The Lakers played pretty well IMO. Keeping it real, the Nuggets were just coasting - they know regardless of how well we play or how big a lead, they just need to get it close towards the end and we have horrible matchups for Murray and Jokic.
In fact if you really watched it closely, they would coast and then try to turn it up in the last few mins of each quarter.
The only way we beat them with the matchups is if we are just going ham on offense, which is why I agree with those that say play D-Lo. He is pretty much the wild card, if he got streaky hot you can maybe squeeze it out.
The only thing that gets us past them is a better matchup for Murray and Jokic.
In the bubble we had Howard to bother Jokic and Caruso/Rondo to bother Murray. And they didn't have Gordon to matchup with LBJ.
They fixed their issues against us and we lost our dudes. Not sure there is much Rob could realistically have done.
Going to be hard to stop Murray with both DLO/AR as your starters. Those two don’t provide enough resistance on the defensive end. One of the big reasons our defense is off balance and out of positions. Also why we get out rebounded in most games. Vando were able to cover up some of that.
This is actually a good point. It just feels like when the games are close in crunch time, the Nuggets will always outexecute us because they actually run something and get good shots whereas we sometimes do and sometimes we dont that leads to an AD mid range or Bron wasting the clock. Hence we need something on defense to beat them and we cant.
On the one had you are saying they consistently execute in crunch time while we don't, but your answer is that we need something on defense? Sure, defense is important but the more crucial point is why aren't WE executing? Do we not have players that are incapable of executing? I don't think that's it. Which leads to one conclusion. Our coach(s) don't have a good system in place.
Joined: 14 May 2010 Posts: 3326 Location: Inland Empire
Posted: Sat Mar 02, 2024 10:04 pm Post subject:
mad55557777 wrote:
ThreePointBomber wrote:
defense wrote:
Davis is too light in the back pocket to handle slocic. Yall act like you have no sense. Putting Davis on Jokic is sabotaging the team.
We have no bigs. The most glaring hole we have is at Center, and it never got filled.
Nobody can stop Jokic, stop focusing on him. I guarantee you we win both games against them if they just stayed on MPJ. He was 10/10 from the field today
Why does Denver have any losses at all since nobody could stop Jokic?
Jokic opens up the game for everyone else. A tough physical big that makes him work to get into his positioning and his shots can make a world of a difference.
Rui was a a lot better last year when dealing with Jokic 1 on 1.
Denver is not a good matchup for the Lakers, especially with Vando and Gabe out. _________________ The most important shot in basketball.
We have had decades of having the unstoppable forces on our team. Denver has that. It doesn’t guarantee a ring but we aren’t even close to being talented enough to take it from them. No mater what schemes or lineups you think we can put together. _________________ Kobe.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/Clw9scopegx/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
We have had decades of having the unstoppable forces on our team. Denver has that. It doesn’t guarantee a ring but we aren’t even close to being talented enough to take it from them. No mater what schemes or lineups you think we can put together.
Hot take: I don't think the Nuggets are this generational team people think they are. It's more about the Lakers not being up to snuff than them being this all-time great team.
I would favor the Bucks over them had they hired a better coach. Giannis is at the same level as Jokic and Dame is tiers above Murray if Dame can figure things out. They got a well-rounded team beyond that, with Khris having big playoff moments of his own.
Boston has a chance, but I'm weary of relying on Tatum to step up and be THE guy in a big playoff spot.
The Lakers are just a 2nd tier team AT BEST that the elites don't have to worry about. Their record is what it is with LeBron, AD, D'Lo, and AR being healthy most of the season. They did nothing in the off-season or the trade deadline that warrants them improving from last season.
Mulitple teams have gotten better either by young talent taking a leap (MIN, OKC) or by making big roster moves(BOS, MIL, LAC). But I'm counting out MIN and OKC in the playoffs because they probably need some playoff experience before they challenge these veteran teams.
The Lakers are just a non-threat to any serious team. DEN specifically is a terrible match-up for them. They may have gotten some wins off of LAC and BOS, but would you actually favor them in a playoff match-up against either one of them? No.
Denver will get eliminated by some team from the West. We could handle "any" team other than Denver. Let's just not face Denver in the first round and we'll be fine. _________________ Los Angeles Lakers 2025 NBA Champions!! Go JJ!
How did we gentleman’s sweep them in the 2020 bubble?
Scrappy guard defenders and Dwight was able to bother Jokic enough physically. Lebron and AD were better. AD was dominant on both sides.
We just don’t have the defensive personnel now.
Denver also got deeper and healthy. They have chemistry playing together and it shows. Jokic has improved multiple aspects of his game. Including how to counter any defense thrown at him. Just a damn good team and coaching. They have earned the respect.
Lakers have declined. They don’t have the same level of role players (KCP) and James has lost a step. Laker execution relies on James. He controls the flow. Despite him still being impressively good, he can be defended because he is not able to get the edge or fouls he was once able to get. Little things matter. They matter all season long not just every once in a while.
Lakers are what they are. A team struggling to remain competitive. The league has cracked the code. Despite the Laker star power, they are limited and are a marginal threat as the playoffs begin. If they can even get to the playoffs.
We have had decades of having the unstoppable forces on our team. Denver has that. It doesn’t guarantee a ring but we aren’t even close to being talented enough to take it from them. No mater what schemes or lineups you think we can put together.
I agree with everything you posted, except how you spelled "matter"...and I'm seriously only joking about that part
We have had decades of having the unstoppable forces on our team. Denver has that. It doesn’t guarantee a ring but we aren’t even close to being talented enough to take it from them. No mater what schemes or lineups you think we can put together.
I agree with everything you posted, except how you spelled "matter"...and I'm seriously only joking about that part
thank god AD hit that miracle shot in the bubble against them.
We were clearly better than them in the bubble, not even a debate. Jokic is no where near the player he is now.
We probably should have kept that 2020 squad in tact... rather than trading everyone away. But what do i know?
I admit I got excited getting the reigning 6th man, runner up 6th man and Marc DPOY Gasol… _________________ “The main goal for the Lakers is to win a championship. All I care about, all we care about, is to raise another banner in the rafters.“
How did we gentleman’s sweep them in the 2020 bubble?
That was 4 years ago, why does everyone here live in the past?
We beat them due to better coaching. More physicality in the front court. AD was playing at the 4 and Dwight at the 5. We were able to single cover Jokic so Denver didnt have the same offensive advantage.
The only thing that gets us past them is a better matchup for Murray and Jokic.
In the bubble we had Howard to bother Jokic and Caruso/Rondo to bother Murray. And they didn't have Gordon to matchup with LBJ.
They fixed their issues against us and we lost our dudes. Not sure there is much Rob could realistically have done.
Going to be hard to stop Murray with both DLO/AR as your starters. Those two don’t provide enough resistance on the defensive end. One of the big reasons our defense is off balance and out of positions. Also why we get out rebounded in most games. Vando were able to cover up some of that.
Exactly. Anybody who understands the game of basketball sees this. You have to provide enough resistance at the point of attack to slow down nba offenses. Max and Vando give you enough point of attack defense so that the offenses have to run through multiple actions to get a good look off.
How did we gentleman’s sweep them in the 2020 bubble?
That was 4 years ago, why does everyone here live in the past?
We beat them due to better coaching. More physicality in the front court. AD was playing at the 4 and Dwight at the 5. We were able to single cover Jokic so Denver didnt have the same offensive advantage.
we beat them because they were young and inexperienced. thats it
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