Nuggets-Lakers Game 1
Let’s run through some quick thoughts on Game 1 of the Nuggets-Lakers series…
30-20-10 triple-doubles in the NBA playoffs: Nikola Jokic (2), Everyone else in the history of American professional basketball (2).
The degree to which Jokic had full control of every inch of the floor in the first half was unlike anything I’ve seen in quite a while. Obviously, we all know about what he can do offensively; but the defense in the first half was terrific, both in one-on-one situations and especially in pick and rolls. He was shutting off the rim! That’s the thing he’s supposed to be Not Good at. (Things reverted in a big way in the second half.)
Give it up to Darvin Ham. Going with a bigger lineup featuring Rui Hachimura to bully one of Denver’s smaller wings, plus shifting Anthony Davis’s defensive matchup from Jokic to Aaron Gordon were both terrific adjustments. How well did moving AD from Jokic to Gordon work? Well (via Second Spectrum)…
There seem to be a few simple adjustments the Nuggets can make if (when) the Lakers stick with that matchup next game. First, get Gordon out of the dunker spot so AD can’t just hang out in the middle of the paint. Move him to the wing (not the corner, from where Davis can more easily sink in), have him being the guy to throw the entry pass to Jokic in the post and then cut through to the opposite side, have him screening for Jokic and/or Murray out near the top of the key… just have him anywhere but directly under the rim.
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