tsirigoj wrote:FinnTheHuman wrote:tsirigoj wrote:
I appreciate the confidence. Given what the Nugs did to the Clippers, I would be riding that high as well.
The Clippers are not the Lakers. If Denver goes down 3-1 to the Lakers (who the hell is gonna guard AD? who the hell is gonna guard LeBron?) then it's night-night.
The same guys who guarded Kawhi will guard Lebron: Grant, Millsap, Craig. Millsap, Plumlee and Jokic will guard AD. Lakers are a really good team, but Lakers are by no means a mismatch for the Nuggets. The only mismatch for the Nuggets are elite pick n roll guards and elite 3 point shooting teams. Lakers are neither of those. Don't expect to win by being guarded poorly, because you're gonna be guarded well.
You are right about the Nugs needing to take a team approach in guarding LeBron. Guarding LeBron will be FAR more difficult than guarding Kawhi though. More weapons in his arsenal, and his ability to make average joes look like stars is a skill that Kawhi doesn't possess.
Also, you can't confidently say that you think Jokic CAN defend AD. Jokic CAN guard "2-left feet" Gobert and short Montrezl Harrell. AD is far more skilled, athletic, and quicker than any big on the Jazz and Clippers combined. Jokic will struggle.
I expect AD to have a MONSTER series.
If Jokic is guarding AD, then perhaps. But AD doesn't want to guard Jokic either, you want Dwight on him ideally, maybe McGee, like in the regular season. Long lanky guys don't work on Jokic unless they're as big and athletic as Gobert. We might see very little of Jokic/AD 1 on 1, we'll probably see a lot of Millsap on AD and McGee/Dwight on Jokic. Both Jokic and AD will have monster series if they're guarding each other.