WCF Nuggets v Lakers | Series & Game 1 Preview

Back to the bubble. But wait, did the bubble count? Didn’t we put an

asterisk on that time? Or do we only says things don’t count and give them an

asterisk when we don’t like what happened? Either way, we are headed back to

the bubble, this time not on Space Mountain and not in a global pandemic. This

time, we will have crowds, and traveling and home-court advantage and oh yeah,

altitude. Not sure if it’s a coincidence or a conspiracy that the same four teams in

this year’s respective Conference Final mirrors the matchups back in 2020. But

let’s not get all revisionist history, let’s look ahead to Game 1 of the Western

Conference Finals. Nuggets vs Lakers.

Not only have the Nuggets never made it past this round, Denver is 0-7 lifetime in playoff series vs LA, the last being of course 2020, before that it was

Kobe vs Melo in 2009. While there is some national media saying this series will have the same result as in the 80s, 2009 and the bubble, the flashy lights of

Hollywood doesn’t let them see past that both of these teams are completely different. There are only three Nugget players that played in that series in 2020, four if you include forward Vlatko Cancar, but he didn’t get any minutes; Michael Porter Jr., Jamal Murray and of course 2x MVP Nikola Jokic were the three. Only two for the Lakers from that year, Anthony Davis and LeBron James. Three for LA if you include Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, but he is now on Denver’s roster. LeBron has acknowledged that both his and Denver’s team are not the same from that year, and that this year’s Nuggets’ team is “really, really, really, really good.” When Phoenix acquired Kevin Durant, the Suns were thrust into being the favorites to come out of the west, but not only were those “experts” who labeled them that wrong, they soon found out that Denver exposed Phoenix’s top-heavy roster. No depth. Trading away all their bench for KD. This is not the case for the Lakers, as they are a much deeper team than Phoenix, with capable shooters and

big bodies you can throw in to be physical with Jokic. LA is also a much for physical, drive to the rim team. Devin Booker and Kevin Durant did not want any part of a physical series. Even the 38 year-old LeBron James will body you up, back you down and attempt to get a bucket in the paint. While his counterpart Anthony Davis may stray away from contact, he will stand his ground in the middle on defense. His mere presence in the paint will either affect your shot, or you’ll be seeing him in the corner of your eye. Not saying the Nuggets will do either of those, in fact, they may want to do the opposite and try and get AD into foul trouble.

Also, let’s just get this out of the way because we are going to hear a lot of chatter about the whistle and the refs in this series. But seeing and watching almost every minute of these NBA Playoffs, it can be said that the officiating has been sub-par, to say the least. The Lakers have a crazy +95 in free throw attempts in the playoffs to the Nuggets’ measly +14. There might be such thing as a “LA whistle”, but the Nuggets just have to learn to play around that and know how the game is going to be called, and stay disciplined. Both teams and both coaches

are going to try to get their guys into position to try and get the best players on the court into foul trouble.

Game 1- Keys for the Nuggets

Now, as we look at game 1, as mentioned above, the Nuggets now have something in their possession that they did not have in the bubble- the altitude. This first game of the series may not be considered a “must-win” for either team, but it is very pivotal. Denver only lost 7 home games during the regular season and hasn’t lost yet at home in the playoffs. Denver’s keys for this game at home is

to RUN. Try and catch LA in transition. As great as LeBron was and is, he’s still a 38 year-old on a bum foot running at altitude. There is no doubt that he is still in peak shape, and we all know about his chase down blocks, but these minutes will catch up. The Lakers will go as Anthony Davis goes. While his 30 point, 20 rebound games stand out, his 12 point-7 rebound games also stand out. The question the last couple weeks is “which AD will show up?” or “can his body and health make it thru a long playoff series?” While probably AD doesn’t have the answers for those, you still have to be mindful of his dominate defensive presence in the middle, as he leads all

players in the playoffs in blocks. The other key for the Nuggets is to just play physical, like stated before, there will be some “gamesmanship” so-to-speak in trying to get key players into foul trouble. Who will we see on Jokic? Lakers’ head coach Darvin Ham said AD will probably start on him, but they have “some tricks up their sleeve”. Well, they don’t call him Joker for nothing, look for the 2x MVP to not change his game, but add to it that maybe the Lakers haven’t seen on film.

Game 1- Keys for the Lakers

Maybe the first key for the Lakers to have a chance in this game that people might say is to get Jokic off the floor- meaning get him in foul trouble. During Denver’s series vs Phoenix, the Nuggets had only one game (in Phoenix) in which they were a minus while Joker was on the bench. Which leads to the next key for LA- try and do as much as you can while Jokic is getting a breather. We may see veteran DeAndre Jordan or former Laker Thomas Bryant take the floor as just another big body, with expendable fouls, to be out there to be on AD (but don't bank on that). Because AD will be on the floor when Joker isn’t. What he Nuggets have done in previous playoff games is shift Aaron Gordon to the five, while AG kept Kevin Durant in check, he does give up a few inches if he is on AD. But for the most part, look for Gordon to be on LeBron for the majority of this game and the series. Another key for the Lakers might be as simple as just letting Nikola Jokic get his and force everyone else, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon, Bruce Brown, etc. make plays and make shots. Finally, try and steal a game in Denver. All the Nuggets have to do is him home games and the series is over, if LA can do that, this will be a very interesting series.

Overall, this should be a pretty fun, physical series. There would be no surprise if this series went 4 games to 7. During the series I would encourage people watching to really soak it all in. While the Lakers have every playoff series they’ve ever had against the Nuggets, but try and soak it in now that LeBron, regardless of what you think of him or the way he goes about things, is still doing amazing things 20 years deep in the league. Lakers’ fans, I encourage you to just watch the way Nikola Jokic goes about his business. While his game isn’t flashy, or

exciting or sexy, it is poetry in motion.