In the first round of the playoffs, the Los Angeles Lakers played against the Denver Nuggets, after the Lakers had suffered 8 consecutive defeats in the face of the Nuggets, and the Lakers' win rate given by the broadcaster before the start of this game was 30%, which is indeed a bit high.
In this game, the Lakers' two main players, James and thick eyebrows, scored a total of 59 points, 20 rebounds and 5 blocks, of which thick eyebrows alone got 32 points, 14 rebounds and 4 blocks. In terms of personal data, he beat Jokic, the main player of the Nuggets, who has 32 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists.
He has played in 76 games for the Lakers this season, averaging 24.7 points, 12.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.3 blocks in 35.5 minutes per game. The 76 games in a single season is a career-high, the average minutes per game is the highest since the Lakers, and the rebounds and assists are both career-highs, and the blocks are the highest in the five seasons since joining the Lakers. These stats all show that Davis is constantly metamorphosing and growing, and this season Davis has shed his glass man attributes and gradually grown into one of the strongest and most dominant interior players in the league, seemingly stronger than in 2019-20 (the championship season).
But the Lakers' record over the years has been poor, and the team's management is also complicated, hesitating between swinging and reinforcing and jumping back and forth. After the Lakers won the championship in 2020, the team dismantled the championship team, and a large number of powerful veterans such as Pope, Green, Rondo, Howard, and McGee left one after another. There have been few major changes to the Lakers' roster this season, and there have been no effective reinforcements, and it is good enough to get out of the playoffs and enter the first round, and how far they can go next is up to fate.
Facing the defending champion Nuggets, the Lakers have little chance of winning at the moment, both in terms of roster strength and player morale. Since last year's Western Conference finals, the Lakers were swept 4-0 by the Nuggets, and the Nuggets also beat the Lakers 4 times in the regular season this season, plus today's game is already 9 consecutive wins against the Lakers. In the season when the Lakers won the championship, the reason why the Lakers were able to defeat the Nuggets in the Western Conference finals and enter the Finals was that the two main players James and thick eyebrows played very important, and the consumption of Jokic on the strong interior line was more important among other players. Although each of them only plays about ten minutes per game, it is this crucial 20-30 minutes that can allow Brother Bushy to get enough rest, and allow him to return to his familiar power forward position, giving full play to his scoring and defensive speed and coverage, instead of directly facing Jokic to consume a lot of physical strength in hand-to-hand combat on the inside.
Thick eyebrows Davis and Jokic direct confrontation does not have an advantage, although today's game looks at the data of thick eyebrows slightly superior, but he played more minutes (44 minutes), Jokic only 39 minutes, the physical consumption is much greater than Jokic, so it may increase the risk of injury. At this time, Lakers management and fans will miss Howard's time with the Lakers and James Mei very much, and if he is still here, he can share the pressure of playing time and defense for thick eyebrows.
Of course, the guard line is also equally important, the Lakers' starting guard Russell shot 6 of 20 and 1 of 9 three-pointers, the efficiency value is too low, far inferior to Murray on the opposite side, which is also one of the important reasons why the Lakers lost. Although Pope and Green were not top defenders back then, they were conscientious both offensively and defensively, and they were qualified starters for a championship-winning team, and the current Russell and Rivers obviously have a big gap compared to them.
The Lakers will most likely lose this round of the series, and it is difficult to say whether they will be swept again, but the performance of James and thick eyebrows still belongs to the first echelon of the league, and the sword is still ready to compete. Lakers management can fight again this summer, make bold trades and strengthen the roster, and continue to challenge for championships next season.