Denver nuggets vs Los angeles lakers 7 game series

[Jules Winnfield]

Lakers bench >>>> Nuggets Bench.

yes

Lakers coaching staff >>>>Nuggets coaching staff

yes

Lakers defense >>>>>Nuggets defense.

no

from an analyst/sports writer....since what i post regularly about denver's defense hasn't gotten through to realgm yet:
http://www.basketballprospectus.com/art ... ticleid=80

Lakers defense is better.

The Lakers hold their opponents to fewer points per game than Denver. Laker opponents shoot a lower percentage than Denver opponents. Laker opponents shoot worse from three than Denver opponents. Laker opponents get fewer rebounds than Denver opponents. Lakers have a higher rebound differential than Denver. Lakers have a higher margin of victory than Denver.

Denver gets more steals (they gamble ALOT) and Denver gets more Blocks (thanks Marcus).

[Kweli]

i say whoever gets home court advantage.

but i feel people are overrating the lakers a little bit.

You think they are overrated?

I think they are underrated.

In a thread a few days ago where people were ranking the Western Conference teams, about half the posters had the Lakers out of the playoffs, or below New Orleans, Denver, and Golden State.

They are 2-0 against Denver, 2-0 against Phoenix, 1-1 against NO, with a 29 point win, and 1-1 against Golden State.

So far, they have the 4th toughest schedule in the league:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/hollinger ... order=true

Despite the tougher schedule, they have a better record than Denver, Golden State, New Orleans and Utah, all of which many people had finishing above the Lakers. And they are only 1 1/2 games behind the Suns.

Also, they aren't over achieving this year like they were last year, and they don't have a home-favored schedule like last year either.

[corona]

Lakers defense is better.

did you read the article?

The Lakers hold their opponents to fewer points per game than Denver. Laker opponents shoot a lower percentage than Denver opponents. Laker opponents shoot worse from three than Denver opponents. Laker opponents get fewer rebounds than Denver opponents.

ppg, rpg both have to do with pace. denver plays faster, naturally they'll give up more points because the opponent has more possessions to score or rebound on.
denver holds their opponents to fewer points per possession though, and that means better defense.
lakers opponents shoot 0.7% worse from the field, problem is that they give up more free throws, so it negates that.

Lakers have a higher rebound differential than Denver.

fair enough.

Lakers have a higher margin of victory than Denver.

because their offense is significantly better.

Denver gets more steals (they gamble ALOT) and Denver gets more Blocks (thanks Marcus).

and the lakers are 8th in the league in turnovers per game. don't you think that plays into denver's hands? they generally thrive on teams that don't take care of the ball.

if they gamble a lot (first in steals and blocks), you'd expect them to give up a high fg%, right? but they're 6th in the league and they foul very little considering the pace they play at.

they play good defense, and its a little better than the lakers. and since they're overall more athletic, and there's more veterans...you can expect them to get more calls (or get away without calls) in the playoffs and be able to step it up further than LA.

[JellosJigglin]

i say whoever gets home court advantage.

but i feel people are overrating the lakers a little bit.

You think they are overrated?

I think they are underrated.

In a thread a few days ago where people were ranking the Western Conference teams, about half the posters had the Lakers out of the playoffs, or below New Orleans, Denver, and Golden State.

They are 2-0 against Denver, 2-0 against Phoenix, 1-1 against NO, with a 29 point win, and 1-1 against Golden State.

So far, they have the 4th toughest schedule in the league:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/hollinger ... order=true

Despite the tougher schedule, they have a better record than Denver, Golden State, New Orleans and Utah, all of which many people had finishing above the Lakers. And they are only 1 1/2 games behind the Suns.

Also, they aren't over achieving this year like they were last year, and they don't have a home-favored schedule like last year either.

shhh...I'm trying to keep the Lakers a bit of a secret

When Denver and other teams start playing a schedule as tough as the Lakers' schedule has been, then we'll see the Lakers pull away from the pack.

But anyway, Denver is an elite team. The team to beat in the West. The Lakers are just trying to reach their level.

[Showtime:Part2]

it all depends on the momentum each team has going into the playoffs. haven't people learned this? look at gs last year. look at how la sucked right before the playoffs. that's what it comes down to.

[Bgil]

ppg, rpg both have to do with pace. denver plays faster, naturally they'll give up more points because the opponent has more possessions to score or rebound on.

Do they? Where do you find the stats on pace? I see that the Lakers average more ppg than the Nugs. So I would think the pace of the games is at least similar. If anything your opponents get so many rebounds because of your lower fg%. Denver is also much more prone to "chucker ball" then we are because you have two chuckers vs our one. Your chuckers are also much more ball-dominant (combined) than our chucker. Phil also isn't afraid to yank our chucker from the game as seen by Kobe's 36mpg.

[tnayrbrocks]

Phil takes Kobe out of games because the lakers are probably up by 20 points, not too much with his poor shooting

[yunggunz]

Look.


The Nuggets and the Lakers are loaded with talent. The Nuggets have more talent, but the Lakers have the chemistry and momentum right now. If the playoffs were tomorrow, the Lakers would take it in 5 or 6. Come playoffs? Too early to tell.

[Nutty Nats Fan]

ppg, rpg both have to do with pace. denver plays faster, naturally they'll give up more points because the opponent has more possessions to score or rebound on.

Do they? Where do you find the stats on pace? I see that the Lakers average more ppg than the Nugs. So I would think the pace of the games is at least similar.

The Lakers average more ppg, because LA is 5 in offense. The Nuggets are 14th. Denver's D is better, ranked 4th. While LA's is 7th.

http://www.knickerblogger.net/stats/2008/index.htm

And ignore ppg. Those have no meaning, as much as "experts" on ESPN and loud mouths like Charles Barkley would like you to believe.

But the reason why the Lakers win this is one reason. Phil Jackson. Compared to Phil, Karl is a horrible coach. Well, compared to a blind monkey Karl is a bad coach, but that's for another topic.

[Day in the Life]

Lol, main reason is not Phil Jackson. Main reason is because our players improved dramatically, ie. Bynum and Farmar. And the acquisition of veteran leadership at the point guard position...ala Derek Fisher. Not to mention, our bench is one of the best in the league. And please, the Lakers have the best differential in the west at 6.8 while the nuggets are only 3.1. Lakers are a better defensive squad period and would shut the Nuggets in 6.

[Nutty Nats Fan]

Lol, main reason is not Phil Jackson. Main reason is because our players improved dramatically, ie. Bynum and Farmar. And the acquisition of veteran leadership at the point guard position...ala Derek Fisher. Not to mention, our bench is one of the best in the league. And please, the Lakers have the best differential in the west at 6.8 while the nuggets are only 3.1. Lakers are a better defensive squad period and would shut the Nuggets in 6.

Yes, main reason is Phil Jackson. He is a lot better at helping his young players improve and using his bench. Plus I doubt he would tell AI to shoot more when he is having an off night and to stop shooting when he can't miss, like Karl does with AI. I could actually go on and write a book about the ways Phil owns Karl, lol.

Question, have you been reading this thread? It has already been pointed out why the Lakers have a better differential than Denver. It is not because of defense, which Denver is better at, period. Stats don't lie. It is that LA's offense is a lot better and scores a lot better than Denver's.

[TylersLakers]

I say Lakers in a tight 6 or 7 game series.

Bynum < Camby (Close)
Odom > Martin
Luke/Ariza < Carmelo (Ouch for LA when Luke guards Melo)
Kobe > Iverson (Close)
Fisher > Carter

Lakers bench > Nuggets bench
Phil Jackson > George Karl
Lakers home court < Denver's home court (Fans are more passionate in Denver, which is big in the playoffs)

Bynum vs Camby, Kobe vs Iverson match ups are close though. How fun would this be to see Kobe and Iverson go head to head in the playoffs?

[Nutty Nats Fan]

Denver is not better, period, as you say.
They are a better defensive team stat-wise, but its not like Denver's a top team, and LA are one of the worst teams.
They're both top 10 defensive teams IIRC.

Never called LA one of the worse teams, but the LA homer was calling the Lakers the better defensive team, period. So I was responding in kind. With Denver being 4th and LA 7th, yeah it is closer, but at the moment Denver better. Maybe not period though.

Just odd some LA homers can't accept that Denver may be doing better in one area, it's not like I said LA would lose, lol.

[generic_two]

How fun would this be to see Kobe and Iverson go head to head in the playoffs?

Uh... that already happened. Except it was in the Finals.

[Bgil]

-= original quote snipped =-


Never called LA one of the worse teams, but the LA homer was calling the Lakers the better defensive team, period. So I was responding in kind. With Denver being 4th and LA 7th, yeah it is closer, but at the moment Denver better. Maybe not period though.

Just odd some LA homers can't accept that Denver may be doing better in one area, it's not like I said LA would lose, lol.

You're using points per 100 poss as your only defensive metric. However, the Lakers give up less PPG, have a bigger diff, hold opp to lower 3pt percentage and overall fg%, outrebound their opponents by more, and give up less points per shot.

Anyone watching games sees that the Lakers have the better D.

[Happyfoosball]

I believe Denver would beat them.

[sodmoraes]

to denver beat la nene gotta start playing like he was in the second half of last season

[Jules Winnfield]

-= original quote snipped =-



You're using points per 100 poss as your only defensive metric. However, the Lakers give up less PPG, have a bigger diff, hold opp to lower 3pt percentage and overall fg%, outrebound their opponents by more, and give up less points per shot.

Anyone watching games sees that the Lakers have the better D.

[Day in the Life]

-= original quote snipped =-


Yes, main reason is Phil Jackson. He is a lot better at helping his young players improve and using his bench. Plus I doubt he would tell AI to shoot more when he is having an off night and to stop shooting when he can't miss, like Karl does with AI. I could actually go on and write a book about the ways Phil owns Karl, lol.

Question, have you been reading this thread? It has already been pointed out why the Lakers have a better differential than Denver. It is not because of defense, which Denver is better at, period. Stats don't lie. It is that LA's offense is a lot better and scores a lot better than Denver's.

Lol, your website is full of **** "period." It has San Antonio ranked 6th on the defensive end...right. So I guess the Nuggets are a better defensive team than the Spurs now and would demolish them in 7?

The Lakers hold their opponents to 43% shooting while the Nuggets hold their opponents to 44% shooting. Lakers shoot at a rate of 47.8% while the Nuggets shoot at a rate of 45.6% Nuggets aren't a better defensive team, "period", you're just overrating them, same with Phil Jackson.

[EHL]

Their defensive ranks are close enough to the point where the Lakers could be considered the superior team if you acknowledge that injuries, youth, and inexperience early in the season (Lakers stared 9-8 for a reason) deflated their statistical ranking. Lakers are a whole new team since that point. I would take the Lakers' defense over the Nuggets because they have better individual defenders (Kobe, Ariza, Bynum) than the Nuggets (Camby and no one else). I'm also of the opinion that a lot of it is the Nuggets being located in high altitude, making their D somewhat of an anomaly. Notice that their road FG% D and ppg allowed is much worse, so there's some supporting evidence for the altitude theory. Though, that would be in part an advantage in the playoffs. Of course, at the same time, you won't go anywhere in the playoffs if you can't win on the road, unless you end up with the best record in the entire league, which the Nuggets won't.