The Lakers and Nuggets have played two first-round series, and the Lakers are currently 0:2 behind the Nuggets.
In the last two games, James and Davis have played without any problems. The two men gave their best in every game and played very extremely. Why can't the Lakers win yet? It comes down to the fact that other players other than James and Davis have not been able to provide effective help, especially Russell and Reaves on the perimeter.
Recently, Warriors' Green also talked about the Lakers' woes in his podcast. He believes that the Lakers will not be able to beat the Nuggets with James and Davis alone. Russell and Reeves must step up to help Zhan Mei.
Russell didn't play well in the first game, and in the second game, Russell made seven three-pointers in the whole game, which is commendable. And Reaves, on the other hand, shot 3-of-11 from beyond the three-point line in two games. He did not step up to help the team effectively, but was frequently targeted by the opponent on the defensive end of the court. As the main player of the team, he is to blame.
Reaves has seen his average per game in this season's playoffs drop significantly from last season's playoffs. His three-point shooting percentage has dropped by 17 percentage points this season, and it looks like he's completely limited from beyond the three-point line. Why? It comes down to the fact that Reaves has been researched on his playing characteristics, and he has been thoroughly studied by teams around the league. And at present, the referee blows more lenient penalties, and rarely blows some foul balls. So now Reeves is in an extreme struggle.
In fact, the Lakers have a chance to trade Murray to the Hawks in the middle of this season. If the Lakers had chosen to send away Russell and Reaves at the time, the Hawks would have sent their team's leading All-Star player Murray right away, but the Lakers decided that Reaves was not for sale for their team at the time. If Murray can come to the Lakers, it will be a huge help for the Lakers. Murray is a player who can play both offense and defense, and he is also a big heart player like Murray of the Nuggets, and the more he can play in the playoffs, the more he can play, and he can stand the test of the playoffs.
What's more important is that Murray's style of play is very tough, not like Reaves and Russell, who choose to shoot from the outside, Murray has a lot of breakthroughs and a lot of strong shots. If he can form a triumvirate with James and Davis, the Lakers are very strong now. Maybe Pelinka will regret it now. After all, Russell and Reeves really can't be counted on to fight hard.