The Nuggets released an injury report for the G5 series, and unexpectedly, Murray, one of the core of the house, entered the list.
According to injury reports, Jamal Murray is doubtful for playing due to a left calf strain.
According to media reports, the injury report may not be a smokescreen for the Nuggets. Because Murray kept massaging his calf after an attack in the last quarter, it was suspected that he was uncomfortable.
However, as long as it is a non-fatal injury, Murray will most likely continue to play.
In fact, whether it is G2 or G4, the Lakers have shown enough strength to fight with the Nuggets, but G2 failed to escape Murray's defeat in the end, while G4 grasped the advantage.
Including James, Bushy Eyebrows, Reaves and Russell, the Lakers have a total of four players in G4 who have scored 20 points.
On the inside, the Lakers also played a 72-52 disparity ratio, which made the Nuggets unable to reverse. The Lakers' 72-point interior score in this game set a single-game record in the NBA playoffs in the past 25 years.
In addition, this game was also the first time that the Nuggets lost to the Lakers in rebounding in this series. The Nuggets had a total of 40 rebounds, while the Lakers grabbed 46.
Therefore, it is not that the Lakers have no way to beat the Nuggets, but the heavy responsibility falls on the thick eyebrows.
Hachimura, the big forward who can play in the current team lineup, has poor rebounding ability, and is not even as good as most of the main guards in the league. And the substitute center Hayes played less time, did not play in the third game, and only played 6 minutes in the fourth game.
In every game, thick eyebrows need to defend Jokic, and they have to take care of offense and tandem teams, without the slightest slackness, almost every game is overdrafted.
At the same time, another opportunity for the Lakers is to take advantage of Murray's slump.
The two teams played against G4, and Murray's hand was still very bad. In 38 minutes of playing time, he hit just nine of his 23 shots, all from beyond the three-point line. While the 22-point run looks pretty good, it's too inefficient and drags down the Nuggets' overall offense.
Although Murray's stunner in Series G2 was extremely deadly, his overall performance in the series was not satisfactory.
In addition to Murray's 6-of-8 shooting in the fourth quarter of G2, he shot just 29-of-84 from the field in the other 15 quarters of the series, shooting just 34.5 percent. Outside the three-point line, Murray hit 5 of 24 shots, and the shooting percentage started with 2.
Compared with the "killing god" against the Lakers in the Western Conference finals last year, Murray's current state is like two people. In last season's Western Conference finals, Murray averaged 32.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2.8 steals per game, shooting 52.7% from the field and 40.5% from three-point range.
In the last four games, Murray has played a very sluggish performance. Add to that injuries...... The plot of the Lakers letting three chase four may not be impossible.