In the first two games of the first round of the NBA playoffs, the Lakers lost to the Nuggets 103-114 and 99-101 respectively, falling behind 0-2. The common denominator of both games was that the Lakers played better than the Nuggets in the first half, and the Nuggets fought back in the second half to complete a big comeback. The difference is that the Lakers in G1 did not play their best, especially Russell's "undercover" performance, which made the Lakers miss out on victory, but the Lakers in G2 have played to the extreme, leading by up to 20 points, but they are still reversed, and they also let Murray complete the whistle kill. The Lakers are playing 120% of their strength, while the Nuggets may only show 80% of their level, after all, Murray, the second leader of the Nuggets, compared to last year's performance in the Western Conference finals, this year can be said to be very average.
The Lakers will return to their home court, Los Angeles fans will also be on hand to support their home team, and Wood will also usher in a comeback in G3, these are all good news for the Lakers, but the big score has been 0-2, the Lakers have no way back, if they fall behind 0-3, it is almost impossible to turn the tables. The Lakers can only continue to fight the defending champions if they hold their home court like the Nuggets. It is estimated that many fans still think that the Lakers can turn the tables against the wind, but the scary thing is not that they are 0-2 behind, but that Mr. Su Qun's analysis really makes the Lakers players feel desperate.
When talking about the biggest problem of the Lakers, Su Qun believes that the Lakers can't kill the Nuggets all at once, no matter how they distribute the physical strength and power stage, and as long as they can't kill the Nuggets, Jokic and Murray will lead the team to fight back, and Su Qun's definition of "killing the Nuggets" is to lead by more than 25 points at most. And in today's series G2, the Lakers led by up to 20 points and were completed by the Nuggets to complete a big reversal + lore.
You must know that the Nuggets' play in G2 is actually very average, except for Jokic, Porter, and Gordon who play normally, the other major rotations basically lost their crosshairs, Murray shot 9 of 24 in the game, and the efficiency was very low, Pop was 2 of 7, Watson on the bench was 1 of 4, Holiday was 0 of 1, and the Nuggets were proud of their outside projection, and the three-point shot in this game totaled 34 and 8. And the Lakers couldn't have performed better, with thick eyebrows of 14 of 19, James of 9 of 19, Russell of 8 of 16, Reaves 4 of 11, Prince of 2 of 3 off the bench, the Lakers shot 38 of 78 from the field, with a shooting rate of nearly 50%, and 13 of 30 three-pointers, with a shooting rate of more than 40%, all of which basically exceeded the season average.
Moreover, Brother Thick Mei used to pull his hips in the face of Jokic, and after entering the playoffs, he cut 30+10 in two consecutive games, he has played at a super level, Russell made 7 of 11 three-pointers, James scored a double-double in the final quarter, and averaged 26.5 points, 7 rebounds and 10 assists per game in the first two games, and the three-point shooting rate was as high as 55%. It's all played like this, and they still can't beat the Nuggets, and how much hope the Lakers have for a reversal, it is estimated that fans already know it.
Mr. Su Qun's point of view is very pertinent, if the Lakers want to completely defeat the Nuggets, they must at least lead by more than 25 points in the game, so that Lakers fans can have a bottom in their hearts, otherwise this 20-point reversal is vivid, as long as the point difference cannot be widened, Lakers players will be very nervous at critical moments, and their performance is often not as good as the first three quarters. But in the next series, the Nuggets can't perform as badly as G2, and the Lakers can't perform so well, and a 25-point lead is simply nonsense. So, the Lakers' next goal is to avoid being swept as much as possible.
After being swept 4-0 by the Nuggets in the Western Conference finals last year, James told the media in an interview that he may choose to retire, and finally Lao Zhan decided to continue playing, if he is still swept 4-0 this year, maybe he will lose his passion for basketball, but considering that Bronny will enter the NBA to play next season, James will stick to it anyway, but he will no longer be obsessed with competing for the championship and will enjoy the basketball game more.