In the first round of the playoffs, the Lakers challenged the Nuggets away. James had a wonderful start to the game, and he made the Lakers play in an orderly opening game through his strong scoring and continuous organization and combing the team. But in the third quarter, the Lakers collapsed and finally lost to the Nuggets 103-114.
Star performance
In addition to James assisting the thick eyebrows with a wonderful pass, he took advantage of the mismatch advantage to single Murray with his back, and then turned around to fight against the strong hand. Then after receiving a pass from Russell at the top of the left arc, the three-pointer went up and down. Lao Zhan played very confidently and calmly, which shows that they are fully prepared for the game. In the second half, he was trapped in physical strength and played very little.
Thick eyebrows started to play very actively, constantly asking for the ball on the inside, James hung the thick eyebrows, he turned around and dunked after receiving the ball. Since then, James and Thick Eyebrows have had wonderful cooperation on the inside many times, and Thick Eyebrows played very tough, and he also gave Jokic a big hat in the single defense. He has a lot of energy in his heart, and he wants to prove his worth by playing the Nuggets.
Rivers made contributions on both ends of the floor, forcing Murray to take the first point for the Lakers with a throw from Jokic. Then on the defensive end, he faced Murray's back-to-back single, a big hat, and stabilized the situation for the Lakers.
Team Analysis
The Lakers have not played a lot this season, many players have been injured, Vincent has not played a few games this season, Reddish is also stop-and-go, Vanderbilt has not been able to return since he was injured, and Wood is reimbursed this season. James is also 39 years old, and fitness problems have been bothering him. What's more critical is that there are certain problems with head coach Ham's line-up, which has been widely questioned.
As the defending champions, the Nuggets are still very strong this season. Their starting offensive and defensive strength is balanced, and it can be described as the league's first luxury lineup. The Nuggets' biggest problem is that their main point guard, Murray, has been plagued by injuries this season, and their bench roster has been greatly weakened compared to last season.
Match data
Both teams start
Lakers: Reaves, Russell, Hachimura, James and Davis
Nuggets: Pope, Murray, Porter Jr., Gordon and Existence