NUGGETS -at- LAKERS - 5-20-23 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings
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michaelg
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PostPosted: Sun May 21, 2023 9:38 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB for everything you do.

It’s surprising our vaunted defense hasn’t put up a better showing. I agree with wolfpaclaker exactly, all the soft double teams on Jokic have been killing us. We can’t leave their shooters open, they are hitting every open shot. It seems like we should try putting AD on Jokic straight up during crunch time. What happened to the excellent three point defense we saw (much of the time) in the Warriors series? In game 3 we were discombobulated and there were way too many wide open looks.

But the sad fact is, we did play better 3 point D in game 1 and 2 and at moments in game 3, and they hit the shots anyway. If they are raining down open and contested three-pointers all fourth quarter, which they have done every game of the series, it’s tough and demoralizing. We were able to match those shots in game one, but that’s not really our make up.

Honestly, it felt like the refs’ whistles were leaning the Lakers way by the third quarter with several iffy fouls called against the Nugs. Like DB said, that was our chance, but again, Denver’s role players were up to the challenge. It was Gordon stepping up with the one time he has really been effective this series. I found myself wondering why AD wasn’t more involved in dominating at that stretch of the game and he was in the wings on offense. KCP, what can you say. Just a solid, clutch performer and a great pickup for Denver.

Unfortunately after that, the whistle went the other way, and the Lakers got screwed again by some clear officiating errors. They clearly didn’t want to foul Jokic out, as he was just bodying our guys and bouncing them out of the way in the paint. There have been several out of bounds calls in the series that were clearly off Denver but there’s no effort to ensure the right call is made. So frustrating to watch, when everybody can see the call is wrong. I don’t understand why the NBA can’t correct this like they do now in soccer, tennis, etc.

With Russell, he’s been exposed in this series and reinforced some of the critiques against him. It was nice to see him change the narrative after the trade deadline and in the first two series; he was developing an edge and had something to prove against the Warriors in particular. Hopefully he can turn it around, but if not perhaps he can use this series to help develop that mental grit you need to be a gamer and a winner. Something we have clearly seen in Reaves, all season. It would be insane to pay Russell more money than Reaves at this point for the next contract, hopefully our brain trust agrees.

It isn’t over. The Lakers can still learn from their mistakes and possibly find that will to overcome the opposition in the clutch and turn the tide their way.
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LakerLanny
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PostPosted: Sun May 21, 2023 11:20 am    Post subject:

They needed to slow down Murray to complete in this series and they simply haven't done it.
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danzag
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PostPosted: Sun May 21, 2023 3:45 pm    Post subject:

Thanks, DB.

This one hurts but I'm not pissed. Better team won.
We already exceeded all expectations by being there, after that 2-10 start.

This team was put together in February, with a rookie coach, while the Nuggets are playing together for 5 or 6 years and cruised all year. Jokic is in his absolute prime, while LBJ isn't a superhero anymore.

Hopefully we'll keep this core together (specially AR, Rui and DL) and build from there. With healthy AD and LBJ (fingers crossed) we can make a deep playoff run next year.

Malone ran circles around Ham and our coaching staff. We could use some better assistants, IMHO.
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deal
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PostPosted: Sun May 21, 2023 3:50 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB.

Denver is the better team, they proved that all season. Lakers have
gone much further than I would have expected.

Lakers need to lock up some players, and find some decent players
with the little flexibility we may have this season.
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focus
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PostPosted: Sun May 21, 2023 4:34 pm    Post subject:

danzag wrote:
Thanks, DB.

This one hurts but I'm not pissed. Better team won.
We already exceeded all expectations by being there, after that 2-10 start.

This team was put together in February, with a rookie coach, while the Nuggets are playing together for 5 or 6 years and cruised all year. Jokic is in his absolute prime, while LBJ isn't a superhero anymore.

Hopefully we'll keep this core together (specially AR, Rui and DL) and build from there. With healthy AD and LBJ (fingers crossed) we can make a deep playoff run next year.

Malone ran circles around Ham and our coaching staff. We could use some better assistants, IMHO.

We can make a deep run next year. Can we win it all with that more experienced core vs Denver and whoever else, with Lebron and AD as are lead players?
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danzag
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PostPosted: Sun May 21, 2023 4:45 pm    Post subject:

focus wrote:
danzag wrote:
Thanks, DB.

This one hurts but I'm not pissed. Better team won.
We already exceeded all expectations by being there, after that 2-10 start.

This team was put together in February, with a rookie coach, while the Nuggets are playing together for 5 or 6 years and cruised all year. Jokic is in his absolute prime, while LBJ isn't a superhero anymore.

Hopefully we'll keep this core together (specially AR, Rui and DL) and build from there. With healthy AD and LBJ (fingers crossed) we can make a deep playoff run next year.

Malone ran circles around Ham and our coaching staff. We could use some better assistants, IMHO.

We can make a deep run next year. Can we win it all with that more experienced core vs Denver and whoever else, with Lebron and AD as are lead players?


A lot can happen. Jokic can break a leg.
We gotta be prepared and build the best possible roster.
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Hammett
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PostPosted: Sun May 21, 2023 7:56 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB.
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A Mad Chinaman
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PostPosted: Sun May 21, 2023 7:56 pm    Post subject:

wolfpaclaker wrote:
I have seen this series with the constant questions in my head.

Why are we helping on Joker, and leaving shooters and cutters open? Why are we putting smalls on much bigger wing players? This is why Denver is beating us. We're playing them exactly how they hoped we would play them.

Don't get me wrong, even if we played them "right" we may end up losing in 6 or 7. But we do have the match ups to at least win some games. We've played them the exact opposite of how we did in 2020. It's as if AD and Lebron too forgot how they beat them.

This is not a small ball team with a scrub like Tillman/Looney as their best post option. They have legit 270 pound heavyweight 5. They have Porter/Gordon as versatile athletic wings. They have KCP at the 2. We have schemed completely wrong in this series through 3 games. We needed to put bodies on KCP/Gordon/MPJ (Or Brown) and not help on Joker.
Wolfpacker - always enjoyed your astute breakdowns

We were doing different schemes on Jokic while realizing that AD couldn't handle him defensively.

We do have matchups to play even with them but our key & role players were not able to step up

Jokic vs AD - Jokic is winning (have to help on Jokic since AD couldn't handle him)
Murray vs LBJ - Murry is winning (slightly)
KCP vs DLo - Not even close
Porter vs Rui - Close
Gordon vs AR - AR wins

Their Jokic/Murray S&R were deadly

Our transition defense was terrible

Rui was good, Walker was acceptable, DS worked his butt off

KCP/Brown/Porter step up

Differences
LBJ can no longer carry a team through a series
AD is not consistent, as oppose to Jokic/Murry and Jimmy Butler
Heat and Nuggets have continuity that allow role players to know exactly how to fit into a well-established system that were nurtured at Miami/Denver

This Laker team was the third best in the NBA behind Nuggets and Heat.

Maybe this Laker team will play more freely since they have nothing to los and no promise that there will be another playoff game for them. Will DLo explode for 30+ points, will LBJ never take a 3pt shot in this game, will Vando/DS be able to limit Murry to less than 20 points, will Rui keep Jokic under 20 points/5 assists, will Bamba make an impact on this team, will Gabriel/Vando/DS/Brown be on the court together to place intense defensive pressure on the Nuggets (don't know how this lineup will score - LMAO) and will AR score 30+ points in a Laker win????
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SweetP
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PostPosted: Sun May 21, 2023 8:11 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB.

Disappointing but WCF is way more than I expected at the start of the season.

Hope they can pull out a couple games just for P&G pride.
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Baron Von Humongous
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PostPosted: Sun May 21, 2023 9:47 pm    Post subject:

Start Christie and Hachimura and go down swinging. The Nuggets are better, but I hope the Lakers can at least get a game or two or three with lineup changes

Is Christie really going to undermine the offense more than Russell or Schröder? Obviously not, and he provides better defense than any guard on the roster. Start Christie.

Lastly, let Austin cook. The team is going to go down with LBJ and AD, but Ham needs to also factor in Reaves as a "go down with the ship" guy rather than over-sharing the ball. Let Austin try for 40 points over spreading shots out to DLo and Troy Brown.
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Startrout
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PostPosted: Mon May 22, 2023 10:17 am    Post subject:

In the end it’s all about matchups. Against other teams Vando and DLO might have shined, but we knew going in we weren’t a good matchup against the Nuggets. AD is not great against big centers and their size is too much for us overall.

I really feel we are the second best team in the league and would have beaten Boston or Miami as they don’t matchup well to us.

I agree that playing Christie over DLO in this series probably wouldn’t have hurt us at all and might of helped because of his hustle and energy. I don’t believe he could have replaced Dennis.

We probably should’ve handed the reins over to Reeves to run the show. LeBron shouldn’t be taking the lead anymore.

It was a great year considering the mess we started the season with. To out do all the teams we did was amazing.
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PostPosted: Mon May 22, 2023 11:20 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB. Here's to a historic turn around tonight!
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A Mad Chinaman
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PostPosted: Mon May 22, 2023 1:59 pm    Post subject:

Startrout wrote:
In the end it’s all about matchups. Against other teams Vando and DLO might have shined, but we knew going in we weren’t a good matchup against the Nuggets. AD is not great against big centers and their size is too much for us overall.

I really feel we are the second best team in the league and would have beaten Boston or Miami as they don’t matchup well to us.

I agree that playing Christie over DLO in this series probably wouldn’t have hurt us at all and might of helped because of his hustle and energy. I don’t believe he could have replaced Dennis.

We probably should’ve handed the reins over to Reeves to run the show. LeBron shouldn’t be taking the lead anymore.

It was a great year considering the mess we started the season with. To out do all the teams we did was amazing.
Until Vando can either be a legitimate threat on offense (somehow) and/or elevate his defensive prowess to the level of the great Dennis Rodman - he will struggle to get consistent PT

DLo has been exposed hence not a matter of matching up when playing elite teams. It is up to DLo to expand and add to his game if he wants to play with an elite and legitimate title-contending team, whether it is the Lakers or another team

Fascinating that usually the Lakers have the best players on the court with LBJ and/or AD. In the case of the Nuggets, Jokic is outplaying AD on defense and offense. Murray was lighting up the Lakers defense, even with good coverage. With the Nuggets winning at our supposedly advantages against other teams taken away, along with DLo being played off the court, the Lakers' role players are being outplayed by the Nuggets' role players (supposedly our strength against most teams)

What will it take to win tonight's game - either LBJ or AD have to outplay their Nuggets' counterpart with 1-2 role players outplaying KCP or Porter.

ESPN's sports pundits offered that the Lakers expended so much energy in eliminating the Dubs - they had little energy left. They wondered why Jokic has dominated/made a larger impact than AD (despite his good numbers) during critical stretches of games, hence wondered how much "DAWG" is in AD. Perkins suggests that in 2020, they had Rondo getting into AD' face to produce and that the Lakers didn't have that kind of leader since PatBev left.

As oppose to the way that the Celtics have been playing, Lakers are not beating themselves with silly/inexperienced plays (recognizing LBJ's 3-4 3pt shots in the row in the fourth quarter when he was 0 to Forever in shooting percentage)
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Mon May 22, 2023 3:33 pm    Post subject:

DrDent wrote:
Thanks DB.

I'm honestly mixed with Ham's decision on D'lo. Here's why:

On the one hand, D'lo has been utter garbage in this series and it has cost the team dearly. He is shooting under 35% from the field, 2-14 from 3, and has a +/- in the series of -51. That is utterly disgusting for a guy who was a big part of creating more floor balance to get them to this series and averaging 17 ppg, 6ish assists, and shooting close to 40% from 3.

But when you take him off the floor, now what do we reliably have offensively. You can goto DS,and he brings aggressive D, but his offensive game does have limits if he cant pressure the rim consistently. Rui can shoot but isnt the ball handler dlo can be.


D'lo needs to channel his inner playoff Rondo for the team. Or someone needs to step up. Obviously, we have to keep them off the O boards, slow them down in transition, but we are still missing that one extra dude we had mixing it up in the fight in the last two series. We can't quite stay above water.
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