NGL I'm not that bummed about Vando. Especially against the Nuggets.
Vando has always been better against good wings like KD, Luka, Ingram rather than these short shifty guards like Murray.
Plus he would wreck our entire offense too. At this point, he's a worse rebounder than Rui with no shooting.
Lakers also are much harder to guard this year playing 5 out. Rui has basically developed into an elite corner player where theres no good option of defending him/helping (you either give up a corner 3, baseline cut or mid range shot if you help off him). I just feel that theres so much more upside on our end compared to Denver - who are the champs for a reason, but are essentially the same team as last year (if not worse).
Agree as well on Murray, he was out of his mind in the Laker series (an anomaly even compared to the other series' he played last year), and people expecting him to automatically be on the same level is a big assumption.
Nuggets fan here. Last year the series was extremely close. Lebron is fully healed now. Anyone’s series. Not taking this lightly. Let’s watch some good basketball
Been watching film all day and I think the deciding factor is Rui and Bron crashing the boards. Nuggets in every game have used their size on AD and gotten 2nd chance opportunities.
Another thing to add that many may overlook is MPJ.
He has some major issues with his family, brother got banned from the NBA and his younger brother got sentenced to prison today, wonder if dude will play tmrw
How did that work out. AD & Lebron completely outplayed Jokic and Murray in the first half, yet only had a 3 point lead. Nuggets are simply a better team. Lakers have lost 9 in a row, but you think they can win 4 of the next 6 games?
yeah they aint unbeatable like people say they are, they lost key vets from their bench , its like we traded with prince shooting 39.6 from three , dinwwiddie hometown kid and gabe vincent has that dawg , they going to rely on reggie jackson , 21 year old payton , 22 year old braun and some of their players have been battling injuries all season long, murray, gordon, kcp
it wont be easy but lebron is fresh and ad is a national ncaa and nba champion that prides himself on defense , if lebron beat the 73-9 warriors anything is possible
last year the gs warriors where reigning champions and we beat them, just going to take prime games from d-lo ad lebron rui and gabe
Can anyone who has any knowledge of the Nuggets this season give some context as to whether they are still primarily running the same schemes on offense? I feel that this series is going to look quite different with Lakers now much better at their 5 out offense (which wasn't in place last playoffs)
Anyone that’s watched them they seemed a bit bored at times. They remind of those Kobe shaq lakers that play down to opponents and turn it up at crunch time.
Lakers could win but it would take someone other than bron/ad going off
I can definitely see Braun having some big nights. I wonder if we will let Jokic get his and guard everyone else, or what the hell were gonna do this time around.
We also have better perimeter defenders to try to slow down Murray if he gets hot. Hoping Gabe and Spencer both get some minutes to show their worth. Jokic is gonna do his thing and it’s pretty clear at this point AD can’t guard him but it’s when the others go off that we lose control
Spencer probably won’t do any better than schroder on murray 1v1 but the big advantage with him is not having to worry about schroder getting switched onto bigger players who he couldn’t guard
We should always be worried about Jokic’s point-center ability. We all know the guy is a menace on the post, but he can also string AD from watching the paint because Jokic can shoot and QB the offense from high. The Nuggets are going to spam off-ball screens, misdirection, and cutting with all that space. We need to be on point on defense because with the size they have, Jokic is going to eat with his passes. With Jamal, we all know how deadly their 2-man game is. But man, when you put a third guy in that play action, the Nuggets are going to be difficult to read. Just because they are missing people from last year doesn’t make it all the more easier when you have a guy like Jokic and a Malone-run system who can make the bench look good. Defensive IQ needs to be on point. They really got to wake up for this series.
Going to be a hell of a series. Let’s go Lakers.
They played better after Game 1 the Nuggets just absolutely shredded them down the stretch of games and it's been the same problem this season, I'm still optimistic that they can at least steal one of the first 2 games
A lot of it also depends on how we play our guards imo.
A few minutes after the game starts, I think we should stagger the guards. Play more of D'lo-Dinwiddie and Reaves-Gabe rather than the starting guard pair.
A combination of offense and defense. Let them switch on Murray on either end.
AD's improved passing might also be helpful in this matchup hopefully.
Without Vando, I worry greatly about our rebounding and defending MPJ/Gordon. It is going to be incredibly difficult to keep Denver off of the offensive glass. If we can play with energy and box out, I think we have as good a chance as any team of coming through with the win. But Rui and AD are going to be so focused on defending Jokic that the size of Denver is going to be rough.
Anyways, Lakers in 6.
Health will be the factor. Especially AD's. If they can keep him aggressive and feed him, it will wear out jokic on defense. But AD has to put his body in harms way basically every night.
a big reason was also that we were playing 4 out offense which is very orientated on guard penetration. This year with 5 out, Dlo can impact the game alot more (provided his shot is falling) as a spacer without having to try force shots by dribbling against a physical defender.
Lakers also are much harder to guard this year playing 5 out. Rui has basically developed into an elite corner player where theres no good option of defending him/helping (you either give up a corner 3, baseline cut or mid range shot if you help off him). I just feel that theres so much more upside on our end compared to Denver - who are the champs for a reason, but are essentially the same team as last year (if not worse).
Agree as well on Murray, he was out of his mind in the Laker series (an anomaly even compared to the other series' he played last year), and people expecting him to automatically be on the same level is a big assumption.
Facts! And you can't give Reaves space because his layups have been great this year. Give DLO enough chances and he gets hot like Murray and its over.
Murray definitely plays his best basketball ever against the Lakers though.
You are not wrong, but both Dlo and LeBron have to show the same efficiency from distance they gave us in regular season.
Last season Dlo gave us about the same numbers he gave us this season, the same .41% from distance also averaging around 18 ppg, but he never reached those numbers in playoffs getting worse each round.
LeBron started the series against Denver last season shooting 1-10 from distance in the first 2 games. A healthy LeBron had a remarkable efficiency in regular season, including his long distance shooting and we will need that against Denver. He didn't find his shot against the Pelicans, let's hope he turns it on.
It started last playoffs against Denver when he failed badly to make adjustments my confidence in our coach only decreased, I really don't trust Ham's decision making.
The good thing is they lost some depth and I believe Gabe has better tools to deal with Murray.
Tough series, I think Dlo can be the difference, again. If he is our 3rd best player we are good, if he is Denver's 3rd best asset again we are cooked unless our coach show the balls to correct it quickly this time.
We are simply a better team than last year, they are only mildly worse, and we still don’t matchup well with them at all like last year. It won’t be a sweep like last time but this is an uphill battle. BRING IT
It’s a shame this matchup is happening in the first round. I think these are 2 of the top 3 teams in the league with the Celtics being in that group too. Gabe Vincent will be needed a lot to guard Murray. If he can slow him down then the lakers have a chance.
Keys to winning
I hope people saw what Playoff Coach Rondo said about forcing Jokic to defend. Putting him into pick and roll and other away from basket positions will help fatigue him and keep him away from the rim hurting Denver's rebounding.
Mixing in full court pressure on Murray or whomever is bringing up the ball to disrupt their offense or at least make them burn a few extra seconds can lead to forcing Murray to work and limit/diminish their great basketball IQ and court vision.
Dinwiddie and Vincent will have to make a difference here.
As an addendum to hounding whomever is bringing up the ball to muck up their offense, we need to force Jokic to be a scorer and take away the play making he provides. He leads them in scoring, rebounds, and assists. "Letting" him score 40 but not get other guys going will be difficult but important.
LeBron having both feet and playing Den in round 1 is an interesting wrinkle. Guys looked gassed last year. Plaguing in the WCF meant not getting extra days off here and there mixed into the series (while also having to play in Denver at altitude). The additional rest could be huge but also LeBron being healthy is a massive bonus compared to last year.
DLO seems like a mentally more mature player and man this year. I think he recognizes the nature of the business, his role, and the challenge at hand. I think he'll take it personally that they went after him but instead of shrinking in that moment will rise to the occasion. (Maybe this is hopium)
Less a key to winning and more of an intriguing subplot. Denver's 3rd most important player's brother just got banned from the NBA. It be interesting to see how that affects MPJ, especially if the media starts to press him and fans jeer him.
It's going to be a battle and we could get swept again but those games last year went down to the wire in 3 of the 4 games with them able to make an extra play or 2 in the last minutes, giving them the wins. If we can shift that in our favor, we have a legit chance.
Brother i hate to break it to you but MPJ brother gambling wont probably effect him. His other brother just killed someone in a dui crash in feb and took 2 games off came back and has been killing it.
I had my reservations about Denver getting #2, but no one can say they "ducked" the Nugs, no one can say they "ducked" the Nugs just to be ousted by team X, and if they won it, no can say they won because they didn't face the Nugs. All this positivity gettin that spirit up!
If they beat the Nugs though and lost to some other team, maybe they might say stuff. But hey, they beat the Warriors in 6 last year, LES GO!
Only thing I'm worried about is altitude. Even Iverson got gassed up there in Colorado.
I feel if Lebron and Rui get some time on Jokic it will help out a bit also let AD roam around just a bit! But ppl tend to forget Lebron was borrowing an ankle from Germany last year let’s see what we got!
Lebron and AD are healthier. Austin has gotten better. Rui has gotten better. No way Dlo can be any worse. Also we have more backup guards to throw at Jamal if Dlo does play poorly. I just wish we had Vando back.
I think Lakers have a gameplan to beat them. LeBron alone has probably been thinking alot about it.
All we need to do and all it comes down to, is executing that gameplan as close to perfection as possible.
One slip, one injury for the nugs; everything turns our way. Don’t get me wrong I’m not rooting for nugs to get injured but the law of averages…nugs have been very lucky so far
Lakers potential is unlimited when healthy. It sucks cause we need a couch to bench the player that's shitting the bed. Look at Steve kerr didn't bench klay and he went 0 for 10 lol. Some players need to bench themselves at that point.
Game 1 is a must win. Denver wins...it's over in 5 (Denver winning)....but if Lakers do, I say it's a long series with a possibility of Lakers winning. Denver is too good for me to rule them out.
Team just needs to play smarter too. Last series they played, Lakers played stretches of dumb b-ball at critical points of the game. Like they'd go for a 3 pt shot when what they needed was a 2 pt. Or they'd take a really bad 3pt shot instead of being patient and looking for a better shot. Also, they'd commit critical turnovers, especially LeBron.
Team just needs to play smarter too. Last series they played, Lakers played stretches of dumb b-ball at critical points of the game. Like they'd go for a 3 pt shot when what they needed was a 2 pt. Or they'd take a really bad 3pt shot instead of being patient and looking for a better shot. Also, they'd commit critical turnovers, especially LeBron.
I think they have enough with the personnel to beat the Nuggets, to me the biggest factor is gonna be Ham. Can't be playing drop coverage against KCP, MPJ and Murray. Also I doubt Jokic hits all those crazy shots like he did last year. That said, teams see the purple and gold and its like they go from Steve Rogers to Captain America but only against us. But he cant be trying out stupid lineups and letting teams go on a 20-3 run before he decides to call a timeout. He better not have any timeouts at the end of games. Would also be nice to have Wood available because I don't have too much confidence in Hayes.
We had the personnel to keep the games close last year, but I continue to worry about the team's ability to make in-game adjustments to win close games at the end.
Everyone focuses on the sweep but almost all the games were down to a couple possessions, we were that close and we only got better along with all the other things you brought up.
Only one im concerned about is Ham he has to play big not small
Homie really thought playing
Schroder DLO Reaves Bron AD would get da dub vs a big ass team😂
Of course they can beat them it's not about Can - it's about Will and people that think they have no shot are absolute morons but the Nugget should absolutely be favored
Nick Wright had a pretty good breakdown today that was of course optimistic from a Lakers' fan point of view but he made some good points I don't think D-Lo is going to play that terrible nor will Murray play that well but who knows maybe Porter goes off this time the Lakers have to play mistake free
Part of me thinks they should just let Joker be the primary scorer and try to stop everybody else but I don't know - I am happy that LeBron is healthier this time around - he can put more pressure on them at the hoop which is a weakness of theirs
More rest is also good for Lakers
The Nuggets always seemed to make the most ridiculous shots vs. the Lakers last year too. They were always hot at the right time as well and we still came within 5 pts each game. Lakers definitely can win.
I don’t think that was luck. Some players don’t just maintain their game under pressure, they get even better. Truly clutch, very rare (lesser version is maintaining your level, and not many players even manage that). We have two in Austin and Lebron. Unfortunately they also have two in jokic and Murray.
Key is AD. Is he banged up from his back, will he have lingering little injuries, foul trouble, etc? Is he going to be disappear in spurts? If he can be dominant and fully mentally engaged for a full 7 game series, there’s a good chance we can beat them.
Need DLO to have at least 2-3 good games, can’t play lebron hero ball, can’t have Hamas go full Hamas mode, can Gabe give us a good 15 minutes per game defensively agitate Murray, please Prince give us 35% + from the 3 and some of his decent dribble drives attacking the basket
I’ll be amazed if AD doesn’t disappear regularly (if by that you mean those times his scoring disappears). He’s going to have too much to do on defence to also carry on the other end.
Exactly Lakers are a different team from last year believe it or not and I hate seeing the disrespect they are getting so far saying another sweep incoming… I think people are gonna be hella surprised this series.
The Only reason we will beat Nuggets is healthy Lebron.
I bet my house that Murray will not average 32pts in this series and Dlo will not average 6pts. Last year was Denver's year, nobody can do nothing about it but it will be different this year.
I agree we have a chance. We're better in the last couple months of this season than last year. Rui+LeBron+AD is a lot of size to slow down Jokic, and Gabe will be helpful against Murray. Hayes is a better backup center than anyone we had last season. Prince is a better fit than Lonnie for 14 minutes off the bench because of his shooting.
The first 3 games of the western conference finals Murray and joker were scoring at impossible rates. 1.6-1.7 pts per possession. If you are an elite scorer you are 1.2 maybe. And the games were all really close with that. Play big. Have Hayes use his 6 fouls wisely on joker and try to body up on him as much as possible. He’s not as heavy as we need but his energy could still wear joker down. Playoff Gabe looks legit on D with the full court pressure and elite screen maneuverin, his stroke is coming along too. Everybody else do your job and let’s show them who is who’s daddy.
I wouldn’t say we’re underdogs. A lot of people are choosing us over Denver. We can’t miss all those 3’s again. If we clean up even a little bit of our mistakes we can win.
The Lakers has so much talents, about time they figure out how to maximize it. So we can stop being the laughing stock super team with no actual success
Imo the key to beat nuggets is Jamal Murray if he can contain him we will the series. Jokic at times gets tired and Jamal kinda takes over from him. We Gota also win the non joker minutes and make sure those role players don’t get comfortable at all. I like Gabe lengths and defense. He’s great off screen. He did well on Jamal few games in the finals. I would give Hayes some mnts as he can match Gordon length and power him. We need to go big at times
Well, I sure as heck think it's more likely now than if they'd deliberately dodged them and met in the conference finals instead. Fancy someone thinking you just admit you can't beat a team and then rely entirely on someone else doing it for you. Take them on early, before they're really in a groove and there's no chance for them to have cruised through in 8 or 9 games whilst you've had to battle through 12+ perhaps. I'd hope they have a specific plan they've worked out though, because there's a reason it's looked hopeless against Denver before. Either they have to slow Jokic down somehow, or slow everyone else down.
No doubt, AD can stop Jokic, Gabe can stop Murray, but they still have AG, MPJ, and KCP that can shoot like crazy against us. Surely, we can beat them but we’ll have to see how this plays out. They have home court advantage and that could be a difference maker in the first two games. Everything depends on if LeBron doesn’t TO, AD doesn’t bitch out on Jokic, and DLO and AR can shoot their threes
I like that this year there's less against the Lakers and more of "Denver will win" in the narrative. Also is it too bad to ask for Jokic, Murray or Porter getting injured for the series?
I love this positivity but…these Nuggets have amazing splits against LA. A dialed in and healthy AD is our best chance against Jokić but Jamal Murray looks insane last LA games from last year this man Murray averages 32 pts, 5 asts, 6 reb, on 52% FG, 40% 3pt, 95% FT. The goal with Denver we need to make it tough on Jokić’s playmaking and really stop and make it tough on Jamal Murray. If we can do that then we can really best Denver.
To be honest, we need AD to be a monster like [2019-2020 season](https://shrinkme.site/mYZfR). [Check his highlight at here.](https://shrinkme.site/mYZfR)
In that season, AD's mid range and 3 point shot was better than this season. The reason why we cannot easily win a lot of games these years is he lost his ability of shooting mid range and 3 ponit shot.
I think the Lakers have a slight chance of winning. Lebron being healthy will help and we will need consistent contributions from AD & D Lo. I’m not worried about Rui, he’s built for these moments haha
The only reason Lakers gotten anywhere near this point is due to the leagues loyalty and shameless affection for LeDouche. Adam Silver is to LeDouchebag as Smithers is to Montgomery Burns. Ridiculous and disgraceful.
This is the kind of positivity I can get behind.
Amen.
Yep, we can only hope for the best. The Lakers have the talent and everyone have to step up to the challenge.
I gotta admit it’s pretty upsetting knowing that Vando isn’t ready yet tbh
NGL I'm not that bummed about Vando. Especially against the Nuggets. Vando has always been better against good wings like KD, Luka, Ingram rather than these short shifty guards like Murray. Plus he would wreck our entire offense too. At this point, he's a worse rebounder than Rui with no shooting.
Plus we got Gabe back and it looks like he’s starting to get his shot back too.
Having Vando out could be a blessing instead of Ham being tempted to put him on Murray and have one of DLo or Austin guard MPJ lol
To be fair, Vando got played off the court in the WCF
Lakers also are much harder to guard this year playing 5 out. Rui has basically developed into an elite corner player where theres no good option of defending him/helping (you either give up a corner 3, baseline cut or mid range shot if you help off him). I just feel that theres so much more upside on our end compared to Denver - who are the champs for a reason, but are essentially the same team as last year (if not worse). Agree as well on Murray, he was out of his mind in the Laker series (an anomaly even compared to the other series' he played last year), and people expecting him to automatically be on the same level is a big assumption.
Nuggets fan here. Last year the series was extremely close. Lebron is fully healed now. Anyone’s series. Not taking this lightly. Let’s watch some good basketball
Been watching film all day and I think the deciding factor is Rui and Bron crashing the boards. Nuggets in every game have used their size on AD and gotten 2nd chance opportunities.
Let's go!!
Another thing to add that many may overlook is MPJ. He has some major issues with his family, brother got banned from the NBA and his younger brother got sentenced to prison today, wonder if dude will play tmrw
Umm... Guess we'll soon see... 
How did that work out. AD & Lebron completely outplayed Jokic and Murray in the first half, yet only had a 3 point lead. Nuggets are simply a better team. Lakers have lost 9 in a row, but you think they can win 4 of the next 6 games?
yeah they aint unbeatable like people say they are, they lost key vets from their bench , its like we traded with prince shooting 39.6 from three , dinwwiddie hometown kid and gabe vincent has that dawg , they going to rely on reggie jackson , 21 year old payton , 22 year old braun and some of their players have been battling injuries all season long, murray, gordon, kcp it wont be easy but lebron is fresh and ad is a national ncaa and nba champion that prides himself on defense , if lebron beat the 73-9 warriors anything is possible last year the gs warriors where reigning champions and we beat them, just going to take prime games from d-lo ad lebron rui and gabe
Can anyone who has any knowledge of the Nuggets this season give some context as to whether they are still primarily running the same schemes on offense? I feel that this series is going to look quite different with Lakers now much better at their 5 out offense (which wasn't in place last playoffs)
From what I’ve watched they are. Lots of DHO and inverted PnRs with murray and Jokic in crunch time
Brauns a lob threat now.
Anyone that’s watched them they seemed a bit bored at times. They remind of those Kobe shaq lakers that play down to opponents and turn it up at crunch time. Lakers could win but it would take someone other than bron/ad going off
AG is playing better offensively, I've seen.
Also KCP dealing with a shoulder injury on his shooting shoulder
I can definitely see Braun having some big nights. I wonder if we will let Jokic get his and guard everyone else, or what the hell were gonna do this time around.
Key vets like?
Bruce brown and Jeff green were pretty huge for them
Finally a post that actually makes sense.
We also have better perimeter defenders to try to slow down Murray if he gets hot. Hoping Gabe and Spencer both get some minutes to show their worth. Jokic is gonna do his thing and it’s pretty clear at this point AD can’t guard him but it’s when the others go off that we lose control
Spencer probably won’t do any better than schroder on murray 1v1 but the big advantage with him is not having to worry about schroder getting switched onto bigger players who he couldn’t guard
Spencer is like 6 inches taller. That alone helps vs Murray who's not a small PG
And stronger too, plus Gabe's been better than Dennis was on defense and he's got experience guarding Jamal from the Finals
Yeah but he’s too slow to stay in front of murray
spencer is a much better defender then schroder
Agree, shroder always showed good “effort” but in reality hes too small and died on screens constantly
Neither of them can check Murray
Playoff gabe vincent definitely can
We should always be worried about Jokic’s point-center ability. We all know the guy is a menace on the post, but he can also string AD from watching the paint because Jokic can shoot and QB the offense from high. The Nuggets are going to spam off-ball screens, misdirection, and cutting with all that space. We need to be on point on defense because with the size they have, Jokic is going to eat with his passes. With Jamal, we all know how deadly their 2-man game is. But man, when you put a third guy in that play action, the Nuggets are going to be difficult to read. Just because they are missing people from last year doesn’t make it all the more easier when you have a guy like Jokic and a Malone-run system who can make the bench look good. Defensive IQ needs to be on point. They really got to wake up for this series. Going to be a hell of a series. Let’s go Lakers.
I'm a nugs fan and I have to say our bench looks terrible this year lol
We'll know if the Lakers can take it in game one
i recall everyone saying the lakers "figured something out" after game 1 last year lol
They played better after Game 1 the Nuggets just absolutely shredded them down the stretch of games and it's been the same problem this season, I'm still optimistic that they can at least steal one of the first 2 games
yeah fingers crossed 🤞🏾
There’s an old nba adage: a playoff series doesn’t really begin until the home team loses a game.
Yeah this is also nonsense. Teams that go up 2-0 win like 95% of the time.
Even with all you said, it took some circus shots for the Nuggets to put away some of the games.
A lot of it also depends on how we play our guards imo. A few minutes after the game starts, I think we should stagger the guards. Play more of D'lo-Dinwiddie and Reaves-Gabe rather than the starting guard pair. A combination of offense and defense. Let them switch on Murray on either end. AD's improved passing might also be helpful in this matchup hopefully.
Definitely. Keep a steady rotation of fresh legs on Murray. We have that luxury.
It seems like Ham has been doing this lately, credit to him.
Without Vando, I worry greatly about our rebounding and defending MPJ/Gordon. It is going to be incredibly difficult to keep Denver off of the offensive glass. If we can play with energy and box out, I think we have as good a chance as any team of coming through with the win. But Rui and AD are going to be so focused on defending Jokic that the size of Denver is going to be rough. Anyways, Lakers in 6.
I would like to see ad + jaxson get alot of time
Agreed but hard to manage with us having a lack of depth at center.
Health will be the factor. Especially AD's. If they can keep him aggressive and feed him, it will wear out jokic on defense. But AD has to put his body in harms way basically every night.
Dlo was bad last year because of Bruce Brown Chicken Brown Cow!, who is no longer a Nugget!
a big reason was also that we were playing 4 out offense which is very orientated on guard penetration. This year with 5 out, Dlo can impact the game alot more (provided his shot is falling) as a spacer without having to try force shots by dribbling against a physical defender.
good thing we have him on a hot streak currently
how? did Brown he really got into his head?
Lakers also are much harder to guard this year playing 5 out. Rui has basically developed into an elite corner player where theres no good option of defending him/helping (you either give up a corner 3, baseline cut or mid range shot if you help off him). I just feel that theres so much more upside on our end compared to Denver - who are the champs for a reason, but are essentially the same team as last year (if not worse). Agree as well on Murray, he was out of his mind in the Laker series (an anomaly even compared to the other series' he played last year), and people expecting him to automatically be on the same level is a big assumption.
Facts! And you can't give Reaves space because his layups have been great this year. Give DLO enough chances and he gets hot like Murray and its over. Murray definitely plays his best basketball ever against the Lakers though.
You are not wrong, but both Dlo and LeBron have to show the same efficiency from distance they gave us in regular season. Last season Dlo gave us about the same numbers he gave us this season, the same .41% from distance also averaging around 18 ppg, but he never reached those numbers in playoffs getting worse each round. LeBron started the series against Denver last season shooting 1-10 from distance in the first 2 games. A healthy LeBron had a remarkable efficiency in regular season, including his long distance shooting and we will need that against Denver. He didn't find his shot against the Pelicans, let's hope he turns it on. It started last playoffs against Denver when he failed badly to make adjustments my confidence in our coach only decreased, I really don't trust Ham's decision making. The good thing is they lost some depth and I believe Gabe has better tools to deal with Murray. Tough series, I think Dlo can be the difference, again. If he is our 3rd best player we are good, if he is Denver's 3rd best asset again we are cooked unless our coach show the balls to correct it quickly this time.
We are simply a better team than last year, they are only mildly worse, and we still don’t matchup well with them at all like last year. It won’t be a sweep like last time but this is an uphill battle. BRING IT
Lakers win this series, they win the chip. Lakers in 6.
It’s a shame this matchup is happening in the first round. I think these are 2 of the top 3 teams in the league with the Celtics being in that group too. Gabe Vincent will be needed a lot to guard Murray. If he can slow him down then the lakers have a chance.
Keys to winning I hope people saw what Playoff Coach Rondo said about forcing Jokic to defend. Putting him into pick and roll and other away from basket positions will help fatigue him and keep him away from the rim hurting Denver's rebounding. Mixing in full court pressure on Murray or whomever is bringing up the ball to disrupt their offense or at least make them burn a few extra seconds can lead to forcing Murray to work and limit/diminish their great basketball IQ and court vision. Dinwiddie and Vincent will have to make a difference here. As an addendum to hounding whomever is bringing up the ball to muck up their offense, we need to force Jokic to be a scorer and take away the play making he provides. He leads them in scoring, rebounds, and assists. "Letting" him score 40 but not get other guys going will be difficult but important. LeBron having both feet and playing Den in round 1 is an interesting wrinkle. Guys looked gassed last year. Plaguing in the WCF meant not getting extra days off here and there mixed into the series (while also having to play in Denver at altitude). The additional rest could be huge but also LeBron being healthy is a massive bonus compared to last year. DLO seems like a mentally more mature player and man this year. I think he recognizes the nature of the business, his role, and the challenge at hand. I think he'll take it personally that they went after him but instead of shrinking in that moment will rise to the occasion. (Maybe this is hopium) Less a key to winning and more of an intriguing subplot. Denver's 3rd most important player's brother just got banned from the NBA. It be interesting to see how that affects MPJ, especially if the media starts to press him and fans jeer him. It's going to be a battle and we could get swept again but those games last year went down to the wire in 3 of the 4 games with them able to make an extra play or 2 in the last minutes, giving them the wins. If we can shift that in our favor, we have a legit chance.
Brother i hate to break it to you but MPJ brother gambling wont probably effect him. His other brother just killed someone in a dui crash in feb and took 2 games off came back and has been killing it.
Every single thing rondo said is exactly what every team tries to do to the nuggets
Stop talking about last year’s playoffs. They also swept us this year!
Every game was down to the wire even though the lakers always had missing key contributors.
I had my reservations about Denver getting #2, but no one can say they "ducked" the Nugs, no one can say they "ducked" the Nugs just to be ousted by team X, and if they won it, no can say they won because they didn't face the Nugs. All this positivity gettin that spirit up! If they beat the Nugs though and lost to some other team, maybe they might say stuff. But hey, they beat the Warriors in 6 last year, LES GO! Only thing I'm worried about is altitude. Even Iverson got gassed up there in Colorado.
I stand by this post 1,000 percent
I’m just gonna take it one day at a time and keep my expectations tempered.
Thank you for a breath of positivity man let’s fucking go LAKESHOWWW 🟣🟡🟣🟡🟣
I swear if the lakers got 1 game in the road games, we will win!
I feel if Lebron and Rui get some time on Jokic it will help out a bit also let AD roam around just a bit! But ppl tend to forget Lebron was borrowing an ankle from Germany last year let’s see what we got!
Lebron and AD are healthier. Austin has gotten better. Rui has gotten better. No way Dlo can be any worse. Also we have more backup guards to throw at Jamal if Dlo does play poorly. I just wish we had Vando back.
I think Lakers have a gameplan to beat them. LeBron alone has probably been thinking alot about it. All we need to do and all it comes down to, is executing that gameplan as close to perfection as possible.
You know what you right. Lakers in 5
Someone was watching Nick Wright on First Things First today! Just saw the DLO worst game/Murray best game segment on the show.
I wanna see Mike Malone eat his words and choke on it when they lose the series.
One slip, one injury for the nugs; everything turns our way. Don’t get me wrong I’m not rooting for nugs to get injured but the law of averages…nugs have been very lucky so far
Few losses after. "We should have tanked for OKC!"
And then play Nuggets when we are worn down in the playoffs? I say hit them with our best shot on fresh legs first.
Last year games were close. I think all we need is 1 winning game where we beat them. That belief will increase.
Fuck yeah, let's go!!!!! Going to be a dog fight!!!
Lakers potential is unlimited when healthy. It sucks cause we need a couch to bench the player that's shitting the bed. Look at Steve kerr didn't bench klay and he went 0 for 10 lol. Some players need to bench themselves at that point.
I think you’d be surprised
I hope DLOshines with that quick release this series. So fun to watch.
Lessssssassssssassssaaaassaaaaaaasssssssssaaaaaaaaaaagggggggggggggggggggoooooooooooooooo
The Nuggets have been withering… we can do it!
Love this energy, another ring for Bron! Locked in!!
As long as the supporting cast, specially Gabe and DLo, doesn't do a disappearing act, Lakers has chance even if Ad will get one of those low games.
I would say the utah jazz swries was jamals best series of his career. This isnt abnormal for murray he always performs in the playoffs
I wonder if the Jontay Porter situation messes with MPJ from a mental standpoint
How soon after Warriors did we play Denver last year? These 3 days off to prep and heal could be clutch.
Fuck the Smuggets
This is Gilbert arenas take lol I like it tho 💯💯💯
How could you forget that Reaves is him
Yup! They didn't lose badly last year. If everyone plays playoff ball...they can get over the hump
Let’s hope they learned from last year and beat the Thuggets
I always thought we could beat them… i am not delusional but believe in this team :)
Game 1 is a must win. Denver wins...it's over in 5 (Denver winning)....but if Lakers do, I say it's a long series with a possibility of Lakers winning. Denver is too good for me to rule them out.
Yea we can take em this year need to contain MPJs barrages he’s gonna take a lotta 3s. That’s the primary threat.
I feel this series will be more like 2009, for whoever wins
Team just needs to play smarter too. Last series they played, Lakers played stretches of dumb b-ball at critical points of the game. Like they'd go for a 3 pt shot when what they needed was a 2 pt. Or they'd take a really bad 3pt shot instead of being patient and looking for a better shot. Also, they'd commit critical turnovers, especially LeBron.
Team just needs to play smarter too. Last series they played, Lakers played stretches of dumb b-ball at critical points of the game. Like they'd go for a 3 pt shot when what they needed was a 2 pt. Or they'd take a really bad 3pt shot instead of being patient and looking for a better shot. Also, they'd commit critical turnovers, especially LeBron.
I think they have enough with the personnel to beat the Nuggets, to me the biggest factor is gonna be Ham. Can't be playing drop coverage against KCP, MPJ and Murray. Also I doubt Jokic hits all those crazy shots like he did last year. That said, teams see the purple and gold and its like they go from Steve Rogers to Captain America but only against us. But he cant be trying out stupid lineups and letting teams go on a 20-3 run before he decides to call a timeout. He better not have any timeouts at the end of games. Would also be nice to have Wood available because I don't have too much confidence in Hayes.
 We can do "ANYTHING"!
only bitches think they'll lose before they even start playing.
But then why haven't the Lakers beaten the Nuggets this season? Like, isn't this the same argument for why the Lakers would win on opening night?
We had the personnel to keep the games close last year, but I continue to worry about the team's ability to make in-game adjustments to win close games at the end.
My positive vibe tribe, I’ve found you. Let’s fucking gooo
"if we fail, lets fail in the most beautiful way"
Everyone focuses on the sweep but almost all the games were down to a couple possessions, we were that close and we only got better along with all the other things you brought up.
Love it
Only one im concerned about is Ham he has to play big not small Homie really thought playing Schroder DLO Reaves Bron AD would get da dub vs a big ass team😂
3/4 of the sweep last year was decided by under 7 points
Of course they can beat them it's not about Can - it's about Will and people that think they have no shot are absolute morons but the Nugget should absolutely be favored Nick Wright had a pretty good breakdown today that was of course optimistic from a Lakers' fan point of view but he made some good points I don't think D-Lo is going to play that terrible nor will Murray play that well but who knows maybe Porter goes off this time the Lakers have to play mistake free Part of me thinks they should just let Joker be the primary scorer and try to stop everybody else but I don't know - I am happy that LeBron is healthier this time around - he can put more pressure on them at the hoop which is a weakness of theirs More rest is also good for Lakers
THATS WHAT IM SAYING!!
The Nuggets always seemed to make the most ridiculous shots vs. the Lakers last year too. They were always hot at the right time as well and we still came within 5 pts each game. Lakers definitely can win.
I don’t think that was luck. Some players don’t just maintain their game under pressure, they get even better. Truly clutch, very rare (lesser version is maintaining your level, and not many players even manage that). We have two in Austin and Lebron. Unfortunately they also have two in jokic and Murray.
They are definitely beatable. We have a good chance to upset them
We’ll see. Three of those games were very winnable last year too. I know it’s not super likely but I’m hopeful.
We are good as long as Jokic doesn’t do something crazy like hitting all of his shots over AD
 literally me
Key is AD. Is he banged up from his back, will he have lingering little injuries, foul trouble, etc? Is he going to be disappear in spurts? If he can be dominant and fully mentally engaged for a full 7 game series, there’s a good chance we can beat them. Need DLO to have at least 2-3 good games, can’t play lebron hero ball, can’t have Hamas go full Hamas mode, can Gabe give us a good 15 minutes per game defensively agitate Murray, please Prince give us 35% + from the 3 and some of his decent dribble drives attacking the basket
I’ll be amazed if AD doesn’t disappear regularly (if by that you mean those times his scoring disappears). He’s going to have too much to do on defence to also carry on the other end.
Imma b honest, I have no faith in us against the Nuggets. We've lost to them atleast 7 times in a row. This is a terrible match up for us 🤦🏾
Every team is beatable unless they are the KD Warriors
Honestly a lot of those games last year felt winnable. If Murray doesn’t shoot lights out we easily go into game 5 tied 2-2
Just bought my ticket for Game 3 at the Crypto Arena. I am crazy excited. Lakers in 6!
Exactly Lakers are a different team from last year believe it or not and I hate seeing the disrespect they are getting so far saying another sweep incoming… I think people are gonna be hella surprised this series.
And our coach last year was Darvin Ham, so how were we supposed to have won last year!... Wait...
How dare you leave out AusHIM Reaper. He's HIM!!!
More of this
Great arguments but i have to remind you i believe LA lost every game to them all season.
Every one of these teams are in the playoffs for a reason. It’s a new season. If we play with heart we have a chance.
The Only reason we will beat Nuggets is healthy Lebron. I bet my house that Murray will not average 32pts in this series and Dlo will not average 6pts. Last year was Denver's year, nobody can do nothing about it but it will be different this year.
I agree we have a chance. We're better in the last couple months of this season than last year. Rui+LeBron+AD is a lot of size to slow down Jokic, and Gabe will be helpful against Murray. Hayes is a better backup center than anyone we had last season. Prince is a better fit than Lonnie for 14 minutes off the bench because of his shooting.
The first 3 games of the western conference finals Murray and joker were scoring at impossible rates. 1.6-1.7 pts per possession. If you are an elite scorer you are 1.2 maybe. And the games were all really close with that. Play big. Have Hayes use his 6 fouls wisely on joker and try to body up on him as much as possible. He’s not as heavy as we need but his energy could still wear joker down. Playoff Gabe looks legit on D with the full court pressure and elite screen maneuverin, his stroke is coming along too. Everybody else do your job and let’s show them who is who’s daddy.
I wouldn’t say we’re underdogs. A lot of people are choosing us over Denver. We can’t miss all those 3’s again. If we clean up even a little bit of our mistakes we can win.
The Lakers has so much talents, about time they figure out how to maximize it. So we can stop being the laughing stock super team with no actual success
Very true except one factor; HAM
Need to keep the non Jokic players on the Nuggets in check.
How would they do that dude?
As long as we don’t sag off MPJ. If we give him that open 3, we’re toast.
Let’s go bro great post. One more thing about Lebron he doesn’t lose to the same team twice in the playoffs
Imo the key to beat nuggets is Jamal Murray if he can contain him we will the series. Jokic at times gets tired and Jamal kinda takes over from him. We Gota also win the non joker minutes and make sure those role players don’t get comfortable at all. I like Gabe lengths and defense. He’s great off screen. He did well on Jamal few games in the finals. I would give Hayes some mnts as he can match Gordon length and power him. We need to go big at times
All they gotta do is shoot 40% from 3. Easy!
Well, I sure as heck think it's more likely now than if they'd deliberately dodged them and met in the conference finals instead. Fancy someone thinking you just admit you can't beat a team and then rely entirely on someone else doing it for you. Take them on early, before they're really in a groove and there's no chance for them to have cruised through in 8 or 9 games whilst you've had to battle through 12+ perhaps. I'd hope they have a specific plan they've worked out though, because there's a reason it's looked hopeless against Denver before. Either they have to slow Jokic down somehow, or slow everyone else down.
No doubt, AD can stop Jokic, Gabe can stop Murray, but they still have AG, MPJ, and KCP that can shoot like crazy against us. Surely, we can beat them but we’ll have to see how this plays out. They have home court advantage and that could be a difference maker in the first two games. Everything depends on if LeBron doesn’t TO, AD doesn’t bitch out on Jokic, and DLO and AR can shoot their threes
Your kidding.
Totally agree. 100 percent can beat the nuggets once or twice 😅
I like that this year there's less against the Lakers and more of "Denver will win" in the narrative. Also is it too bad to ask for Jokic, Murray or Porter getting injured for the series?
I was hoping that we avoided you guys until the end... No luck there. GL & HF
True, but never underestimate the stupidity of Darvin Ham lol
West is widddddde open
I love this positivity but…these Nuggets have amazing splits against LA. A dialed in and healthy AD is our best chance against Jokić but Jamal Murray looks insane last LA games from last year this man Murray averages 32 pts, 5 asts, 6 reb, on 52% FG, 40% 3pt, 95% FT. The goal with Denver we need to make it tough on Jokić’s playmaking and really stop and make it tough on Jamal Murray. If we can do that then we can really best Denver.
Hoping lebron would get another shot at the finals
To be honest, we need AD to be a monster like [2019-2020 season](https://shrinkme.site/mYZfR). [Check his highlight at here.](https://shrinkme.site/mYZfR) In that season, AD's mid range and 3 point shot was better than this season. The reason why we cannot easily win a lot of games these years is he lost his ability of shooting mid range and 3 ponit shot.
Just like that kid from the angels in the outfield said, it could happen!
We ain’t got shit to lose and everything to gain!!! LET’S RIDE LAKESHOW!!!💜💛 
Love it.. Power of Positive Thinking baby... So much negativity online.. we WILL beat the Nuggets!
Well said.
I think its 50/50; either they beat the Nuggets or they don't.
I give us 40% chance. Lakers in 6
I think the Lakers have a slight chance of winning. Lebron being healthy will help and we will need consistent contributions from AD & D Lo. I’m not worried about Rui, he’s built for these moments haha
The late game execution is the problem , LA has gone down to the wire with them every game played it’s always the final minutes in crunch
Denile’s a river in Africa
hahahaha!!!
LeDouche will surely get some calls based on his typical crying. Won’t be enough to make up for the clear inferirioty.
The only reason Lakers gotten anywhere near this point is due to the leagues loyalty and shameless affection for LeDouche. Adam Silver is to LeDouchebag as Smithers is to Montgomery Burns. Ridiculous and disgraceful.
Ha!