Playoffs Round 1 Thread: Lakers vs Nuggets

[governator]

[SGV-Laker fan]

still blaming the front office for not adding any size and muscle to this team. AD and Hayes both are not strong in lower base, Jokic can easily pushing them around. just need a big body to spend 6 fouls on Jokic and makes him sweat a bit, and we couldn't even do that.

[miggz23]

Comes down to…

1. Which superstar going to show up?
2. Role players need to match or play better than KCP/Gordon/MPJ
3. Need at least 1 bench player to show out.
4. Which DLO going to show up?

[ocho]

[Denny_Russo]

[jodeke]

The Lakers should play Joker tough, and make his scoring as difficult as possible. AD can't stop Jokic, no one can. He's going to get his barring an off night. Having said that stopping him shouldn't be the number 1 priority. As a unit, they should concentrate on stopping the OTHERS. Muzzle KCP, Murray, Porter Jr., Jackson, and likes. We have a chance. AD and Bron have voiced wanting Denver. Be careful what you ask for. Beating the Nuggets 4 out of 7 is a task of gargantuan proportions.

LET'S GO LAKERS!!!
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[Startrout]

DLO doesn’t do well against pressure defense (exactly like how Denver plays him). He just can’t seem to get into his shooting rhythm.

Joker and Porter Jr are just too big for us. They can out reach AD and everyone on our team for rebounds and we can’t affect their shots enough (not to mention they are very skilled). They also have some very athletic role players that give us problems.

Murray just puts them over the top. He so skilled and such a great shooter. He’s basically the opposite of DLO as he plays great against pressure.

We can’t double anyone because of their passing & shooting and we can’t guard Joker, Porter, or Murray one on one.

Our only real chance is to attack them on offense hard to get them on their heals and to get Joker and others in foul trouble. This is a tall order with their smart play and high level defense. Joker doesn’t bite on fakes and AD doesn’t know what to do against his size. We have to be the aggressors and just out hustle them (THE WHOLE GAME). This might be too much for LeBron. Hopefully, Gabe will help in that department.

[BandwagonLBJhopper]

[Hanging from Rafters]

[CamReddish]

I think Gabe and Spencer will get there chances on Murray. Dinwiddie played pretty good defense on Dame Lillard so he has it in him.
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Previously LBJ23

[danzag]

[VindicatioN]

[JUST-MING]

Gabe is our secret weapon

[1995Lakers]

There are 2 KEY things that NEED to happen in this series for the Lakers to really win. 1. D'Lo stays consistently engaged and aggressive. 2. AD has an offensive go-to move against Jokic/Gordon - I dont need the versatility, 3 pt shooting, none of that (bleep). He just needs a go-to move that he will consistently use to spam the Nuggets. I think it has to be that push shot. This is why if we had prime Shaq instead of AD, I feel we would have a much better shot of beating current Denver - cause Shaq's shooting has the most resilience (possibly in NBA history) where the defense cant do anything about Shaq's shot quality.

The fundamental underlying key Im looking for is comfortable shot quality. We need to match the Nuggets here and this is the true reason we have been consistently losing to them. Our players should know what they need to do on defense. Its a matter of doing what you can on defense and getting the shot quality on the other end that will be critical.

[james5000]

The 1st 2 games will be the most important for Lakers,

They need to win 1 to get the ball rolling,

Ideally game 1 but stealing a game 2 is just as good.

If MPJ gets going they will be tough to beat, need to make sure he gets no easy looks.

Jokic and Murray will get theirs IMO so need to make sure the others are taken care of.

KCP will take shots that are available but he doesn't really look to create his own too much. Not worried about him as much.

Gordan will probably go off in 1 game but isnt a realiable scorer for the nuggets.

Nuggets bench doesnt have much scoring either but arguably have better defense. Need to beat the bench big most nights IMO to win the series.

[I Bleed P&G]

[Lakersfan1211]

MPJ is their X Factor imo. If he struggles. we have a good chance.

[1995Lakers]

Gabe is the real potential difference maker as he has the shotmaking capability and more importantly, the balls to take and make shots along with his POA defense.

Even if you told me Vando is healthy now, that would be the WORST-case scenario. First of all, it (bleep) with the minutes and rhythm for everyone else. Secondly, the guy is completely out of rhythm and as a bad shooter, he needs to be in rhythm for him to even have a chance to have a good offensive series. Third, the guy lacks balls and is mentally weak. From his flubbing of easy passes in the playoffs to inability to make key shots - you can spot a mental weakling from a mile away and he is one. Thats the difference between Taurean Prince/Lonnie Walker and a Malik Beasley/Troy Brown Jr for example. T. Prince and Walker will take and make key shots. Malik Beasley/Troy Brown Jr is close to an automatic miss for threes you really need. Even with his great percentage now, Beasley STILL is like this. Fourth, playing Vando gives Jamal Murray a defensive break who doesnt have to worry about the guy he is guarding - he just needs to stay disciplined within the team defense setting as Vando's only offensive utility is as a screener/passer especially off the short roll. But even here Vando is a problem as he naturally clogs the paint and lowers the efficiency of paint attacks.

[1995Lakers]

The other issue for Vando is that he is so offensively-challenged that the Lakers developed a screener scheme for him just to stay on the floor. This will obviously take time to get reaclimmated to for the whole team. Its not to say Vando wont have his uses in the playoffs. I would start next series against Phoenix/Minnesota by giving him spot minutes here and there. If we matchup with the Clippers and Boston, obviously he has his uses as an energizer who can turn games with his defensive talent. Against Denver though, we cant have a potential net negative guy finding his footing.

[strong9]

[lakeshowtacular]

Let's Go LakeShow!!! Get it done or get out early!! I will believe until we are 4 Ls down...number 18 here we come!
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Magic*Kobe*LBJ*AD*Cap

[Nobody]

I don't think Denver is as good as last year and I do think the Lakers (for all their struggles and injuries) are better than last year. Especially with our best starting five rounding into form and Gabe coming back. But I also don't believe that is going to be enough. The Nuggets are still bigger and we really have nobody to at least slow down Jokic. Plus they're the defending champs and have shown time and again they know exactly how to play us. That being said, I sure hope I am wrong and our boys put up a good fight. They have nothing to lose. It's about time Murray, KCP and MPJ have a stinker or two against us.

Go Lakers!

[lakersfever714]

So we start Gabe to match his minutes against Murray?

We need Gabe to shut down or slow down Murray and DLo to be like "playoff Rondo", then we could definitely stand a chance. As long as Porter and KCP doesn't go 9/10 from three.

We don't have anyone to stop Joker so I'd say just the fatty have his points. Let's see how many points he could score by himself.
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Playoffs is good enough. - Jeanie Buss 2024

[1995Lakers]

For old Laker fans, I harken back to 1990 when the Lakers looked like the best team in the NBA that year poised to take back the crown from Detroit as the 63 win juggernaut. We sweep Phoenix the year before in 4 games that were competitive but ultimately demonstrated Laker superiority (remind you of a recent series?). We meet them again in 1990 and we are expected to more or less dust them off just as easily.

But we lose Game 1 as we get Mark West'd and throughout that entire series we got Kevin Johnson'd and Jeff Hornacek'd to death in a surprising 5 game defeat with James Worthy especially playing like ass after Worthy dusted them off the year prior. I cant imagine anybody choosing the Suns over the Lakers prior to the start of that series as we looked really good and better than the defending champion Pistons. Throughout that season and before the Phoenix debacle happened, no one would have believed anyone but the Lakers would represent the West. Yet this happened and surprisingly Portland made the NBA Finals, seemingly a year ahead of their time. The irony because Portland should have made the finals in 1991 as the top team in the league but got bounced by the Lakers who were viewed as underdogs to them by then.

[Four Decade Bandwagon]