Today's game between the Lakers and the Nuggets has ended, and in the end the Lakers lost again. The series score came to 0:3, and the Lakers' fate hung by a thread. Today, when we look through the data, you will find that the Nuggets' top scorers in the game are not Jokic and Murray, but Gordon. Gordon finished with 29 points, 15 rebounds and three assists on 12-of-18 shooting. Most of his finishes are dunks and layups under the basket. It's clear that the Lakers are completely subpar with Gordon's defense today.
Today, the Lakers' strategy on the defensive end was too extreme, they focused all their defensive attention on Jokic and Murray, but they chose to leave out Gordon, who has super finishing ability under the basket. Today, Gordon kept sneaking to the basket through the off-ball run, receiving a pass from his teammates and completing the dunk directly. The Lakers couldn't keep up with Gordon in time, which was the main reason they lost today. Because Gordon dunked unguarded under the basket in the third quarter, scoring like a probe.
The Lakers' defense in this game today can be said to be a portrayal of the whole season, and the whole season is their poor record caused by their lack of concentration on defense and frequent leakage of talent. Although Davis has a strong ability to protect the rim on the inside, he can't do it in the face of Gordon, who is strong and has super bounce ability. Gordon is capable of facing Davis' defense, and his strength and bounce explosiveness are among the best in the league at the front. So what the Lakers need to do is to follow Gordon at all times, don't let him slip out, don't let him sneak out of the open spot.
It's clear that the Lakers aren't focused, and they have just too many problems on the defensive end. Why did the Lakers win the championship a few years ago? because they had the league's best defensive efficiency that year. But at present, the Lakers no longer have the previous defensive ability, Davis is still the previous Davis, but the Lakers' current defensive ability of other players except Davis is completely incomparable. Both of them, including the back line, are completely players who are not good at defending.
So for the Lakers to be successful, they have to play defensive counter-attacks and play to their advantage. But now they can't defend the opposition in the half, so naturally they can't counterattack. And the Lakers are not good at playing positional battles, which is why they are struggling. If the Lakers want to go one step further next season, they'll have to start on the defensive end. I wonder what the fans think?