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2023 WC Finals: (1) Denver Nuggets vs (7) Los Angeles Lakers


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5 minutes ago, agarcia34 said:

Makes no sense why Gordon continues to stand on the baseline 

I think it is better spacing to keep in the dunker spot. It's not working for Denver because Lebron is leaving the corner 3 wide open and digging down on Aaron and Denver isn't hitting the corner 3 guy. 

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If that game was only fake close I can't wait to see what an actual close one looks like! My prediction was Nuggets in 7 and that this would be a banger series, so far so good. Both teams played insane offense tonight, I do like the Nuggets chances of replicating that more (they had an insanely good offense all year) but the Lakers offense matches up really with the Nuggets defense. 

The Rui on Joker and AD on Gordon lineup completely stymied the Nuggets tonight but I expect adjustments and for them to be ready for that next time. There is no world where Rui on Jokic is not punishable, I'm sorry. That lineup reminds me of times where teams go zone for a few minutes and it works but if you tried to play zone all game you'd get shredded. It'll work in spurts but if they try and stick with that Jokic will burn them. 

 

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Gordon was awful on both ends. If he's going to let LeBron get the switch he wants every time then he needs to see a drop in minutes. Murray cannot let that happen either. Go under, it's not Steph. Green/Braun need to provide something offensively going forward, Braun especially since he's going to be left wide open every time. If AD switches off Jokic, bench Gordon and punish them with MPJ at the 4.

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That Rui adjustment is exactly what the 76ers did with Embiid when he smoked Jokic in Philly; it was PJ Tucker who played Jokic.

Jokic just needs to get into that 7 feet range where Davis cant help without leaving the basket, and Jokic can feast.

It is a concern that the Lakers have figured out that they can, in theory, just leave Aaron Gordon out on the perimeter. It's what Draymond did in the series last year.

Both teams will make adjustments. I do have concerns with Denver's D, in particular the switching on Lebron, but a win is a win.

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4 hours ago, Spartica4Real said:

If that game was only fake close I can't wait to see what an actual close one looks like! My prediction was Nuggets in 7 and that this would be a banger series, so far so good. Both teams played insane offense tonight, I do like the Nuggets chances of replicating that more (they had an insanely good offense all year) but the Lakers offense matches up really with the Nuggets defense. 

The Rui on Joker and AD on Gordon lineup completely stymied the Nuggets tonight but I expect adjustments and for them to be ready for that next time. There is no world where Rui on Jokic is not punishable, I'm sorry. That lineup reminds me of times where teams go zone for a few minutes and it works but if you tried to play zone all game you'd get shredded. It'll work in spurts but if they try and stick with that Jokic will burn them. 

 

The Nuggets led by average 14 pts . Only the last 5 mn , referees give LA 8 FTs to close the gap at 3 pts with 2 mn remaining. So yes this was fake close

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It is clear the three guard line up is not going to work against the Nuggets, or at least when Jokic is on the floor. Schroder started to play Murray much tougher once Ham allowed him to fight over the screens and not just go under everything. The Nuggets played great for majority of the game but they need to find a way to make it tougher on the Lakers guards from getting to the paint. Every time that happens, AD ends up getting a wide open floater/push shot which he is damn near automatic. The Lakers can go with Rui or Bron on Jokic for stretches but they will still need AD to hold his own in that match up. Jokic owned that match up last night but AD can adjust a bit and make it tougher as the series goes on. What killed the Lakers was how Murray was getting all the room in the world with the guards going under and AD could not help as if he would, then Jokic would clean up the glass or get a wide open lay up. DLo was terrible on both ends but if he has it going, then you keep him on the floor and limit Schroder's minutes. If DLo does not have it like last night, then you play Schroder for defensive purposes and bench DLo. 

Bruce Brown was awesome and needs to play with that sort of energy all series. I just loved the way he attacked at every opportunity and did not let the Lakers defense set. A clear adjustment for the Lakers will be to just get back and not crash the boards to take away the transition game. In the halfcourt, the Lakers defense is good enough to limit the Nuggets offense, despite Jokic's greatness. The type of shot making we saw last night was special. The Nuggets did it for most of the game but then the Lakers started to hit everything in the 2nd half. I expect a much more of a defensive game on Thursday and the game should come down to 4th quarter execution. 

Hell of a series we are about to witness! 

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Another thing, the wing defending LeBron needs to fight through every screen and not just have a soft touch with Murray left on him at the top of the key. It is damn near a guaranteed bucket or good look every single time when that happens. And if Murray does get LeBron on switches, he needs to put up more of a challenge and can't keep letting LeBron get to his left hand with the entire middle of the floor wide open for him. 

7 hours ago, lomaxgrUK said:

That Rui adjustment is exactly what the 76ers did with Embiid when he smoked Jokic in Philly; it was PJ Tucker who played Jokic.

Jokic just needs to get into that 7 feet range where Davis cant help without leaving the basket, and Jokic can feast.

It is a concern that the Lakers have figured out that they can, in theory, just leave Aaron Gordon out on the perimeter. It's what Draymond did in the series last year.

Both teams will make adjustments. I do have concerns with Denver's D, in particular the switching on Lebron, but a win is a win.

The Lakers will go to Rui or Bron in stretches but AD will still see majority of the minutes on Jokic as the series goes on. As I mentioned before the series, it will come down to Braun/Brown/Gordon/Green hitting the corner 3s. If they do not, then the Lakers will be able to shrink the floor and make it extremely difficult on Jokic. 

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