We had Dwight and Javale last time we beat nug

[Beethoven]

We don't have the front court depth as the 2020 championship team. Also nug has beefed up in the front court.

We really need to use Tristan and Bamba?

Remember, Dwight was a huge MENACE to jok.
He took him out of his game. Javale added rim protection always the first ten mins of each game to set the defensive tone.

Bamba and Tristan need to do that. I'm not sure it's in their game, but they gotta learn to sacrifice their bodies for the general AD.

Tristan should not be visiting Vegas or Disneyland this weekend.

He should be in the gym gearing up RIGHT NOW. Mo too.

[LAKESHOW]

We gonna need bamba. AD cannot get into foul trouble next series. The more Bigs, the better

[MAMBAEMD]

Bamba and TT should get some minutes against the Joker in this series.
TT can provide some physicality and fouls .
Bamba can actually pull the Joker out of the paint.

[Laker1]

Whats the word on Bamba? is he healthy?

[Beethoven]

Is he not healthy? I saw he played a few mins in some of the playoff games.

[xinxin]

Does AD have to play as the 4? Or will Bamba & TT just back him up


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[stan francisco]

Our Achilles all season has been our lack of big men. I agree we’ll need Bamba and Thompson both to step it up.

AD will have to play defense to cover not just Jokic but also Gordon. He can NOT foul himself out. No margin of error here. Our guards need to keep drivers from driving into AD.

If I decided, I’m playing AD on Jokic straight up all series, I’d challenge the rest of team to lock down Murray and Porter Jr. If Jokic goes for 45, fine. If Porter, Murray, and all of the sideshow Bobs don’t get big numbers, we win.

LeBron will have to primarily handle Gordon. Vando on Porter Jr leaves Reaves on Murray. Who will D Lo cover? Let’s hide him again and hope it works?

If I were betting money I’d say 4-2 Denver but my Homer instincts say LAL in 7.

[bb22]

Yeah Dwight was huge a few years ago... forgot about that.

Bamba and TT stand no chance against Jokic... to be honest no big really stands a chance against him defensively. Bamba might help protect the rim off ball, but I haven't seen him play in ages. It's gonna all come down to AD.

With all that said, Lakers dominate the paint and Denver has no rim protection with Jokic. While MPJ and Gordon add some size on the perimeter, they aren't doing much to deter us in the paint either.

[Pythagoras]

Dwight was very good, Javale wasn’t. Not having those guys is not going to matter as much as everyone else thinks though. Denver’s defense can be had. Lebron, D’Lo, Reaves, and Dennis will eat this series. Just have to keep the Nuggets from popping off offensively.

[dAdo dA dEvil]

I think we should attack Joker right away. Play in the inside. AD versus Joker is the key in this series. But in this series, I would like to see TT play when AD rests. If TT can be physical and hold his own against Jokic then I like our chances. I look forward to AD shutting Jokic down with his defense. The others should carry the offensive load.

[LAKESHOW]

Draymond said u either have to stop Joker from passing, or stop Joker from scoring. I believe dray because he has that defensive experience against all the Bigs in the West.
He said its easier to stop him from getting assists. Can't allow him to get both, cause U Lose if that happens.
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
We may have to allow Joker to get his points. Allow Joker to get his. BUT EVERYONE ELSE, has got to be shut down

[Beethoven]

Draymond said u either have to stop Joker from passing, or stop Joker from scoring. I believe dray because he has that defensive experience against all the Bigs in the West.
He said its easier to stop him from getting assists. Can't allow him to get both, cause U Lose if that happens.
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
We may have to allow Joker to get his points. Allow Joker to get his. BUT EVERYONE ELSE, has got to be shut down

This makes sense because I don't think jok is well conditioned like other players are who can get 40+ on a consistent basis if you let them.
He'll tire out and start missing his shots which can affect his and the team's morale possibly.
Great strategy against him.

[zimpy27]

Jokic is a lot better and more experienced now. No way he lets Howard or McGee bully him. They'd be useless.

[zimpy27]

Davis is a better inside presence and draws more contact offensively now. That is better than having McGee and Howard.

[stan francisco]

We may have to allow Joker to get his points. Allow Joker to get his. BUT EVERYONE ELSE, has got to be shut down

This is exactly what I tried but perhaps failed saying above.

AD one on one vs Jokic will make that possible. I’m all in on that plan. Let the best big man win his team a finals appearance! I say AD can hold his own and our rest of team can beat their rest of team.

[stan francisco]

Offensively, I’d hope to see:

1) Post up LeBron on Gordon until Gordon gets in foul trouble. Repeat if they slide Porter or another over to guard LeBron at that point.

2) Drag Jokic out of the paint. By playing high screen and pop with AD and token PG to allow low post cuts by Reaves, Vando, D Lo, and AD (who is quicker than Jokic on cuts but not stronger).

3) With Jokic away from the paint, LeBron can dictate play, we can establish being the aggressor, them being reactive.

4) Three point shooting by Lakers guards and wings will be important in this series. Even more so against the Celtics, who collapse their defense into 5 on 1 on any paint cutter, the three point game is perhaps going to decide the outcome of a finals series between LAL-BOS.

Use this series to heat up the three point range for all of our role players before the finals.

[DorianRo]

Thats the problem. THey had plenty of bodies to throw at Joker last time around.. This time? Hes gonna feast

[Kilroy]

We didn't have Vande or Reaves last time... We had Caruso, who's not the offensive player Reaves is, or the defensive presence Vande is... We also didn't have anyone as good as Rui to bring off the bench in spot minutes.
That said, AD and LeBron were incredible that series.

We also split the season with them with freaking Westbrook and AD out for one of the wins...

Just saying that what happened before probably doesn't mean a whole lot now... We haven't played them with the new lineup... We should come out swinging and let the chips fall where they may.

[xinxin]

javale barely played in that series since he was unplayable.


it was Dwight who was played the most minutes & used up most of his fouls on Jokic..

[Speedlot]

Definitely nervous about this. Dwight did really well on Jokic last time around.
Vando On Murray makes me comfortable at least.