After dispatching both the Memphis Grizzlies and the Golden State Warriors with four wins in six games, the Lakers have their collective target locked in on the Denver Nuggets, for whom they prepped at a Monday morning practice in the Mile High City.
Upon arriving in Colorado on Sunday evening for an extra day to acclimate to the altitude, L.A. started to break down a Nuggets squad that includes only three players from the 2019-20 WCF matchup in the Bubble that the Lakers won 4-1.
“They’re a better team,” said LeBron James. “Obviously, more experienced. Every game, every postseason, every matchup allows you to continue to grow as a franchise, as a team, and they’ve done that. We come in with the utmost respect for this team – we look forward to the matchup.”
Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. are the three carryovers; that’s actually one more than the Lakers have, with just LeBron and Anthony Davis there in Orlando. With some help from Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee at the time, AD and LeBron were critical in limiting Jokic to 21.8 points on 53.2% FG’s, with 7.2 boards and 5.0 assists in 33.4 minutes, as he fell victim to some foul trouble.
Since then, Jokic has grown considerably as a player, with a pair of MVP awards to show for it. Most recently, he’s averaging 30.7 points on 54.9% FG’s with 12.8 boards and 9.7 assists in 37.7 minutes in a 4-1 series win over Minnesota plus a 4-2 victory over Phoenix.
“Everyone knows how great (Jokic) is,” said Darvin Ham. “We have to mix up pitches – AD will start on him, but we have a few different guys that will see action against him … we’ll do everything we can to do our work early and keep him off balance.”
LeBron kept it simple when asked about the difference in Jokic’s game: “He’s continued to get better.”
And yet, as terrific as Jokic is offensively, the Lakers do have the best defensive player in the world – Davis, of course – to deploy in his direction. They also have several players – including Davis, LeBron and three playmaking guards – to attack Jokic on the other end of the floor. Jokic is far from a rim protector in the classic sense, and while the Nuggets do scheme to keep opponents out of the paint, they struggle to stop those that do get home.
The ability of LeBron and AD teams to both reach, and protect, the paint, has been a massive key in their combined 6-1 postseason record, with the lone loss coming when Davis got hurt in Game 4 of the 2021 Round 1 playoff series against Phoenix, with LAL 2-1 at the time.
“It all boils down to health for myself and AD and this franchise when we joined each other four years ago,” summarized LeBron.
Clearly, he has considerable confidence in their ability to be the first to win four games against an opponent, both due to their talent on the court, as well as their skill in making key adjustments. LeBron has seen it all.
“That’s what it’s all about,” he allowed. “Being able to make adjustments in between games, within the game as well. Because you come into a series, everyone knows everyone. It’s not like you come in with new offensive sets, new defensive sets and new personnel. It’s the same personnel that’s been there, but being able to make timely adjustments in between games is very helpful for our ball club.”
The Lakers made a big adjustment in Game 6 against Golden State, starting Dennis Schröder in place of Jarred Vanderbilt, which really opened things up for L.A.’s offense. LeBron and AD stepped up to carry more of a defensive and rebounding load in that alignment; but they have more-than-capable help off the bench in that setup, with Vanderbilt joining Rui Hachimura up front, and the continuing-to-emerge Lonnie Walker IV breaking out as a backup guard.
Will the Lakers stick with that small group, forcing Jokic to defend Davis, and making it tough for Porter Jr. and Murray to find matchups? Can that L.A. group rebound enough against a big Denver team? Will they go back to Vanderbilt, or even try Hachimura to bridge the shooting plus the size? We’ll see.
Having options in a playoff series is a good thing, and the combo of Darvin Ham and LeBron has found the right answers thus far through Round 2, as they search to do so once again in the WCF. “I’m thankful that we have a versatile group, a versatile roster ourselves, a lot of capable players, and then you just have to take it game by game,” said Ham. “You can’t over speculate before the tip off even happens, you’ll drive yourself crazy. We have a solid plan. We’ve looked at a ton of film, so we’ll come out and see what that Game 1 looks like, and obviously adjust within the game when needed.”