The NAB play-in battle has ended in two games, with the Lakers beating the Pelicans hard-fought to reach the playoffs in 7th place in the West and face defending champion Nuggets in the first round. The Warriors weren't so lucky, losing to the Kings to end the '23-24 season early, and after the game, Klay Thompson looked around the court, he was very nostalgic for the court, and after entering the offseason, Thompson was the most likely star for the Warriors to leave, and the Big Three were likely to officially disintegrate. The Kings and Pelicans battle it out for the final playoff spot, and the winner will face the Thunder, who are No. 1 in the West, with the playoffs just around the corner.
The most interesting matchup is the Lakers vs. Nuggets, and the meeting of old enemies must be particularly exciting. There is no doubt that the Lakers are the underdogs, the Nuggets have the second regular season record in the West, they are still the defending champions, and the 29-year-old Jokic is the first person in the league, and the Lakers don't seem to have much chance of reaching the semifinals by any measure. And the domestic celebrity Su Qun also predicted, he gave three possibilities, excluding the 4-0 sweep, the situation of the two teams of the Lakers Nuggets is different from last year's Western Finals, and the Lakers have a chance to advance 4-2.
Su Qun said that the series between the Lakers and the Nuggets, if the pessimistic estimate is that the Lakers are eliminated 1-4, conservatively it is 2-4, and if optimistic, the Lakers can advance 4-2. Referring to the strength of the two teams, in fact, the Lakers are more likely to be 2-4, but if the Lakers can steal 1 or 2 wins at the Nuggets' home court and defend their home court, then the Lakers do have a chance to eliminate the defending champions.
The situation for the Lakers and Nuggets is not the same as last year. Compared with last season, the Lakers have not changed the lineup very much, but Vanderbilt can't play still has a certain impact, and several new signings Vincent and Reddish are basically embarrassed, Vincent's performance in the play-offs is better, but if you pin your hopes on him, the Lakers will be in huge trouble. But compared with last year, the Nuggets team compared to last year, although the main five-man group has not changed, but the bench is not as strong as last season, after Brown left, the overall offensive and defensive ability of the bench is not as good as last year, and the role of Reggie Jackson and Braun is difficult to compare with Brown.
Moreover, Murray will be the key to the series, and how he is in shape will directly determine the fate of both teams. Murray's performance in last year's Western Conference finals can be compared with Kobe Bryant in early 2000, averaging 32.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2.8 steals per game, shooting 52.7% from the field and 40.3% from three-point range.
But in the 23-24 season, Murray only played 59 games in the regular season, and he missed many games due to injury, although he averaged 21.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game, but Murray's injury was a hidden danger. Moreover, the Lakers fell on the wrong side last year, and this year they will definitely focus on Murray and will not make it too easy for him in the game. In fact, if the Lakers want to play the next game, they may need to win by surprise, and if it is too difficult to beat the Nuggets according to the regular style of play, perhaps they can consider letting one of Russell or Reaves play off the bench, and Dinwiddie is the starter, so that he can keep up with Murray on the defensive end.
For Jokic's defense, the Lakers may be able to learn from the Rockets' style of play back then, using infinite defensive tactics, Jokic's strength is that he can not only score himself, but also drive his teammates, after the Lakers infinitely change defense, the Nuggets players on the court have defensive ends in front of them, don't wait until the Nuggets' shooters raise their hands to know that they need to defend alone, at this time it's too late, once the Nuggets bloom inside and outside, the Lakers will definitely have no chance.
James hasn't dropped too much compared to last year, and the thick eyebrows are still the best team-level insider, as long as the two of them are online, the Lakers' performance will not be too bad. Judging from the winning side, the Nuggets must be bigger, and this is the time to test Ham's coaching, if he is still swept 4-0, he can also be dismissed.