In the fierce battlefield of the NBA, every score can be a turning point in the game, and every challenge and change can affect the final victory.
The series between the Lakers and the Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs this season is such a contest full of variables and suspense. In this matchup, we not only witnessed the tenacity and reversal ability of the Nuggets, but also felt the possibility of the league's first human scepter handover.
As an old powerhouse in the league, the Lakers have a glorious history and countless glory. However, in the series against the Nuggets, they faced unprecedented challenges. As the defending champions of this season, the Nuggets relied on excellent team basketball and the ability to control turnovers to put the Lakers in a 0-2 predicament. The Lakers were reversed in the lead, and such a result undoubtedly made fans feel regret and helplessness, and even a sense of powerless despair.
In the G2 game, Jokic once again proved himself to be the top center in the league with his amazing performance. He blasted a triple-double of 27 points + 20 rebounds + 10 assists, tied with Chamberlain for the first place in history. And Murray's stunner made the Lakers' lead come to naught. The Nuggets' bench lineup didn't score well, but they didn't make mistakes, which is especially valuable on the playoff stage.
The Lakers' bench lineup had a mediocre performance in this game, with only Prince scoring 6 points and everyone else 0. This performance is in stark contrast to the Nuggets' team basketball. The Lakers also made far more mistakes than the Nuggets, which partly reflects the difference in control of the pace of the game between the two teams.
Lakers head coach Ham's on-the-spot reaction has also been questioned to a certain extent. At crucial moments, he didn't call out the challenge in time and missed an opportunity that could change the outcome of the match. The accumulation of these details ultimately led to the loss of the Lakers.
The strength of the Nuggets should not be underestimated, and they have shown strong mental quality and teamwork ability by reversing the Lakers twice in the series. The Nuggets' winning streak has undoubtedly put a lot of pressure on the Lakers. Lakers fans, the expectation of the team has changed from winning the series to "winning at least one Nuggets".
In this context, we have to think about whether the scepter of the first person in the alliance has been quietly handed over. The young players of the Nuggets are using their performances to announce to the world that their time has come. And the Lakers, the former king of the army, are experiencing the pains of the replacement of the old and the new?
In the NBA, there is no eternal king, only constant challenge and transcendence. The series between the Nuggets and the Lakers allowed us to see the rise of new powers, and also made us feel the tenacity and unyielding of the old powerhouses. Regardless of the final outcome, it will be a memorable chapter in NBA history, and the Lakers-Nuggets matchup will be remembered by fans.
The scepter of the first person in the league may have been quietly handed over, which is the inevitable development of basketball and the embodiment of the charm of competitive sports. James is naturally great, after all, he is the strongest in the league in the past twenty years, and he can still play the statistics of top superstars at the age of nearly forty, which is something that Jordan can't do, and Jokic, as the first person in the league at the moment, is playing his dominance on the court, and is quietly taking over the scepter of the first person in the league in James's hands.
If Jokic can win this season's regular season MVP and championship as well as FMVP, will he be in the top 10 all-time?
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