Game Debrief: What Went Right And What Went Wrong?

Same script every single game. Just can't beat that team. They go to another level in crunch time. Shot making and execution is on another level.

 

That Denver 5 is too damn good.
All of them defend and have 2 or more good things they can do on offense.

AD needs to better for the team to have a chance and Lebron looked a bit gassed to me

DLo played well but man Denver hunted him down with Murray.
Prince was awful.
MPJ just hit everything

Tough loss Lakers played pretty well and it just wasn't good enough (AD needs to better)

Tough loss

 

den better coach, better stars, better role players

 

murray could have no arms or legs and he'd still drop 30 and 10 on the lakers

 

Honestly don't know what defense they had going Murray to end the game. Jokic would screen and then Rui for like 3 straight play got stuck in mans land. Ham need to have him switch at least to give some resistance.

Tough on the other side it amazes me how you can never seem to get Jokic on an island while Denver can

 

47-31 on rebounds

That'll lose you every time

 

Jokic is underrated on defense. Can't count the times he'll stop AD at the rim and then ignite a fast break while AD is still laying on the floor.

 

Jokic beating AD down the floor on offense and AD not beating jokic down the floor the other way is a huge problem.

AD just never seems to get early position to force the ball into him: this is part of being aggressive is he has to create the advantage so his teammates can use him

 

I thought we played our A game, but the result was the same as the WCF, and the two previous games against them this year.

MP Jr's shot against us is automatic. Jamaal just kills us; Joker is Joker, which...'nuff said. Everyone else fits into their scheme like a fine machine.

DEN is our Long Dark Night. It's kinda scary, really. The entire DEN team plays like highly skilled giants. Yea, they don't have any "letdown" games when they play us.

Sobering AF.

 

The Good
-Rui, DLO, and Austin did their part -- 59 points. That's what they have to do against this team to offset Denver’s crew.
-41% from 3 and actually made 1 more three than DEN
- only 7 TOs, fairly clean game.
-Bron cracked 40k

The Bad
-AD wasn't enough on either side. Has to be more impactful.
-Bron didn't have that extra gear late in the game.
-Prince, Cam, and Spencer were 3/13. Need more if they're out there.
- This was without KCP. If he plays then either DLO or Austin are wiped off the board offensively.
-Ham sucks.
- Denver is better in every facet. You have to play a perfect game to beat them. We didn't. Really boils down to that.

 

I got to go to the game last night so it was really cool to see LeBron get 40k in person. It’s the first game I’ve gone to this year, I thought the Kobe statue looked great. Before the game some guy in a suit came by and asked us what we thought about the Nuggets, whether there’s a rivalry and stuff like that. I’m pretty sure it was some Nuggets podcaster or local TV guy lol.

As for the game itself, we played with great pace offensively in the first half and that completely dried up in the second half. Our lack of two-way role players really hurts us against Denver. I said a week or so ago that we shouldn’t put too many eggs in the basket of Cam coming back and helping our defense. We saw that tonight, he wasn’t bothering Murray at all and the Nuggets just ignore him offensively. Rui also gave up a few offensive rebounds to Gordon and Jokic just due to lack of effort, I really hate how little he cares about rebounding.

 

Lakers played well. It Denver still pushed.
I'm leaning to you need to get offense as Denver is going to score points you.

The travel and elbow are tough. I thought he walked and pushed off in real time as well but the breaks always seem to fall with Denver

 

Familiar story, nip and tuck game, then in the 4th quarter, Jokic and Murray step up, while Lebron and AD fade. Pretty much it.

 

NGL: I got some serious bad flashbacks when AD was out on Joker at the arc, time running down, and Joker, falling away with that horrible form, still hit the 3...like he did last year in the WCF against us, like, what was it, 9 times? I knew we were in for it.

Last 3 mins: we shrunk up like a stack o' dimes, one 'n done, looked spooked, and DEN switched into a higher gear, and had been a close game was suddenly a 10 point deficit. Champs vs. not-Champs right there.

Existentially, it's difficult at this point to take us seriously as a team competing in the West. We're not as bad as our record, but we're not as good as DEN, and probably MIN.

Why does Mike Malone have to be so petty when it comes to us? Lakers mystique?

 

Also we need to rebound better. Lebron and Rui only combine for 7.. AD is the only one who can grab boards consistently.

47-31 on the glass. No chance!

 

It’s called Jealousy.
We are the most prestigious and loved NBA Franchise around the globe.
We also have dominated the League since the 1980s when it comes to winning what really matters( 11 Championships).

 

because he knows he could win this year and next and it would still be discussed less than if he won one here. just facts. the irony is that he'd be better off just not talking about/obsessing over the lakers. this is why, man!

 

Yea, well, I asked that Q in the Socratic mode, and you answered exactly the way I actually believe is the answer. So there! (<--- tongue in cheek emoji would go here)

Malone should have just been frank in his quasi-lisping Queens, NY accent and said he has an inferiority complex. We get it. No blame. And he has every reason to have an inferiority problem. DEN has ONE ring. We have (pretends to have to look it up) SEVENTEEN.

 

i really don't hate the nuggets at all. they're just a better team and no one the team is really hateable for reasons other than just being good at basketball

they were a laughingstock of a franchise for decades and finally lucked out with a late round draft pick who turned out to be a generational talent. the lakers killed their title dreams year after year in the late 2000s when they finally became a yearly playoff contender and again in 2020, but they've been a better team than the lakers for a few years now and finally got them back last year

let them have their fun after all those years of finishing at the bottom. and malone is just playing to the crowd with his attempts at trolling. at the end of the day, they're still the nuggets and the lakers are the lakers

 

i've got no problem with denver or admitting they're better than us. i think malone could have more class, though. if he's pandering, it's lame. if he truly has an inferiority complex, it's also lame. you won--why are you acting like you lost? same sentiment i had recently about jalen brunson trying to trash dallas. you won, buddy; act like it. because you sound like a jilted lover.