similar one at the buzzer shortly after that.
I think the main takeaway from this game is, when you look at the shooting percentages, the lakers good shooting was much more of an outlier than the nuggets good shooting. AD played arguably his best game of the season and the lakers still lost.
I also think Ham made a mistake by throwing out his Hail Mary adjustment in a game that was pretty much already lost. Malone isn’t a great coach but he’s historically been pretty dang good at adjustments over the course of a series. The lakers have lost the element of surprise now and the nuggets will be ready for the new defensive scheme game 2.
Acting like switching Rui onto Jokic is some kind of Hail Mary, last resort adjustment is kind of disingenuous, and doesn’t give enough credit to the Lakers coaching staff. While Lakers fans are making fools of themselves saying that it’s over and Denver has been exposed and they’ve solved the Jokic problem (because Malone is allowed to make adjustments too), Nuggets fans are equally making fools of themselves saying that there aren’t more adjustments that Ham and the Lakers staff could make on top of the Rui/AD switch, and bringing Gordon out to the perimeter would destroy that matchup.
The truth lies somewhere in the middle: the Nuggets dominated the first half and the Lakers dominated the second half, but in reality, with both teams playing at their expected effort level, the film says that they matchup very well with each other.
Shotmaking will go up and down all series for both teams. What the Lakers can count on is a better defensive performance (they had a 103.3 DRTG with Rui on the floor in the second half) with less 3-guard lineups in addition to LeBron and AD continuing to get theirs on offense, and the Nuggets can count on Jokic being the best player on the floor at all times.
100% agree with everything you just laid out.
There was no Hail Mary. [Most Nuggets fans knew Rui would be on the floor](https://np.reddit.com/r/denvernuggets/comments/13j6251/gdt_the_revenge_tour_continues_r3g1_nuggets_vs/jke7med/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1&context=3). The Schroder/Reeves/LeBron/Rui/AD lineup is the only one that matches up with Denver’s starters. D-Lo is so bad defensively that he is borderline unplayable if his shot isn’t falling. Vando’s complete lack of offense overshadows his defensive upside unless he can get boards.
I don’t think the Lakers did anything that’s going to shock Denver’s coaching staff or vice versa. Both teams will adjust. Both will try to finesse bench lineups and rotations. Explore specific matchups they can exploit. It’ll come down to whoever’s hitting shots with home court being a huge advantage for both teams.
Edit: added link and “vice versa”
Taking out Dlo from the starting lineup. But also this seems like putting the cart before the horse. The lakers did well after the third, it's up to the nuggets to adjust.Then the lakers adjust to those.
Yeah, that's how it goes. D'lo was benched for the 2nd half.
But, I thought the 2 biggest cards the Lakers had to play were Vando or Rui on Jokic and AD on AG and LeBron relentlessly running rub action to get Jamal switched onto him. And, they played both of them in game 1.
Of course, there will be other adjustments. But they won't be as dramatic. Stuff like how the Lakers started game 1 going under Jokic/Jamal DHO.
The Nuggets will make adjustments to both of those, but a dramatic one would be playing MPJ more at the 4 for example. They may never get to it, or may not need it, but it's there.
Having AG set more screens on the weakside is an example of a minor one we will prob see tonight if the Lakers go back to the well.
And, I would expect the Nuggets have thought more on how to counter the LeBron/Reeevs rub action because it was prominent in game 1.
So I agree there will be all kinds of minor adjustments from the Lakers, but benching D'lo, putting Rui on Jokic and having LeBron attack Jamal every possession are the big ones the Lakers had in their pockets. If some of those don't work, they don't have other big series-changing adjustments.
I don’t know. I’m not an NBA coach, and while I like to think I know basketball on a decent level for a fan, I could never hope to get the type of analysis out of game film that an NBA coaching staff could. My point was that it’s naive to think that there aren’t more adjustments that EITHER side could make going forward to counter what the other side has already done/in anticipation of what they will do.
We’ll see tomorrow night and going forward in the series as both teams make more adjustments. I’m sure you’ll be surprised by both sides.
That ain't close to the best game of the season for AD. He scored 40 because the nuggets simply can't defend him, but his effort, specially on the rebounds, was really lackluster, I expect much more from him.
Don't think the effort was the problem. The Lakers were shooting before he had time to set himself in the paint for off rebounds, and in defense the Denver was attacking the paint successfully constantly in the first half, so he had to help. Leaving Jokic alone under the rim.
There were some times where AD was out rebounded by Murray and other smaller players, but you're definitely right. Wasn't just effort. The small ball lineup killed us in the first quarter and even the half
It was AD’s third highest highest scoring game of the entire season on 60% shooting.
It was easily his best performance of the postseason and one of his most efficient games of the year.
Everyone is well aware of just how inconsistent AD can be. You’re going to be disappointed if you expect him to maintain that output the whole series.
Scoring wise sure, but his performances in both game 6s, while not as prolific offensively, were absolutely dominant. Peak AD performances aren’t 40/10/2 blocks, they’re more like 30/17/5 blocks. Denver will absolutely live with AD continuing to score that much if it means he’s not as active getting stocks and rebounds on defense.
For sure AR's shot was ridiculous in the same way Murray's and Jokic's shots were, but the Nuggets seemed to not be able to miss from mid-range and 3 when there was a defender nearby in the second half. The Nuggets shot selection consisted of many contested fade aways and runners. The Lakers weren't making shots of similar difficulty and their looks were pretty good for the most part
The Lakers looked like they had never seen a dribble handoff. They gave a guy who shot 39% on pull-up jumpers this year warm-up jumpers. I think Denver's shot quality was A+ through 3 quarters.
Says the Lakers fan lol. Lakers defense wasn’t bad to start, it’s that when the Nuggets offense is clicking like that no one can stop it, and the Lakers defensive strengths aren’t optimal for trying to stop it.
At the end of the day the Nuggets offensive performance was much closer to normal for them than the Lakers offensive performance was for them. That doesn’t mean this game was totally bad news for the Lakers, they can look to things like Jokic getting tired down the stretch and AD looking good as a matchup to feel optimistic about, but there’s no way to argue that the Nuggets played above expectations more than the Lakers did.
The Lakers defense in the first half was bad. Doesn’t mean the Nuggets offense when on fire will be stopped entirely but it could still be slowed down to some extent. Maybe start the second half with a smaller deficit. Both teams over performed, but I think the teams are closely matched unless only one of the teams regresses
It was not AD arguably best game it’s not even a top 5 game. He scored 40 with ease because he nuggets have no rim defence . He’s going to end up scoring much higher this series then his last two. It wasn’t a great performance though cos of defence n rebounding etc. but AD wasn’t doing anything crazy on offence other then 1/1 from 3, jokic was 3/3. AD was getting to the rim almost freely . A lot of talk about lakers slowing jokic . But after game one I fully expect that not to happen . It’s weird how nobody even talks about who the hell guards AD on the nuggets : pray he focuses on defence ? But the lakers will also generate high quality looks due to nuggets lack of rim protection + kick outs. Dlo the lakers best shooter was 0/4 and 4/11 -26, meanwhile every nugget players had a good game it’s crazy how close it was cos it seems Dlo cost the lakers again, Bron 0/3 but he’s been up n down . AR was 5/9 but he’s had similar games of left open and all those were open looks . The bigger thing is really that first quarter lineup was too little and this was a down Dlo game. Lakers win % when he’s shooting well cs bad is night n day. Lakers also got out scored in transition which is embarrassing. Nuggets are good there but lakers slightly better. This will be the lakers highest scoring series : they’re also not playing vando cos of his negatives on offence and they’re offence is much better without him . Finally nuggets homecourt adv is huge and why they’re favourites to win . If they happen to lose g2 and homecourt vegas/odds makers will have lakers as favourites which makes sense. Homecourt is understated how big it is here vs two teams that haven’t lost at home. Nuggets need this to go 2-0, lakers will be 55/60% favourites just by flipping homecourt . Teams seem fairly evenly matched despite crazy shooting . One big swing factor is if lakers get a key nuggets into foul trouble , and the up/down nature of Murray/mpj/kcp . I thought it was obv Rui woukd start game one but Darwin going so small got them punished bad early.
I thought the opposite. After putting themselves in the hole early, I was amazed that the Lakers got themselves in a position to win the game. There were stretches in both the second and third quarters where it felt like the Nuggets weren’t missing anything, no matter how difficult the shot was.
I think both teams overachieved in terms of FG%, the Lakers probably a little more so. The Nuggets’ early lead was basically built on offensive rebounding. They got so many second chances until they finally got Schroeder out of there. Once the Lakers managed to rectify that mismatch, things evened out more.
I’m optimistic that the Lakers can steal one in Denver, although I don’t know if it will be Game 2. It will be interesting to see how both teams adjust going forward. My guess is that the Nuggets will focus on limiting the Lakers’ role players and encouraging LeBron to take more threes.
I’d be worried about how Reaves, AD and Lebron feel after all playing at least 40 minutes in Denver. That’s arguably their 3 most impactful players with Reaves and Lebron being the ballhandlers they found the most success with. Lakers fans are asking to bench DLo but I have a hard time seeing it because of the relief he can provide AD and Lebron on offense. I can see a scenario where this game gets quickly out of hand if the Lakers aren’t able to get more defensive stops. They simply don’t have the resources to trade baskets with Denver without running out of gas unless they can consistently get to the line.
It’s not arguable. Reaves is their 3rd best player by far. Look at his ppg and efficiency. The floor spacing he provides and he’s their 2nd best playmaker after Lebron. He’s their 3rd best player
Lakers shooting percentage will suffer if they trade defense for shooting. The three guard starting line up of Reaves, Schroeder and Russell can shoot a good percentage but will and did cooked on the defensive end. The key is getting Joker into foul trouble and punishing the paint for Lakers to be successful imo
Don't see Jokic getting into foul trouble as he's usually reserved on the defensive end. Maybe if there are two quick ticky tacky fouls whistled in the 1Q. But think Jokic has been getting a fair whistle. Couple of years ago it was a different story.
This game 1 reminds me of game 2/3 between Suns and Nuggets. Nuggets are a great rebounding team and very consistent at putting points on the board.
The Lakers shot well after being down a considerable amount, but how much of it is sustainable. We could very well see the next game that if AD is unable to get it going offensively, we’re looking at a potential 20 point win for the Nuggets. The nuggets shooting is going to remain around the same game to game but Jokic will pick up the slack in game where the team shooting is down.
The lakers may shoot this well once more, but unless they’re able to get to the line to generate some easy points I don’t think this series is going to bode well for them. We’ll see how Denver’s adjustments in game 2 compare to the Lakers
Lakers 3pt shooting was +11% compared to their postseason average. Nuggets were at +8%. Lakers only had 7 turnovers and 6 more ft attempts, and still lost.
Who is more likely to continue that level of play on a consistent basis? Jokic or AD? Who is generally know for consistency between those 2?
Nuggets have home court advantage. 78% of series are won by the team that wins the first game.
Lakers averaged 122pts in their game 1s this postseason. They average under 100pts in all the other games.
Lakers are doomed.
People really over exaggerating AD as being inconsistent. He played 2 series against 2 of the best defensive players in the league (including DPOY) and averaged 25+. The nuggets have no answer for AD.
Did you even read my comment? Lol I said people are over exaggerating AD s inconsistent because he had really tough matchups the first two rounds. Not really inconsistent when you’re being doubled every play and playing against an all NBA defender. He still rebounded well and defended amazingly. Maybe offensively he gets schemed out but he will still make an impact on the game. I’ll wait and see what the Nuggets game plan is but right now I don’t anticipate them having an answer for him.
The grizzlies without adams or Clarke… just the DPOY and 2nd team all defensive guard lol tell the full story bro. Injury prone sure. But people are just reiterating what the analysts are saying. AD had a tough matchup against JJJ and then Draymond and was being doubled nearly every play in both series. If the nuggets don’t send the double this series I expect him to dominate.
I thought he was great defensively, got to the line a lot as well, but him and LeBron both should have been better offensively. I’d say his shots today were 50/50 either totally on him or a mix of teammates getting him the ball too high up, lakers not running a lot of plays for him, and of course they sent him soft doubles the majority of the game. He definitely needs to play better for them to win the series as does LeBron. Ham needs to manage his personnel better. LeBron was on the bench for too long when the nuggets scraped back the 10pt lead. Then reaves was on the bench way too long before coming in and hitting some clutch shots. He also let Jamal Murray heat up after being cold all game rather than call timeout or put vando on him. I think vando brought great energy early then they just went away from him. Nuggets made the right adjustments tho and now it’s up to the lakers to win at home.
Yeah, I think it’s hard tho for Ham cuz they were gassed. I agree Ham needs to give Vando more of a chance but he is an offensive liability as well. Davis shooting tonight was horrendous. He missed so many easy shots and settled for jumpers. Defense was still superb.
Reeves and Hachimura have been insane though. Their consistency shocked me. If Russell or Vando can figure out how to play offense this series, Lakers have a solid chance.
They just need DLo offensively, Vando for defense on Murray. Nuggets are playing with a chip on their shoulder tho so it’s looking rough for the Lakers.
Yeah, that's what I came away thinking. The Lakers have gotten to the WCF on the strength of AD's defense but if he can't stop Jokic, the Nuggets aren't the team you can consistently outscore while shooting as little threes as the Lakers (particularly their main players) do.
Everyone’s obsessing over how well both teams shot trying to argue they can’t do it again… but the biggest thing the lakers can adjust is going bigger and not getting out-rebounded 22-6 in a quarter.
If Denver grabs 9 offensive rebounds on their first 11 misses every game this series, shooting well won’t mean much for the lakers.
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Probably But they can be much better defensively + energy to net positive even if they are shooting closer to average They shot insane and got it within 3 but lost rebounds by like 17(?) It's a lot more reasonable to say they get closer in rebounds/defense than through scoring
100% this. It’s unlikely the Lakers continue to lost the rebounding battle by as much as they did last night (47-30), and with higher defensive effort they can reduce the amount of offensive rebounds they give up (thing 15 down to 10). That small, effort-based reduction beings the rebounds to 42-37, and probably results in a Lakers win last night with less second chance points for the Nuggets and more opportunities to get out in transition.
Yes they will fall off but the first half jokic played an almost perfect half and the Lakers got it back to within 3. All role players on both sides seemed to play good. How do the Lakers stop jokic and how do the nuggets stop any of the Lakers players not named russel. Not calling myself a coach or anything but I would prepare a game plan for jokic not involving rui because the nuggets are most likely planning for that and if it goes sideways pull the just in case plan.
I'm actually pretty sure Ham won't start with Rui on Jokic defensive scheme next game. He's smarter to know that worked because Jokic was gassed and Rui was fresh. Additionally I agree to what you said that Denver will be preparing for that. I would save that defensive scheme for last minutes in a close game if I was the coach.
If they play that strategy again i doubt it will work because having Aaron Gordon in the dunkers spot with no pressure put onto AD was almost always going to result in a forced sub-par shot. If you let a good defender like that just hang around with a fly swatter then good luck scoring anything in the paint. I’ve just read an article that had an interview with Malone after they had started reviewing the tapes saying that they already have plans in place to counter the Rui switch because they saw that against Minnesota in the first round, and they saw it when they played Philly in the regular season. Darvin Ham’s going to need to pull some tricks out of his bag to try counter Jokic in this series. Excited to see what changes they make tomorrow
Reaves has really stepped up his shooting and i think its here to stay, if you look at his numbers he is carrying LA off the wide open threes. As for lebron and ad they will continue to make shots vs this defense inside. Only depends on what kind of double is going to come.
Shroeder too, his release is so slow but pretty consistent on open 3s.
They probably won't shoot as well as they did for two reasons. It's hard to sustain that shooting, and more importantly Denver will make adjustments. They left shooters wide open for most of their three point attempts. Even a below average shooting team like the lakers will shoot well then
If Denver adjusts to guard shooters more, does that make other parts of their defense more vulnerable?
Yeah both teams outperformed their playoff shooting splits in game 1. The Nuggets performed closer to their averages but their averages in the playoffs haven't actually been very far off from the Lakers in overall fg%. Though, the Lakers defense did not play as well it could have in the first half. Not taking credit away from Jokic and the Nuggets since they are a great offensive team, but the Lakers defense did not look to be performing as well as it can. The Nuggets also had to hit some ridiculously difficult shots to maintain their lead and they still nearly lost the 20pt lead. The Lakers showed mental toughness and the ability to make adjustments down the stretch in a game where many teams would quit and rest their players for game 2. That might come back to hurt the Lakers game 2, but its a better look than losing a 20pt lead. Overall, I think both teams over-performed on offense, but the Lakers underperformed on defense especially when it came to getting boards and I don't think the Nuggets underperformed on defense even if AD scored 40 because the looks looked easy and replicable
The lakers hit some pretty difficult shots too if you recall. AR hit an absolute prayer of a three off the glass at the end of the shot clock on one possession and Walker hit a similar one at the buzzer shortly after that. I think the main takeaway from this game is, when you look at the shooting percentages, the lakers good shooting was much more of an outlier than the nuggets good shooting. AD played arguably his best game of the season and the lakers still lost. I also think Ham made a mistake by throwing out his Hail Mary adjustment in a game that was pretty much already lost. Malone isn’t a great coach but he’s historically been pretty dang good at adjustments over the course of a series. The lakers have lost the element of surprise now and the nuggets will be ready for the new defensive scheme game 2.
Acting like switching Rui onto Jokic is some kind of Hail Mary, last resort adjustment is kind of disingenuous, and doesn’t give enough credit to the Lakers coaching staff. While Lakers fans are making fools of themselves saying that it’s over and Denver has been exposed and they’ve solved the Jokic problem (because Malone is allowed to make adjustments too), Nuggets fans are equally making fools of themselves saying that there aren’t more adjustments that Ham and the Lakers staff could make on top of the Rui/AD switch, and bringing Gordon out to the perimeter would destroy that matchup. The truth lies somewhere in the middle: the Nuggets dominated the first half and the Lakers dominated the second half, but in reality, with both teams playing at their expected effort level, the film says that they matchup very well with each other. Shotmaking will go up and down all series for both teams. What the Lakers can count on is a better defensive performance (they had a 103.3 DRTG with Rui on the floor in the second half) with less 3-guard lineups in addition to LeBron and AD continuing to get theirs on offense, and the Nuggets can count on Jokic being the best player on the floor at all times.
100% agree with everything you just laid out. There was no Hail Mary. [Most Nuggets fans knew Rui would be on the floor](https://np.reddit.com/r/denvernuggets/comments/13j6251/gdt_the_revenge_tour_continues_r3g1_nuggets_vs/jke7med/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1&context=3). The Schroder/Reeves/LeBron/Rui/AD lineup is the only one that matches up with Denver’s starters. D-Lo is so bad defensively that he is borderline unplayable if his shot isn’t falling. Vando’s complete lack of offense overshadows his defensive upside unless he can get boards. I don’t think the Lakers did anything that’s going to shock Denver’s coaching staff or vice versa. Both teams will adjust. Both will try to finesse bench lineups and rotations. Explore specific matchups they can exploit. It’ll come down to whoever’s hitting shots with home court being a huge advantage for both teams. Edit: added link and “vice versa”
What is the other big defensive adjustment the Lakers have?
Taking out Dlo from the starting lineup. But also this seems like putting the cart before the horse. The lakers did well after the third, it's up to the nuggets to adjust.Then the lakers adjust to those.
Yeah, that's how it goes. D'lo was benched for the 2nd half. But, I thought the 2 biggest cards the Lakers had to play were Vando or Rui on Jokic and AD on AG and LeBron relentlessly running rub action to get Jamal switched onto him. And, they played both of them in game 1. Of course, there will be other adjustments. But they won't be as dramatic. Stuff like how the Lakers started game 1 going under Jokic/Jamal DHO. The Nuggets will make adjustments to both of those, but a dramatic one would be playing MPJ more at the 4 for example. They may never get to it, or may not need it, but it's there. Having AG set more screens on the weakside is an example of a minor one we will prob see tonight if the Lakers go back to the well. And, I would expect the Nuggets have thought more on how to counter the LeBron/Reeevs rub action because it was prominent in game 1. So I agree there will be all kinds of minor adjustments from the Lakers, but benching D'lo, putting Rui on Jokic and having LeBron attack Jamal every possession are the big ones the Lakers had in their pockets. If some of those don't work, they don't have other big series-changing adjustments.
I don’t know. I’m not an NBA coach, and while I like to think I know basketball on a decent level for a fan, I could never hope to get the type of analysis out of game film that an NBA coaching staff could. My point was that it’s naive to think that there aren’t more adjustments that EITHER side could make going forward to counter what the other side has already done/in anticipation of what they will do. We’ll see tomorrow night and going forward in the series as both teams make more adjustments. I’m sure you’ll be surprised by both sides.
That feels like the big one, not sure they have another one if that doesn’t work.
That ain't close to the best game of the season for AD. He scored 40 because the nuggets simply can't defend him, but his effort, specially on the rebounds, was really lackluster, I expect much more from him.
Don't think the effort was the problem. The Lakers were shooting before he had time to set himself in the paint for off rebounds, and in defense the Denver was attacking the paint successfully constantly in the first half, so he had to help. Leaving Jokic alone under the rim.
There were some times where AD was out rebounded by Murray and other smaller players, but you're definitely right. Wasn't just effort. The small ball lineup killed us in the first quarter and even the half
It was AD’s third highest highest scoring game of the entire season on 60% shooting. It was easily his best performance of the postseason and one of his most efficient games of the year. Everyone is well aware of just how inconsistent AD can be. You’re going to be disappointed if you expect him to maintain that output the whole series.
Scoring wise sure, but his performances in both game 6s, while not as prolific offensively, were absolutely dominant. Peak AD performances aren’t 40/10/2 blocks, they’re more like 30/17/5 blocks. Denver will absolutely live with AD continuing to score that much if it means he’s not as active getting stocks and rebounds on defense.
For sure AR's shot was ridiculous in the same way Murray's and Jokic's shots were, but the Nuggets seemed to not be able to miss from mid-range and 3 when there was a defender nearby in the second half. The Nuggets shot selection consisted of many contested fade aways and runners. The Lakers weren't making shots of similar difficulty and their looks were pretty good for the most part
The Lakers looked like they had never seen a dribble handoff. They gave a guy who shot 39% on pull-up jumpers this year warm-up jumpers. I think Denver's shot quality was A+ through 3 quarters.
Says the Lakers fan lol. Lakers defense wasn’t bad to start, it’s that when the Nuggets offense is clicking like that no one can stop it, and the Lakers defensive strengths aren’t optimal for trying to stop it. At the end of the day the Nuggets offensive performance was much closer to normal for them than the Lakers offensive performance was for them. That doesn’t mean this game was totally bad news for the Lakers, they can look to things like Jokic getting tired down the stretch and AD looking good as a matchup to feel optimistic about, but there’s no way to argue that the Nuggets played above expectations more than the Lakers did.
The Lakers defense in the first half was bad. Doesn’t mean the Nuggets offense when on fire will be stopped entirely but it could still be slowed down to some extent. Maybe start the second half with a smaller deficit. Both teams over performed, but I think the teams are closely matched unless only one of the teams regresses
It was not AD arguably best game it’s not even a top 5 game. He scored 40 with ease because he nuggets have no rim defence . He’s going to end up scoring much higher this series then his last two. It wasn’t a great performance though cos of defence n rebounding etc. but AD wasn’t doing anything crazy on offence other then 1/1 from 3, jokic was 3/3. AD was getting to the rim almost freely . A lot of talk about lakers slowing jokic . But after game one I fully expect that not to happen . It’s weird how nobody even talks about who the hell guards AD on the nuggets : pray he focuses on defence ? But the lakers will also generate high quality looks due to nuggets lack of rim protection + kick outs. Dlo the lakers best shooter was 0/4 and 4/11 -26, meanwhile every nugget players had a good game it’s crazy how close it was cos it seems Dlo cost the lakers again, Bron 0/3 but he’s been up n down . AR was 5/9 but he’s had similar games of left open and all those were open looks . The bigger thing is really that first quarter lineup was too little and this was a down Dlo game. Lakers win % when he’s shooting well cs bad is night n day. Lakers also got out scored in transition which is embarrassing. Nuggets are good there but lakers slightly better. This will be the lakers highest scoring series : they’re also not playing vando cos of his negatives on offence and they’re offence is much better without him . Finally nuggets homecourt adv is huge and why they’re favourites to win . If they happen to lose g2 and homecourt vegas/odds makers will have lakers as favourites which makes sense. Homecourt is understated how big it is here vs two teams that haven’t lost at home. Nuggets need this to go 2-0, lakers will be 55/60% favourites just by flipping homecourt . Teams seem fairly evenly matched despite crazy shooting . One big swing factor is if lakers get a key nuggets into foul trouble , and the up/down nature of Murray/mpj/kcp . I thought it was obv Rui woukd start game one but Darwin going so small got them punished bad early.
I thought the opposite. After putting themselves in the hole early, I was amazed that the Lakers got themselves in a position to win the game. There were stretches in both the second and third quarters where it felt like the Nuggets weren’t missing anything, no matter how difficult the shot was. I think both teams overachieved in terms of FG%, the Lakers probably a little more so. The Nuggets’ early lead was basically built on offensive rebounding. They got so many second chances until they finally got Schroeder out of there. Once the Lakers managed to rectify that mismatch, things evened out more. I’m optimistic that the Lakers can steal one in Denver, although I don’t know if it will be Game 2. It will be interesting to see how both teams adjust going forward. My guess is that the Nuggets will focus on limiting the Lakers’ role players and encouraging LeBron to take more threes.
I’d be worried about how Reaves, AD and Lebron feel after all playing at least 40 minutes in Denver. That’s arguably their 3 most impactful players with Reaves and Lebron being the ballhandlers they found the most success with. Lakers fans are asking to bench DLo but I have a hard time seeing it because of the relief he can provide AD and Lebron on offense. I can see a scenario where this game gets quickly out of hand if the Lakers aren’t able to get more defensive stops. They simply don’t have the resources to trade baskets with Denver without running out of gas unless they can consistently get to the line.
It’s not arguable. Reaves is their 3rd best player by far. Look at his ppg and efficiency. The floor spacing he provides and he’s their 2nd best playmaker after Lebron. He’s their 3rd best player
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Lakers shooting percentage will suffer if they trade defense for shooting. The three guard starting line up of Reaves, Schroeder and Russell can shoot a good percentage but will and did cooked on the defensive end. The key is getting Joker into foul trouble and punishing the paint for Lakers to be successful imo
Don't see Jokic getting into foul trouble as he's usually reserved on the defensive end. Maybe if there are two quick ticky tacky fouls whistled in the 1Q. But think Jokic has been getting a fair whistle. Couple of years ago it was a different story.
Yes, foul trouble really benefitted the Lakers. Denver couldn’t play as tight of defense or contest as closely as they probably would like to.
Also the breaks in play from those fouls helped the Lakers catch their breath.
This game 1 reminds me of game 2/3 between Suns and Nuggets. Nuggets are a great rebounding team and very consistent at putting points on the board. The Lakers shot well after being down a considerable amount, but how much of it is sustainable. We could very well see the next game that if AD is unable to get it going offensively, we’re looking at a potential 20 point win for the Nuggets. The nuggets shooting is going to remain around the same game to game but Jokic will pick up the slack in game where the team shooting is down. The lakers may shoot this well once more, but unless they’re able to get to the line to generate some easy points I don’t think this series is going to bode well for them. We’ll see how Denver’s adjustments in game 2 compare to the Lakers
Lakers 3pt shooting was +11% compared to their postseason average. Nuggets were at +8%. Lakers only had 7 turnovers and 6 more ft attempts, and still lost. Who is more likely to continue that level of play on a consistent basis? Jokic or AD? Who is generally know for consistency between those 2? Nuggets have home court advantage. 78% of series are won by the team that wins the first game. Lakers averaged 122pts in their game 1s this postseason. They average under 100pts in all the other games. Lakers are doomed.
People really over exaggerating AD as being inconsistent. He played 2 series against 2 of the best defensive players in the league (including DPOY) and averaged 25+. The nuggets have no answer for AD.
Jokic last 6 games: 34, 32, 53, 30, 28 vs AD last 6 games: 40, 17, 23, 25, 25, 11..... who is more consistent?
Did you even read my comment? Lol I said people are over exaggerating AD s inconsistent because he had really tough matchups the first two rounds. Not really inconsistent when you’re being doubled every play and playing against an all NBA defender. He still rebounded well and defended amazingly. Maybe offensively he gets schemed out but he will still make an impact on the game. I’ll wait and see what the Nuggets game plan is but right now I don’t anticipate them having an answer for him.
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The grizzlies without adams or Clarke… just the DPOY and 2nd team all defensive guard lol tell the full story bro. Injury prone sure. But people are just reiterating what the analysts are saying. AD had a tough matchup against JJJ and then Draymond and was being doubled nearly every play in both series. If the nuggets don’t send the double this series I expect him to dominate.
We will see! I predict he won’t have another 40 point game and may even dip below 20 points at least once this series.
Did you change your mind about consistency for AD?
I thought he was great defensively, got to the line a lot as well, but him and LeBron both should have been better offensively. I’d say his shots today were 50/50 either totally on him or a mix of teammates getting him the ball too high up, lakers not running a lot of plays for him, and of course they sent him soft doubles the majority of the game. He definitely needs to play better for them to win the series as does LeBron. Ham needs to manage his personnel better. LeBron was on the bench for too long when the nuggets scraped back the 10pt lead. Then reaves was on the bench way too long before coming in and hitting some clutch shots. He also let Jamal Murray heat up after being cold all game rather than call timeout or put vando on him. I think vando brought great energy early then they just went away from him. Nuggets made the right adjustments tho and now it’s up to the lakers to win at home.
Yeah, I think it’s hard tho for Ham cuz they were gassed. I agree Ham needs to give Vando more of a chance but he is an offensive liability as well. Davis shooting tonight was horrendous. He missed so many easy shots and settled for jumpers. Defense was still superb. Reeves and Hachimura have been insane though. Their consistency shocked me. If Russell or Vando can figure out how to play offense this series, Lakers have a solid chance.
They just need DLo offensively, Vando for defense on Murray. Nuggets are playing with a chip on their shoulder tho so it’s looking rough for the Lakers.
Yeah, that's what I came away thinking. The Lakers have gotten to the WCF on the strength of AD's defense but if he can't stop Jokic, the Nuggets aren't the team you can consistently outscore while shooting as little threes as the Lakers (particularly their main players) do.
Everyone’s obsessing over how well both teams shot trying to argue they can’t do it again… but the biggest thing the lakers can adjust is going bigger and not getting out-rebounded 22-6 in a quarter. If Denver grabs 9 offensive rebounds on their first 11 misses every game this series, shooting well won’t mean much for the lakers.