Lakers epic chokejob vs. Nuggets in Game 2

[DLoMor]

Don’t get why 76ers get a thread but the Lakers don’t when they choked even harder. Blew a 20 point lead, disgusting.

[kingr]

I don't think it was a choke. It was a blown lead with AD in foul trouble in the 3rd q. Denver played much better in the 2nd half and it was back and forth in the 4th quarter. Great plays by both teams. 76ers lost a 2 possession lead in like 10 seconds.

[DLoMor]

A blown lead is still considered a choke job.

[EmpireFalls]

At least Denver went 7-7 to close the game I mean no matter what you want to say about the Lakers, 7-7 is absurd and it includes threes and difficult jumpers. So it’s more like wow Denver is just impossible to bury.

[Marrrcuss]

i mean, these labels are for fan gratification.

[UcanUwill]

20 point leads come and go all the time in the NBA nowadays. Losing 6 point lead with 30 seconds remaining however, is an achievement.

[NyKnicks1714]

I don't think it was a choke. It was a blown lead with AD in foul trouble in the 3rd q. Denver played much better in the 2nd half and it was back and forth in the 4th quarter. Great plays by both teams. 76ers lost a 2 possession lead in like 10 seconds.

It was absolutely a choke. If it wasn't for Denver missing a ton of open shots in the third and LeBron playing out of his mind in the 4th, Denver could have won this game by 15+, and that's not hyperbole. Lakers were killing it with their half-court sets to start the third, and then something drastically changed. It wasn't anything Denver was doing defensively, and it wasn't a matter of the Lakers just missing shots. It's like they just forgot how to play basketball. The abandoned all discipline.

A few freak plays in a row can happen. Sometimes you make shots and sometimes you miss shots, and over a small sample that can vary a ton (Make or miss league is one of the few good cliches). There's a ton of luck and randomness in basketball and fans tend to almost completely ignore that. And this applies to what happened at the end of the Knicks/Sixers game.

It doesn't really apply at all to what the Lakers did. That was a true collapse.

[IG2]

I don't think it was a choke. It was a blown lead with AD in foul trouble in the 3rd q. Denver played much better in the 2nd half and it was back and forth in the 4th quarter. Great plays by both teams. 76ers lost a 2 possession lead in like 10 seconds.

It was absolutely a choke. If it wasn't for Denver missing a ton of open shots in the third and LeBron playing out of his mind in the 4th, Denver could have won this game by 15+, and that's not hyperbole. Lakers were killing it with their half-court sets to start the third, and then something drastically changed. It wasn't anything Denver was doing defensively, and it wasn't a matter of the Lakers just missing shots. It's like they just forgot how to play basketball. The abandoned all discipline.

God, this

For a 12 min stretch from 3rd to 4th qtr, Lakers scored 8 points. Denver was certainly busting ass defensively, but nothing to cause that type of drought. It almost felt like the Lakers had Denver's many comebacks against them at the back of their mind and simply froze. Just stopped playing normal basketball. It was absolutely a massive choke job.

[Liam_Gallagher]

A 20 point lead in today's game isn't what it used to be.

[NyKnicks1714]

I don't think it was a choke. It was a blown lead with AD in foul trouble in the 3rd q. Denver played much better in the 2nd half and it was back and forth in the 4th quarter. Great plays by both teams. 76ers lost a 2 possession lead in like 10 seconds.

It was absolutely a choke. If it wasn't for Denver missing a ton of open shots in the third and LeBron playing out of his mind in the 4th, Denver could have won this game by 15+, and that's not hyperbole. Lakers were killing it with their half-court sets to start the third, and then something drastically changed. It wasn't anything Denver was doing defensively, and it wasn't a matter of the Lakers just missing shots. It's like they just forgot how to play basketball. The abandoned all discipline.

God, this

For a 12 min stretch from 3rd to 4th qtr, Lakers scored 8 points. Denver was certainly busting ass defensively, but nothing to cause that type of drought. It's like the Lakers had Denver's many comebacks against them at the back of their mind and simply froze. It was absolutely a massive choke job.

I don't even think it was pressure, doubt, or fatigue. It feels like something systemic not allowing them to maintain a disciplined half-court offense.

[dhsilv2]

I don't think it was a choke. It was a blown lead with AD in foul trouble in the 3rd q. Denver played much better in the 2nd half and it was back and forth in the 4th quarter. Great plays by both teams. 76ers lost a 2 possession lead in like 10 seconds.

It was absolutely a choke. If it wasn't for Denver missing a ton of open shots in the third and LeBron playing out of his mind in the 4th, Denver could have won this game by 15+, and that's not hyperbole. Lakers were killing it with their half-court sets to start the third, and then something drastically changed. It wasn't anything Denver was doing defensively, and it wasn't a matter of the Lakers just missing shots. It's like they just forgot how to play basketball. The abandoned all discipline.

God, this

For a 12 min stretch from 3rd to 4th qtr, Lakers scored 8 points. Denver was certainly busting ass defensively, but nothing to cause that type of drought. It almost felt like the Lakers had Denver's many comebacks against them at the back of their mind and simply froze. Just stopped playing normal basketball. It was absolutely a massive choke job.

DLO was 6-7 from 3 in the first half. The lakers were bound to fall back the their average...when shots stop falling offenses get more stagnant.

[EmpireFalls]

I can say that the Lakers will without doubt get swept now so this is a more important defeat than the Philly one. It extinguished any belief or remaining mental strength they had.

[MiltownMadness]

A 20 point lead in today's game isn't what it used to be.

I think this notion is super played out, blowing a 20 point lead in the playoffs is a big deal. Scoring is way down in the playoffs like always. Lakers choke that will dramatically alter their franchise forever, they won't win 4 of the next 5. I think they have to completely tear it down and it starts with Lebron

[kingr]

I don't think it was a choke. It was a blown lead with AD in foul trouble in the 3rd q. Denver played much better in the 2nd half and it was back and forth in the 4th quarter. Great plays by both teams. 76ers lost a 2 possession lead in like 10 seconds.

It was absolutely a choke. If it wasn't for Denver missing a ton of open shots in the third and LeBron playing out of his mind in the 4th, Denver could have won this game by 15+, and that's not hyperbole. Lakers were killing it with their half-court sets to start the third, and then something drastically changed. It wasn't anything Denver was doing defensively, and it wasn't a matter of the Lakers just missing shots. It's like they just forgot how to play basketball. The abandoned all discipline.

A few freak plays in a row can happen. Sometimes you make shots and sometimes you miss shots, and over a small sample that can vary a ton (Make or miss league is one of the few good cliches). There's a ton of luck and randomness in basketball and fans tend to almost completely ignore that. And this applies to what happened at the end of the Knicks/Sixers game.

It doesn't really apply at all to what the Lakers did. That was a true collapse.

We see what we want to see.... To me, If your best player , and the best player on the floor in the first half, is in foul trouble in the 3rd quarter and has to be taken out of the game, it's not the same. Laker's big lead was at half time, not the 4th quarter. By the end of the 3rd, denver chipped away and the lead was under 10 with AD on the bench. Denver played extremely well in the 2nd half with near perfect execution at the end of the game. I feel like lakers should have won but it's no where near how the 76ers lost.

[THE J0KER]

The Lakers prove they are the only team in the NBA with 2 TOP10 players, but after losing 10 games in a row vs the Nuggets it is obvious they have some serious mental/mindset issues vs Denver. No way they will choke a game of this importance vs any other team after a +20 lead in the 2nd half, while on the other hand, Denver is obviously superconfident playing against them. They should lose Pells to escape the Nuggets this playoff 1st round, I'm pretty sure the Lakers would break already OKC.

[Roscoe Sheed]

Lakers made some mistakes for sure, but Denver is truly relentless and probably the most resilient team in the NBA

[Parasite]

A 20 point lead in today's game isn't what it used to be.

If you are ahead by 20 points at any juncture of the game, you should always win that game. If you don’t, you choked.

[dWadeOwnzYou]

How can it not be a choke? You're on the verge of losing 10 in a row but you had a 20pt cushion midway through the 3rd. That should be a win in most cases if play your cards right. This is not the regular season where a 20pt lead is less significant, don't matter the era.

[Nuntius]

You can call it a choke if you want but it's nowhere near what happened in the Philly-New York game.

[bledredwine]

I still can't believe that LA lost.

I remember looking at the score and thinking "Lakers have this" then going to the boxing club.

This is absolutely a choke job. Anyone saying otherwise is a fan of that team, point blank.