On January 16, Beijing time, the Los Angeles Lakers, who had previously lost consecutive defeats to the Memphis Grizzlies and Sacramento Kings, had already suffered two consecutive defeats, came to the Bol Center (Pepsi Center) in the Colorado Plateau to challenge the Denver Nuggets who had just beaten the Portland Trail Blazers by 32 points. In this battle, although the Lakers tried their best to reverse the decline of the losing streak, the other side's outside fire was in full swing, and in the end it could only be 96-133, helplessly swallowing the bitter fruit of three consecutive defeats.
In fact, there were not many shots of this game belonging to the Lakers, and the Purple and Gold Army really resisted for less than a quarter and a half before being unilaterally slaughtered by the Nuggets, collapsing in a thousand miles. The difference between the two sides in the second half of the second quarter was stretched to double digits and never narrowed again.
In the Nuggets, Nikola Jokic, Aaron Gordon, Will Barton, and Monte Morris didn't make much effort, just clocked in at the level of work. The Lakers' deployment of Master Huo did have a miracle effect in the first quarter, and Howard, who made all 5 shots in a single quarter and contributed 11 points and 3 rebounds, once again proved that he would really have a miracle effect against The Teacher.
Nuggets coach Malone's thinking is also clear, he is not too obsessed with Jokic and Gordon to open the situation, when these two strong points meet the bag, the Nuggets do a good job of transferring the ball. Shortly after the start, when Gordon was given the ball to the three-second zone by Mr. Jo's regular tactical internal cross, the latter encountered a bag clip, and the uncrowned dunk king was not eager to attack the basket, and the small hand was given to Jeff Green, who cut in on the weak side and was unattended. Green's folding dunk showed the talent of the 5th overall pick of the class of 2007, and the Thunder three youngest before Harden, since joining the Rockets for the second spring of his career, has been out of control, and all teams have played well. In this game, Jeff Green contributed 26 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists, becoming the most eye-catching presence in the Nuggets' starting lineup.
The real gap between the two teams comes from the bench, and none of the Lakers' second team scored in double figures, presumably they miss cameron Anthony who was absent; on the contrary, the Nuggets Hadhan Hyland scored 27 points alone! It's hard to imagine a guy with a six-point shooting percentage of 60 percent and a three-point shooting percentage who can ignite the arena with his own far-reaching three-pointers, and who would have scored zero in two of the previous three games. Now the Lakers' outside defense seems to be charging others. With 9 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Hyland hit another three points, the Ball Center transformed into an ocean of joy, and Lakers coach Vogel looked at the 30+ point difference and had no choice but to replace James and concede defeat.
James' game is one of the few fig leafs on the Lakers side. Just like the previous two games, although everyone knows that the Lakers can't play alone by relying on Old Zhan alone, when the balance of the game falls to the other side, the Lakers will still fall into the strange circle of giving the ball to the thirty-year-old man and watching him perform alone. In this campaign, Old Zhan got 27 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists, only 9 of 23 shots, and 2 of 8 outside the three-point line, which is not efficient. In the fourth quarter, it was clear that James had tried his best, looking at the desperate point gap gap, he tried to use his outside projection to cut points, and the opposite happened that the basketball could not fall into the basket, and had to watch the point difference widen and widen. When Old Zhan wanted to attack the inside line, Davin Reed's shadowy defense cut off old Zhan's inevitable basket several times. The camera swept by, and frustration filled the face of the thirty-year-old man.
Westbrook had 19 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists, and his performance looked tepid, and one of the most impressive shots occurred in the third quarter, where he and Aaron Gordon had a verbal altercation and were both sentenced to technical fouls. It can be seen that the recent public opinion has put a lot of pressure on him, and it is difficult for Wei Shao to find his rhythm and feeling on the playing field anymore. Munch, Bradley, Reeves and others, who have always been able to surprise Lakers fans before, also performed mediocrely today. The most intuitive feeling is that the Lakers can't see the hope of overturning at all. After the last game, the whole team tried to emphasize that the defense to be done well seemed to be only in the verbal stage.
The Lakers' problems are getting more and more prominent, and as the All-Star Weekend approaches, it also means that the trade deadline is getting closer and closer. How will the Lakers change? Let's wait and see.