WCF: (1) Los Angeles Lakers vs (3) Denver Nuggets, Part 1

Ambrose · Post #221 » by **Ambrose** » Wed Sep 16, 2020 3:26 pm

I'm hoping/expecting the Lakers to win but this is a super likeable and resilient Denver team. Can't rule them out and while I wouldn't love it if LA lost, Denver is the team I'd want to win 2nd most of those that are left.

MarcusBrody · Post #222 » by **MarcusBrody** » Wed Sep 16, 2020 3:32 pm

Alatan wrote:The Lakers have some great players but they also have some big weaknesses. It will be tough beating them but it is possible. They dont have great shooters and apart from Lebron their plazmaking is pretty bad. If we manage to pack the paint and double team LBJ or AD when they have the ball we might stand a chance. Since Lakers dont have a great PnR guard wittch is the Nuggets greatest weakness i expect our defense to hold up. Make Rondo, KCP and Kuzma beat us!

Do the Nuggets only have problems with guards on the pick and roll? The Lebron/AD pick and roll is arguably the deadliest in the league.

And I can't remember anyone ever having much success with regularly hard doubling Lebron. He's too big and too good a passer for that to be as effective as it is against some other stars.

I chose Lakers in 7. I think people continue to underestimate the Nuggets who were a legit really good team all year and have shown tons of heart in the playoffs. That combination gives them a shot against anyone and I'm pulling for them. But they do tend to run a bit hot and cold and I suspect that the Lakers/Lebron will be a lot craftier in choking out the good side of their runs and making them work a lot harder to get back into things if they get down. That might be the decider.

bballgod07 · Post #223 » by **bballgod07** » Wed Sep 16, 2020 3:41 pm

Jokic will shut down AD

JShuttlesworth · Post #224 » by **JShuttlesworth** » Wed Sep 16, 2020 3:44 pm

It would be amazing to see the Nuggets win here

Let's see how they do against Lebron and refs this series

Alatan · Post #225 » by **Alatan** » Wed Sep 16, 2020 3:54 pm

MarcusBrody wrote:
Alatan wrote:The Lakers have some great players but they also have some big weaknesses. It will be tough beating them but it is possible. They dont have great shooters and apart from Lebron their plazmaking is pretty bad. If we manage to pack the paint and double team LBJ or AD when they have the ball we might stand a chance. Since Lakers dont have a great PnR guard wittch is the Nuggets greatest weakness i expect our defense to hold up. Make Rondo, KCP and Kuzma beat us!

Do the Nuggets only have problems with guards on the pick and roll? The Lebron/AD pick and roll is arguably the deadliest in the league.

And I can't remember anyone ever having much success with regularly hard doubling Lebron. He's too big and too good a passer for that to be as effective as it is against some other stars.

I chose Lakers in 7. I think people continue to underestimate the Nuggets who were a legit really good team all year and have shown tons of heart in the playoffs. That combination gives them a shot against anyone and I'm pulling for them. But they do tend to run a bit hot and cold and I suspect that the Lakers/Lebron will be a lot craftier in choking out the good side of their runs and making them work a lot harder to get back into things if they get down. That might be the decider.

Oh i have no doubt that the Lakers will be a tough opponent. Im just saying that people should not overlook the Nuggets. We are not the same team we were in the regular season. Playing so many elimination games toughened the players and gave them a deeper understanding of the game. It gave them composure. Also our best defenders are back and are getting their rust off. Lakers will need to play hard to win.

The Nuggets PnR problems are mostly containing the guard. Sure having a great Roll man is also tough to stop but most of our problems come from guards that either kill us with threes or blow by Jokic if he steps up to hedge. Against bigger slower PnR handler we get by. Its still not great but we manage to overcome it.

LeBron is a great player but this season he looks like he lost a lot of lift when attacking the rim and is not as scary as he was a couple of seasons ago. Still good but containable. Especially if we pack the pain and throw double teams against him. He is a great passer and i expect him to always find the open guy but the thing is that Lakers dont really have great shooters and some of them are known to fold under pressure. We will be banking on in. If he tries to find AD its more of the same, pack the paint and double. Force AD to throw it out and then run the shooters of the line. Its a risky strategy but it could work beautifully as it did against the Clippers.

Still i dont expect us to win but there is a decent chance we do.

europrospect93 · Post #226 » by **europrospect93** » Wed Sep 16, 2020 3:58 pm

I think this may come down to Lakers offense and that will determine the winner imo, Lakers are a great defensive team, no doubts about that but Nuggets showed they can go up against any defensive scheme/match-up and score at a high clip. Whether it's a genius of Joker or Murray feasting or other guys using the space and hitting threes. Same goes for their defense, they can make stops, have good perimeter defenders and Jokic proved that he is not atrocious defenders as some like to claim. If Lakers can get open looks consistently and drain them at decent percentage they could win in 6 or 7. If they fail in getting guys open or shooting, Nuggets are taking the series and it's not even close. Lakers also showed a lot of flexibility in their rotation and schemes, much more than Clippers so that's why, in a vacuum, I would give them the nudge.

As a basketball fan, def looking forward to this match up. I get the attraction of two LA teams facing each other but from bball POV this should be one hell of a series. I'm picking Lakers in 7, with very close games and at least two overtimes :lol:

PhilBlackson · Post #227 » by **PhilBlackson** » Wed Sep 16, 2020 4:00 pm

Most def supporting the true king of the North (Murray) and as the Lead Supporter of Michael Porter you know I’m rooting for the Nuggets however unlikely it may be as LeBron “somehow” runs through West as he did the East...

But that’s none of my business.

Son Goku 25 · Post #228 » by **Son Goku 25** » Wed Sep 16, 2020 4:02 pm

Nuggets are a fun team to watch- Magic Johnson

duppyy · Post #229 » by **duppyy** » Wed Sep 16, 2020 4:10 pm

People acting like lakers already won the chip, might as well just cancel the rest of the playoffs

RamonSessions7 · Post #230 » by **RamonSessions7** » Wed Sep 16, 2020 4:20 pm

duppyy wrote:People acting like lakers already won the chip, might as well just cancel the rest of the playoffs

We tried that already

hoosierdaddy34 · Post #231 » by **hoosierdaddy34** » Wed Sep 16, 2020 4:20 pm

cjx wrote:From top to bottom, the Nuggets have more talent than the Lakers.

Jokic is Lebron and AD combined plus we have a co-star in Murray (Baby Brandon Roy) and a complete team of contributors (Millsap, Harris, MPJ, Grant, Craig, Bol Bol, etc.)! No one on the Lakers can handle Murray. When push comes to shove in a tough playoff game, Lakers can only count on 3 guys--Lebron, AD and Rondo. Maybe McGee gives you a little something. Nevertheless, that's not enough. Y'all been gassing up Caruso. Monte Morris > Caruso, it's as simple as that plus Bol Bol and Dozier have something for your Carushow, which will not be renewed, uh-huh. KCP, Green, Morris, Howard, etc. are very up and down. Denver has 6 reliable double-digit scorers on any given night, and we always play together! The "narrative" that so many have mistakenly bought into is false, the Nuggets are the better and more resilient team.

Nuggets win in 6! You'll see the Mighty Nuggets in the NBA Finals, book it! Nuggeteer Family Stand up!

Just wow. Someone watches basketball with their heart a little too much. :lol:

Official · Post #232 » by **Official** » Wed Sep 16, 2020 4:23 pm

The difficulty in beating the Lakers is Lebron is going to be Lebron no matter what you do (He is going to be the best player in the series) and AD, whether you think he is better than Jokic or not, is going to play him even and more than likely better him in production on the court. Jokic post some nasty stat lines but even with all that AD is average 5 more ppg than him per 36 and is leading all players in PER who are left in the playoffs.

hoosierdaddy34 · Post #233 » by **hoosierdaddy34** » Wed Sep 16, 2020 4:30 pm

Alatan wrote:The Lakers have some great players but they also have some big weaknesses. It will be tough beating them but it is possible. They dont have great shooters and apart from Lebron their plazmaking is pretty bad. If we manage to pack the paint and double team LBJ or AD when they have the ball we might stand a chance. Since Lakers dont have a great PnR guard wittch is the Nuggets greatest weakness i expect our defense to hold up. Make Rondo, KCP and Kuzma beat us!

The Rockets just put 5 guys in the paint and got bounced in 5 games.

You can’t double both LeBron AND AD, how do you decide who you are going to stop first?

How do you stop the Lakers in transition? Denver has given up the 2nd worst ppp in transition this playoffs.

How do you stop LeBron/AD pick and rolls?

Lots of questions for the Nuggets going into this series.

LouisLitt · Post #234 » by **LouisLitt** » Wed Sep 16, 2020 4:33 pm

inb4

"Denver is the weakest WCF team since 1989"

mademan · Post #235 » by **mademan** » Wed Sep 16, 2020 4:33 pm

What we wanted to see all along. Caruso guarding Murray

nzahir · Post #236 » by **nzahir** » Wed Sep 16, 2020 4:38 pm

LouisLitt wrote:inb4

"Denver is the weakest WCF team since 1989"

I can already see it now

Doesn't matter that they just beat the Clippers and washed them in a Game 7 after down 3-1

First it was "The east is weak"

Now its "The west is weak"

So which is it?

Portland was a WCF team that got better than the other year...took them out in 5 easily

Hou went to 6-7 games vs GS, yes I know they moved CP3, but they still have Harden and a lot of similar guys. LAL took them out in 5 and it wasn't too hard

I don't want to count our chickens before they hatch, so I will be waiting

But if the Lakers win it all, I don't want to hear it when it comes to taking away from Lebron's greatness

europrospect93 · Post #237 » by **europrospect93** » Wed Sep 16, 2020 4:41 pm

hoosierdaddy34 wrote:
Alatan wrote:The Lakers have some great players but they also have some big weaknesses. It will be tough beating them but it is possible. They dont have great shooters and apart from Lebron their plazmaking is pretty bad. If we manage to pack the paint and double team LBJ or AD when they have the ball we might stand a chance. Since Lakers dont have a great PnR guard wittch is the Nuggets greatest weakness i expect our defense to hold up. Make Rondo, KCP and Kuzma beat us!

The Rockets just put 5 guys in the paint and got bounced in 5 games.

You can’t double both LeBron AND AD, how do you decide who you are going to stop first?

How do you stop the Lakers in transition? Denver has given up the 2nd worst ppp in transition this playoffs.

How do you stop LeBron/AD pick and rolls?

Lots of questions for the Nuggets going into this series.

Very good point actually.

More awareness, better cover and smart fouls I'd say(very surprising :lol:

) Good thing for them is that they have the tools to do it.

Alatan · Post #238 » by **Alatan** » Wed Sep 16, 2020 4:42 pm

hoosierdaddy34 wrote:
Alatan wrote:The Lakers have some great players but they also have some big weaknesses. It will be tough beating them but it is possible. They dont have great shooters and apart from Lebron their plazmaking is pretty bad. If we manage to pack the paint and double team LBJ or AD when they have the ball we might stand a chance. Since Lakers dont have a great PnR guard wittch is the Nuggets greatest weakness i expect our defense to hold up. Make Rondo, KCP and Kuzma beat us!

The Rockets just put 5 guys in the paint and got bounced in 5 games.

You can’t double both LeBron AND AD, how do you decide who you are going to stop first?

How do you stop the Lakers in transition? Denver has given up the 2nd worst ppp in transition this playoffs.

How do you stop LeBron/AD pick and rolls?

Lots of questions for the Nuggets going into this series.

The Rockets put 5 6 5 guys in the paint. We dont plan to double them both but double one of them when they have the ball and keep the rest of the defenders near the paint. Also, Rockets offense is one dimensional and once you figured out to double Harden and leave Westbrook open it was over. Westbrook was the major weakness in the Rockets team as he was useless on both sides of the court.
Nuggets have a bit more tricks up their sleeve.

Raps in 4 · Post #239 » by **Raps in 4** » Wed Sep 16, 2020 4:47 pm

LouisLitt wrote:inb4

"Denver is the weakest WCF team since 1989"

I can see it already. Lakers up 3-1. Everyone talking about how Jordan can't hold Lebron's jock strap. Etc, etc.

Then before you know, Nuggets are in the finals.

Optms · Post #240 » by **Optms** » Wed Sep 16, 2020 4:54 pm

Official wrote:The difficulty in beating the Lakers is Lebron is going to be Lebron no matter what you do (He is going to be the best player in the series) and AD, whether you think he is better than Jokic or not, is going to play him even and more than likely better him in production on the court. Jokic post some nasty stat lines but even with all that AD is average 5 more ppg than him per 36 and is leading all players in PER who are left in the playoffs.

After all these years its still funny to see fans say *Insert team here* will have player B and player A to throw at Lebron and literately make no difference. And the Nuggets suck on defense. They are by far the worst defensive team left in the playoffs. Its going to be a slaughter.

Who ya got??