The NBA playoffs continued, and today's Western Conference semifinals staged a matchup between the Timberwolves and the Nuggets G1, and finally the Timberwolves defeated the defending champion 106-99 away, taking the lead, and also grabbed the home-court advantage of this round of the series. However, these two teams aside, the Timberwolves' victory today could in some way provide some direction for the Lakers, who have already been eliminated, to build a team in the offseason.
Nuggets aren't that scary!
Facing the Timberwolves today, the Nuggets only scored 99 points on their home court, and everyone has seen that the home whistle is quite obvious, but including Yomu's blocking, the empty connection between Jokic and Gordon, these Nuggets have not played, and they are either restricted or directly destroyed. Even if the Nuggets played the offense they wanted in some rounds, they weren't very efficient at finishing. On the other hand, when the Nuggets met the Lakers, their offensive efficiency was also mediocre. Especially Murray, his first 4 games scored 22 points, 20 points, 22 points, 22 points, and the number of shots corresponded to 24, 24, 21, and 23 times, except for G3 Murray's 21 shots and 22 points, the other 3 games he scored less than the number of shots. If it weren't for the outbreak and lore at the critical moment, as the second leader of the Nuggets, Murray's play can only be described as a collapse.
The lifeblood of the Lakers is rebounding!
The Nuggets are not really a historical superpowerhouse, but they can always handle the Lakers, and they can always play in the second half, and the key is rebounding. The Lakers went 1-4 out, and the only game they won was that the thick eyebrows grabbed 23 rebounds, and the Lakers won the Nuggets in rebounding, and the Nuggets had the advantage in rebounding in all of the remaining 4 games. Not only did Jokic hit double-doubles in five consecutive rebounding games, two of which reached 20 rebounds, but even Gordon averaged double-doubles in rebounds per game in the series. The Lakers can fight rebounds in the first half and control the situation, but in the second half, their physical fitness is at the limit, James can't grab it at all, the Nuggets are not efficient, but they always can't shoot and can grab it back, and then there is an opportunity to shoot easily, which crushes the Lakers.
Why did the Timberwolves take the Nuggets, Edwards dominated the game at the last moment is jaw-dropping, but this game is also the first time Jokic has failed to reach double digits in rebounds in the playoffs this year, and Gordon only got 3 rebounds.
The Lakers have a clear idea of building a team!
The Timberwolves' grasp of the Nuggets gave the Lakers some ideas on how to beat their opponents over the Nuggets and the Wolves in the future. First of all, the Big Three is what the Lakers must find, and the Lakers need someone to match Murray or Edwards at critical moments. The ball-handler can be a little less efficient, but you can't be too far worse in terms of level, and Lakers fans don't want to see Reaves holding the ball and Murray fighting after James is out of fitness at the end.
Secondly, the Lakers need to have another height next to the thick eyebrows and dominate the rebound. Hachimura averaged 3.8 rebounds per game in the series, and he had to deal with it decisively, but he couldn't grab Gordon from the rebounding position, his defensive awareness was poor, and his offense was empty, and he couldn't hit the opponent. This is also the reason why Lakers fans regret that Vanderbilt cannot play, the latter has averaged 6.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game in his career, he can not only defend, but also rebound high enough and can fight. At the same time, it is a pity that Wood did not make the appearance and try the twin towers with thick eyebrows. Of course, the season is over, and the Lakers need to make a definite improvement in rebounding, limiting the Nuggets' offense, and you have to protect the rebounds to be a full defensive round.
James' championship window is not closed, and Pelinka has a difficult task!
With a clear idea of how to build a team, the Lakers have the right direction. On the inside, either trying to develop Wood's defensive awareness or looking for a functional interior player with excellent rebounds in the market is something Pelinka needs to do. The most important thing is definitely to upgrade the ball-handler level in the backcourt, if there is really no goal, Trae Young should still have to play, after all, the Lakers are pointing to this lineup to consume, from the role player side of the seam to make up for it, let alone cross the Nuggets, meet other teams, their disadvantages will also be magnified. Coupled with the selection of head coaches, the Lakers will be significantly more reliant on Pelinka this offseason than they were last offseason.