2024 NBA Playoffs: West 1st Round: #2 Denver Nuggets vs #7 Los Angeles Lakers (DEN WINS 4-1)

[Jadoogar]

A lot of people here are underrating the Lakers bigtime due to their seeding and record, like they didn’t learn from last year when the Lakers went all the way to WCF as the 7th seed. We all know that Lebron and AD just coast during the regular season. Comparing the supporting cast of Jokic and Lebron:

AD >> Murray
Allstar Dlo > KCP
Olympian Reaves = MPJ
Rui = AG

Nuggets x factor and bench from last year Bruce Brown is now gone, so both teams basically now have weak benches. Nuggets don’t have an advantage there anymore.

I can see this series going 6 or 7, toss-up between the two.

is AD better than Murray if Murray plays like last year's playoffs? Especially in the Lakers' series.
Also Jokic>>>>>lebron at this point.

[Jta444]

But Jokic>>>>Lebron

That's what makes this matchup so interesting to me though, LeBron can outplay Jokic for a game or two and that's all this Lakers team needs.

If LeBron goes all out in Game 1 or 2 and they steal one at Denver, everything changes. We all know about the Laker Whistle, and what happens if Davis gets a quick gimme fouls on Jokic? Lakers have a chance to blow that game out of the water.

This is by far the scariest matchup in the entiire playoffs for Denver imo, and if they win it handily, they are a lock to win it all imo, and Boston won't be much of a fight. But I don't see that happening, Lakers have too much to throw at them from all 3 levels, and are the only team out West beside Minny that can actually strong arm them and play big.

We'll see what happens, hope Denver takes it, but it's going to be the toughest round 1 matchup out there for any Top team.

Youre either overrating Lebron or underrating Jokic. Lebron ouplaying jokic for a single game would be wild.

And i dunno how a team that the Nuggets have beaten 8 times in a row is the biggest challenge for them. Suns would be tougher, imo. Minny too, Dallas as well and Clips. This is one of the better matchups for the Nugs in the West

It’s because the Lakers are the only team in the league that’s still got two top 10 players in one team. The Lakers have 2 of the 3 best players in the series. Mavs (Doncic), Minny (Ant), OKC (Shai), are all one headed monster but the Lakers always got two superstars.

[mademan]

That's what makes this matchup so interesting to me though, LeBron can outplay Jokic for a game or two and that's all this Lakers team needs.

If LeBron goes all out in Game 1 or 2 and they steal one at Denver, everything changes. We all know about the Laker Whistle, and what happens if Davis gets a quick gimme fouls on Jokic? Lakers have a chance to blow that game out of the water.

This is by far the scariest matchup in the entiire playoffs for Denver imo, and if they win it handily, they are a lock to win it all imo, and Boston won't be much of a fight. But I don't see that happening, Lakers have too much to throw at them from all 3 levels, and are the only team out West beside Minny that can actually strong arm them and play big.

We'll see what happens, hope Denver takes it, but it's going to be the toughest round 1 matchup out there for any Top team.

Youre either overrating Lebron or underrating Jokic. Lebron ouplaying jokic for a single game would be wild.

And i dunno how a team that the Nuggets have beaten 8 times in a row is the biggest challenge for them. Suns would be tougher, imo. Minny too, Dallas as well and Clips. This is one of the better matchups for the Nugs in the West

It’s because the Lakers are the only team in the league that’s still got two top 10 players in one team. The Lakers have 2 of the 3 best players in the series. Mavs (Doncic), Minny (Ant), OKC (Shai), are all one headed monster but the Lakers always got two superstars.

Disagree. I take Luka/Kyrie as a duo over Lebron/AD. I take PG/Kawhi as well, Jokic/Murray for sure. They might have 2 top 10 (and i think thats arguable, i dont see a big gap for those 2 over Kyrie or PG anymore and Kawhi/Luka are the best amongst them, and having the best is really what matters). Booker/KD is also arguable in the West

[Djoker]

[azcatz11]

I'm honestly surprised the Nuggets are a 4-1 favorite in this series.

[shi-woo]

Youre either overrating Lebron or underrating Jokic. Lebron ouplaying jokic for a single game would be wild.

And i dunno how a team that the Nuggets have beaten 8 times in a row is the biggest challenge for them. Suns would be tougher, imo. Minny too, Dallas as well and Clips. This is one of the better matchups for the Nugs in the West

It’s because the Lakers are the only team in the league that’s still got two top 10 players in one team. The Lakers have 2 of the 3 best players in the series. Mavs (Doncic), Minny (Ant), OKC (Shai), are all one headed monster but the Lakers always got two superstars.

Disagree. I take Luka/Kyrie as a duo over Lebron/AD. I take PG/Kawhi as well, Jokic/Murray for sure. They might have 2 top 10 (and i think thats arguable, i dont see a big gap for those 2 over Kyrie or PG anymore and Kawhi/Luka are the best amongst them, and having the best is really what matters). Booker/KD is also arguable in the West

That's because you only care about scoring. Lakers duo has the size advantage over the other guys mentioned, and their skillsets are completely different. Kyrie is just a worse version of Luka. Paul is just a poor mans Kawhi.

LeBron and AD are easily Top 5 at their positions, and will be bigger mismatches, and can effect the game in more ways than the other two duos mentioned. Kawhi can have a similar defensive impact as Davis, but only man to man. He isn't going to be **** the paint down, and he isn't going to be guarding Jokic at spurts.

I also like the Lakers duo ability to rebound, get easy baskets, and get to the FT line and get other teams in foul trouble. That's the biggest difference between the two.

Size still matters in the NBA, and Lakrs have it in bunches. The shortest player on in the Lakers rotation is 6'3 200ln Dlo. When games slow down, I trust the Lakers to find an edge against most teams.

Likewise the overlap in skill for the other duos means that if one is going off, the other is just watching. Not th same with LeBron and AD. If LeBron is going off, AD is still impacting the game at an elite level defensively

[AbeVigodaLive]

If both teams are healthy, it'll be a competitive series.

James and Davis are very good. And the Lakers' strategy of getting fouled without fouling is really smart.

LeBron's teams in the past used strategy of best opposing player being in foul trouble all the time. Do you think they will use it this time?

It really amazes me that other teams aren't smart enough to employ a similar strategy even remotely as successfully.

[BelgradeNugget]

If both teams are healthy, it'll be a competitive series.

James and Davis are very good. And the Lakers' strategy of getting fouled without fouling is really smart.

LeBron's teams in the past used strategy of best opposing player being in foul trouble all the time. Do you think they will use it this time?

It really amazes me that other teams aren't smart enough to employ a similar strategy even remotely as successfully.

It is because LeBron has highest BBIQ in the league.

EDIT: BTW did you notice how they used "best opposing player in foul trouble" in In-season tournament?

In semis Booker 5 fouls, KD 5 fouls (4 in the 3Q, last one was offensive). Nurkic with 2 quick fouls in 1Q, then quick one in 2Q. AD really dominated Drew Eubanks with Nurkic on the bench.

In finals Miles Turner 6 fouls in 25 minutes. AD really dominated whoever was guarding him with Turner on the bench.

[therealbig3]

Will be repeat of last time, Nuggets are just better and have the best player in the league. And the second best player on the court is often times Jamal Murray too, dude just tends to go off in the playoffs, especially vs Lakers.

[mademan]

It’s because the Lakers are the only team in the league that’s still got two top 10 players in one team. The Lakers have 2 of the 3 best players in the series. Mavs (Doncic), Minny (Ant), OKC (Shai), are all one headed monster but the Lakers always got two superstars.

Disagree. I take Luka/Kyrie as a duo over Lebron/AD. I take PG/Kawhi as well, Jokic/Murray for sure. They might have 2 top 10 (and i think thats arguable, i dont see a big gap for those 2 over Kyrie or PG anymore and Kawhi/Luka are the best amongst them, and having the best is really what matters). Booker/KD is also arguable in the West

That's because you only care about scoring. Lakers duo has the size advantage over the other guys mentioned, and their skillsets are completely different. Kyrie is just a worse version of Luka. Paul is just a poor mans Kawhi.

LeBron and AD are easily Top 5 at their positions, and will be bigger mismatches, and can effect the game in more ways than the other two duos mentioned. Kawhi can have a similar defensive impact as Davis, but only man to man. He isn't going to be **** the paint down, and he isn't going to be guarding Jokic at spurts.

I also like the Lakers duo ability to rebound, get easy baskets, and get to the FT line and get other teams in foul trouble. That's the biggest difference between the two.

Size still matters in the NBA, and Lakrs have it in bunches. The shortest player on in the Lakers rotation is 6'3 200ln Dlo. When games slow down, I trust the Lakers to find an edge against most teams.

Likewise the overlap in skill for the other duos means that if one is going off, the other is just watching. Not th same with LeBron and AD. If LeBron is going off, AD is still impacting the game at an elite level defensively

The Lakers big 2 have been healthy all year and theyve gotten great production from Reaves/Dlo/Rui. You have 2 top 10 players (as was said) that compliment each other....

why are they where they are?

[MrTribbiani]

IMO Denver is the clear favorite. It would be a pretty big choke job if they lost to LA (assuming that their best players are all healthy).

[nbafan38]

A lot of people here are underrating the Lakers bigtime due to their seeding and record, like they didn’t learn from last year when the Lakers went all the way to WCF as the 7th seed. We all know that Lebron and AD just coast during the regular season. Comparing the supporting cast of Jokic and Lebron:

AD >> Murray
Allstar Dlo > KCP
Olympian Reaves = MPJ
Rui = AG

Nuggets x factor and bench from last year Bruce Brown is now gone, so both teams basically now have weak benches. Nuggets don’t have an advantage there anymore.

I can see this series going 6 or 7, toss-up between the two.

Some people may be underrating the lakers but I think for me and many others it's not about underrating the lakers and more about respect for the Nuggets. I'd like the lakers chances against any team in the west except this team and I think whoever wins this series probably goes to the finals.

The nuggets have the best player in his prime and are well coached and that's hard to beat, they'd be favored over any team in the league except maybe Boston.

[nbafan38]

I'm honestly surprised the Nuggets are a 4-1 favorite in this series.

Why is it surprising?

[shi-woo]

Disagree. I take Luka/Kyrie as a duo over Lebron/AD. I take PG/Kawhi as well, Jokic/Murray for sure. They might have 2 top 10 (and i think thats arguable, i dont see a big gap for those 2 over Kyrie or PG anymore and Kawhi/Luka are the best amongst them, and having the best is really what matters). Booker/KD is also arguable in the West

That's because you only care about scoring. Lakers duo has the size advantage over the other guys mentioned, and their skillsets are completely different. Kyrie is just a worse version of Luka. Paul is just a poor mans Kawhi.

LeBron and AD are easily Top 5 at their positions, and will be bigger mismatches, and can effect the game in more ways than the other two duos mentioned. Kawhi can have a similar defensive impact as Davis, but only man to man. He isn't going to be **** the paint down, and he isn't going to be guarding Jokic at spurts.

I also like the Lakers duo ability to rebound, get easy baskets, and get to the FT line and get other teams in foul trouble. That's the biggest difference between the two.

Size still matters in the NBA, and Lakrs have it in bunches. The shortest player on in the Lakers rotation is 6'3 200ln Dlo. When games slow down, I trust the Lakers to find an edge against most teams.

Likewise the overlap in skill for the other duos means that if one is going off, the other is just watching. Not th same with LeBron and AD. If LeBron is going off, AD is still impacting the game at an elite level defensively

The Lakers big 2 have been healthy all year and theyve gotten great production from Reaves/Dlo/Rui. You have 2 top 10 players (as was said) that compliment each other....

why are they where they are?

Because LeBron is old and pacing himself and it took Ham 1/2 the season to figure out the rotations. Rui and Reaves were coming off the bench for large portions of the year. Likewise, I think adding another big body that can handle the ball in Dinwiddie was also a difference maker.

The Lakers team that started the year was starting Cam Reddish, Vanderbilt, and giving huge minutes to MAx Christie and Woods. They were a 500 team before they made the switches, and took off once they did being one of the best teams in the NBA after the ASB.

They essentially switched the rolls of Rui and Prince, replaced Christie with Dinwiddie, Cam with Reaves, and Hayes with Woods. Becoming way better defensively in the process. They also got Gabe back as well as another scorer off the bench.

Likewise, not playing musical chairs with your lineup every night makes a huge difference. Players are human, and humans like to know what to expect. Everyone on this team nows their role now, and they know when they are coming in and coming out of the game. They can be more freely.

Replacing offensively challenged players like Vandy and Cam with guys that can score was huge. Replacing guys that can't defend in Woods and Christy with guys that can in Hayes and Spencer also was huge. The team is better balanced now up and down the roster.

[vexco]

A lot of people here are underrating the Lakers bigtime due to their seeding and record, like they didn’t learn from last year when the Lakers went all the way to WCF as the 7th seed. We all know that Lebron and AD just coast during the regular season. Comparing the supporting cast of Jokic and Lebron:

AD >> Murray
Allstar Dlo > KCP
Olympian Reaves = MPJ
Rui = AG

Nuggets x factor and bench from last year Bruce Brown is now gone, so both teams basically now have weak benches. Nuggets don’t have an advantage there anymore.

I can see this series going 6 or 7, toss-up between the two.

MPJ and AG are better than Reaves and Rui.

[dWadeOwnzYou]

Denver are top 5 in defense...both is points allowed and field goal %. Good luck.

[GeorgeSears]

IMO Denver is the clear favorite. It would be a pretty big choke job if they lost to LA (assuming that their best players are all healthy).

That's how I view it as well. If both teams show up healthy, and remain healthy throughout, Nuggets should win this in 5-6 games. If not, heads will probably roll.

[nbafan38]

IMO Denver is the clear favorite. It would be a pretty big choke job if they lost to LA (assuming that their best players are all healthy).

That's how I view it as well. If both teams show up healthy, and remain healthy throughout, Nuggets should win this in 5-6 games. If not, heads will probably roll.

Agree with this. It's not disrespect to the lakers but the nuggets are still the best team in basketball as long as they stay healthy.

[duppyy]

Lakers have figured out jokic for real this time!

[Michael Lucky]

Lakers are due to win a game. Nuggets in 5.