The Lakers lost to the Timberwolves and Warriors at home in a row because of James' flu and thick eyebrows' injuries, and it looked like they could only rank 9th and 10th at most, and when they fought for 8th place in the West in the play-offs, the Nuggets lost to the Spurs and gave up the first place in the West. As a result, due to the Warriors and Kings giving opportunities successively, plus the Lakers' consecutive wins over the Pelicans, the Lakers came to 7th place in the West, and the Nuggets ranked second because of the loss of the Timberwolves.
The Lakers Nuggets are not what they used to be!
In terms of big scores, the Lakers have lost all of the past 8 battles between the two teams, and it seems that this is a set of matchups with little suspense. In fact, whether it is the Western Conference Finals or the regular season, the Lakers are the last to collapse, the West Finals lost a total of 24 points in 4 games, and the Lakers also led by 15 points in the first half of the last game, and finally because of James's lack of physical fitness, the flat shot was blocked and only lost one round. In several battles this season, aside from the opening game, the Lakers and the Nuggets were still tied 104-104 in the last 2 minutes and 18 seconds of the second game, and the Lakers still led 110-108 in the last 4 minutes and 11 seconds of the third game.
But it must be admitted that the gap between the Lakers and the Nuggets is narrowing, the Nuggets have lost Bruce Brown, Gordon's three-point form has declined dramatically this season, and even occasionally he will be empty, and the Lakers lineup has not been neat enough, and they have faced the Nuggets several times, but they have not played in the full core. This time, the Lakers have a couple of key points.
James says the key!
In the interview, James did not mention Murray and Jokic, because this is something that the Lakers must spend a lot of energy to deal with, and there is a high probability that they will not be able to lock up, and they will not be able to limit the people who can't live well. Then the Lakers are looking for something else, and James mentioned Porter. He said that if Porter shoots well and explodes, the Nuggets are almost invincible. In this way, if the Lakers want to win, although it is difficult, the key has been found, and they have two X-factors.
The first, Russell!
What Hachimura goes to top Jokic, the offensive end must also play an efficient performance, the thick eyebrows need to be supported, and Reaves needs to maintain enough efficiency, these don't need to be mentioned, because if the Lakers can't guarantee these things, they can't play with the Nuggets at all. Only when the core continues to be stable, can the Lakers hope that those players who did not have before, or who did not play, will have a chance to win the Nuggets, and Russell is the first to bear the brunt. In the Western Conference, Russell averaged 6 points and 3.5 assists per game, shooting 32% from the field and 13% from three-point range. Just looking at this set of data, although it is quite miserable, at least the Lakers can maintain confidence, that is, no matter how bad Russell is, it will not be worse than this data.
On the offensive side, the Lakers' requirements for Russell will not be too high, it doesn't matter if they don't reach the level of the regular season, they can contribute close to 15+5 data per game, and the three-point ratio remains at about 38%, which is okay. The most important thing is defense. Because the Lakers will not be a regular match against the Nuggets, Russell will not defend Murray, he will be more against Pope or Porter. James specifically mentioned Porter, and the Lakers can accept Jokic and Murray's outbursts, but not Porter's barrage. In other words, Russell has to play on the offensive end, and the defense also needs to do his best to keep up with these shooters, not giving them a chance, not letting them open up. Of course, there is no way for people to break out, but it can't be the Lakers' mistakes.
The second X-factor, Vincent!
Many fans should know that Vincent was signed by the Lakers to play in the playoffs, especially against the Nuggets. In the Western Conference finals, Murray averaged 32.5 points per game, and in the finals, he averaged 21.4 points per game, and the data is very intuitive. Murray scored less than 30 points (25 points) in only one game in the Western Conference finals, and he scored more than 30 points in only one game in the finals, and he scored less than 20 points in three of the remaining games. Vincent scored 19 and 23 points in the first two games of the Finals, and he combined for 15-of-26 shooting and 9-of-16 three-pointers. How did the Heat win the second game on the road? Murray Jokic blocked and dismantled, two people sandwiched Murray, and one person in the back topped Jokic, and the one who topped Jokic was Vincent. Although it looks hilarious, Vincent does have a terrifying undergame.
Although the Heat were cracked in the end and lost badly, it was clear that they did something more than their talent, which is why the Lakers paid a lot of money to sign Vincent. This time, at least Vincent has a chance to find his form before the playoffs, and the Lakers have a few points that are different, maybe many people's goal is to steal a 1-2 game, but just like last season, a large number of people were optimistic about the Lakers, and even after G1, they thought that the Lakers found a way to limit the Nuggets and were finally swept out. In competitive sports, anything can happen.