In the first round of the playoffs, the series between the Lakers and the Nuggets became the most watched matchup, and LeBron James has a great chance to lead the team to eliminate the Nuggets and complete the "Black Seven Legend".
The Nuggets underestimate the enemy mentality and suffer a big loss
In the past two years, the Nuggets have played the Lakers too smoothly, and the Western Conference finals and the 7 consecutive wins against the Lakers in the regular season this season have made the Nuggets coaching staff and players have a kind of underdog mentality that the Lakers are very easy to play. Arrogance is easy to lose, and it can be clearly felt from the speeches of head coach Mike Malone and players that the Nuggets did not take the Lakers seriously. Regardless of the previous record of winning or losing, every round of the playoffs starts from scratch, and those so-called historical data and win-loss margin are meaningless, and the Nuggets' underestimation of the Lakers is likely to lead to a big loss in the first round.
The goal of the Lakers is clear, which is to beat the Nuggets in the first round, and James's plan is also clear, leading the Lakers to create miracles in the playoffs. James, Davis, and all the Lakers players have been preparing for this opportunity for a year. "I'm in better shape now than I was when I went into the playoffs last year. James told reporters that a left foot injury last season affected his playoff form, and this year he is 100% fit to enter the playoffs.
James and the Lakers met the Nuggets, this is a revenge battle that came early, and the Lakers have a mournful mentality and grasp the opportunity to take advantage of it. The Nuggets' road to defending the title may capsize in the first round and become the backdrop for the Lakers' legendary road.
The shooter version of James was upgraded: the three-point shooting percentage surpassed Curry for the first time in his career
In the Western Conference finals last year, Davis averaged 26.8 points, 14 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2.8 blocks and 1.3 steals per game, and James averaged 27.8 points, 10 assists and 9.5 rebounds per game with a quasi-triple-double, and the Lakers only lost to the Nuggets by 25 points in four games, with an average difference of 6.25 points per game, which was on par with the Nuggets most of the time. In that series, the only undesirable point for the Lakers was that James didn't shoot well from three-point range, shooting 26.9% on 7-of-26 shooting. In fact, in the last two games of the Western Conference finals, James adjusted, shooting 43.8% from the field on 7-of-16 three-point shots, just a little late.
This season, the Lakers' three-point shooting output has been very consistent, especially since March, when they became one of the best three-point teams in the league. In March, the Lakers shot 40.7 percent from three-point range, averaging 13.3 of 32.7 shots per game, and in April, the number of shots rose to 34, a decrease in 37.4 percent, and they also ranked among the top five in the league during the same period. One of the most critical points is that James has adjusted and changed his style of play to evolve into one of the best shooters, which the Nuggets' scouting report may not have noticed.
James is shooting a career-high 41 percent from three-point range this season, higher than Curry's 40.8 percent, and has a steady three-point production, averaging 2.1 of 5.1 shots per game. I have to admit that the 39-year-old James changed his style of play and evolved into a stable shooter, which is a new version of James, which will be a new experience for the Nuggets, and it may also be a difficult point that cannot be solved. As long as James maintains the three-point shooting rate in the regular season this season, the Lakers' advantage over the Nuggets is very obvious, and as long as the Nuggets dare to let James shoot three points again, they will inevitably pay a huge price and even change the trend of the first-round series.
In the regular season this season, the Lakers and Nuggets had a chaotic rotation in the first two encounters, James shot 3 of 10 three-pointers, and the Lakers returned to the strongest lineup in the third match, Russell, Reaves and Hachimura started, the Lakers hit 12 of 29 three-pointers to reach a 41.4% shooting rate, James shot 2 of 5, the starting lineup hit 10 three-pointers, and the game was still in the lead 4 minutes and 52 seconds before the end of the game. As long as the Lakers' three-point shooting is stable, combined with the interior attack of James and Davis, the Nuggets' defense will take care of one or the other.
The Lakers have a huge free-throw advantage
The Lakers have always had a free-throw advantage against the Nuggets. In last year's Western Conference Finals, the Lakers averaged 26.8 free throws in 107 free throws, and the Nuggets averaged 20.2 free throws in 81 free throws. In the three regular season games this season, the Lakers further improved their free throw advantage, averaging 17.7 free throws per game, while the Nuggets averaged only 7.7 free throws per game, and the Lakers almost made 10 more free throws per game. Another free throw stat is also good for the Lakers, who have averaged 29.1 free throws per game since March, leading the league and scoring around 21.7 points per game from free throws, which will pose a huge test for the Nuggets' defense.
James walked the Lakers to the Nuggets, and he said in an interview: "The Nuggets are the defending champions, and we know how difficult this series is. We're back, and this series has been very tough for us. James's meaning is very clear, against the Nuggets, he will go into the playoffs with a head-on mentality, and Nuggets reporter Jake Shapiro and Nuggets players are still dreaming of sweeping the Lakers. This time, the Nuggets are having a hard time.