After beating the Pelicans, the Lakers secured a playoff spot in seventh place in the West, and traveled to the home court of the Denver Nuggets to prepare for the first round game against the Nuggets at 8:30 a.m. on April 21. Last year, the two teams reached the Western Conference Finals one after another, but the Nuggets, under the leadership of Mr. Joo and Murray, swept the Lakers 4-0 with their furious offensive ability, beating the Lakers to the ground. The two teams have met again this season and the situation has changed a lot. The Lakers were unanimously bullish by various NBA experts before the game, and the odds given by the bookmakers were also clearly bullish on the Nuggets. However, the Lakers have summed up the reasons for last season's loss, and James believes that the Lakers only need to do a good job of 3 points to eliminate the Nuggets 4-2 in six games at most.
First, there are three key reasons why the Lakers were swept by the Nuggets last season.
The first is Mr. Jokic's inexplicable play, and there are few people in the league who can restrain Jokic, let alone prevent him from dying. Last year, the Lakers' interior group led by Brother Thick Mei was vulnerable in front of Mr. Jokic, who averaged 27.8 points, 14.5 rebounds and 11.8 assists per game with a quasi-triple-double data, shooting 51% from the field and 47% from three-point range, leading the team to a 4-0 sweep. Joshua's stormy offensive ability was the key to the Nuggets' victory.
Second, Murray's play is also crucial. Murray's strong interior containment gave Murray the opportunity to score as much as he wanted on the outside, and he lived up to expectations, once again allowing himself to play like a superstar in the Western Conference finals, Murray averaged 32.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.8 steals and 0.5 blocks per game in the 4-game series against the Lakers, shooting 52.7% from the field, 40.5% from three-point range, and 95% from the free throw line , averaging only 1.4 turnovers per game, the Lakers can block Curry, but there is nothing they can do with Murray, he has become the Lakers' biggest headache player, breaking the Lakers' guard line.
The third reason is that Russell played badly in the Western Conference finals last year, where he averaged only 6.2 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game, shooting a ridiculously low 32.3% from the field and 13.3% from three-point range. The poor performance in the Western Conference finals also directly caused Russell's value to drop seriously, which eventually led to his repeated decline in value when he renewed his contract. The three-point aberrations of the guards led by Russell, and the Lakers' outside shooting ability was very poor at that time, which also became the key reason for the loss.
Second, this season, the Lakers faced the Nuggets again in the playoffs, and after discussions with superstars such as James, Coach Cephalosporum unanimously gave three changes.
First of all, the Lakers adjusted their strategy of defending Mr. Yoo this year, and no longer used Brother Thick Eyebrows as the main defense, because Mr. Yoo was not restricted. In this case, it is better to let Hachimura, who has a certain defensive effect, defend Jokic, and at the same time liberate Long Meige, so that Long Meige has greater interior destructive power on the offensive end of the Lakers. Last year, Davis averaged 26.7 points, 14 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.75 blocks per game in four games against the Nuggets.
The second is to give Russell more trust and tactical encouragement, and he uses his super offensive ability to wear down the Nuggets' outside defense. Russell has played quite well this season, averaging 17.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 6.3 assists per game, shooting 43.5% from three-point range, and shooting 279 three-pointers this season to rank first in Lakers history. Only by making Russell play comfortably and playing the regular season can he have the capital of external PK with the Nuggets.
The third is to use elite defensive soldiers on the outside to pinch Murray. Vincent is a hidden hole card for the Lakers, having only played ten regular-season games this season due to injury. But Vincent's contribution on the defensive end. is indelible, last year in the Heat Finals, Vincent played well against the Nuggets, he is also one of the players who defend Murray, and achieved good results.
When the Heat faced the Nuggets last season, Vincent's restriction on Murray was also successful, when he defended Murray, Murray could only score 30 points per 100 rounds, compared to Schroder, the Lakers' best outside defender, in the Western Conference finals, Murray could score 36.9 points per 100 rounds.
Vincent may not be tall, but he has good defensive anticipation and defensive motivation, and he has been in excellent form on the pitch since returning from injury.
The Lakers increased Vincent's playing time and gave him enough defensive trust to stalk the Nuggets' Murray. Only by choking Murray and giving him no chance to break out can the Lakers have a chance of winning.
Defensive titan Vincent also said bluntly: I made an agreement with the team at the beginning of the season to have surgery to get back to health and come back before the playoffs, I will play a satisfactory performance and let people see that I am worth this value. Limiting the Nuggets' guard Murray is my main job. I don't want to see him get a higher score in front of me, I'm going to lock him up.
Team boss James also praised his leading defense and squeezing screens as the league's best, and his defense against Murray was strategic.
Since Brother Thick Mei joined the Lakers, the Lakers and Nuggets have played each other 17 times in the regular season, and the Lakers have won 8-9 and have not fallen behind. The two teams met twice in the playoffs, with the Lakers having a 4-5 record, and in the 2019-2020 Western Conference Finals, the Lakers eliminated the Nuggets 4-1 and later won the championship. In the Western Conference finals last season, the Nuggets swept the Lakers 4-0.
In recent years, the two sides have been evenly matched, and this year's Lakers 10-man rotation lineup is also very strong, and Brother Thick Mei is also very confident of eliminating the Nuggets before the game. In an interview, I also said directly: I didn't perform well last year, I was blown up by Jokic, and this season I am healthier. In this year's playoffs, I will play a super-notch offensive and defensive game to help the Lakers advance to the next round.