An Analysis of the Nuggets/Lakers Series
First off, great job to Joker and the Nuggets. Joker is insane, he should have 4 MVPs by now (Got robbed by NBA racists last year and should win this year) and Denver are champs for a reason. They look like they're going to repeat, I don't see how anyone stops them not even Minnesota
Pretty much all the stars in this series balled out
Nikola Jokic - 28.2 points / 16.2 rebounds / 9.8 assists / 1.2 steals / 0.2 blocks on 59% efficiency (33.3% from 3)
-Insane stats and gameplay overall, he's the MVP for a reason
Jamal Murray - 23.6 points / 4.6 rebounds / 7.2 assists / 0.2 steals / 1 block on 40% efficiency (29.4% from 3)
-Murray didn't play as well as he has been in the playoffs vs the Lakers. He wasn't particularly efficient, but he did come in clutch when they needed him. He performed the worst of the 4 stars but luckily for him the rest of Denver had his back
Anthony Davis - 27.8 points / 15.6 rebounds / 4 assists / 0.4 steals / 1.6 blocks on 63.4% efficiency (0% from 3 only 1 attempt tho)
-AD played crazy for most of the series. Unfortunately when they dropped game 2 at the buzzer you know the series was over because AD was gonna AD at some point. 15 points in a must win game 5, das not it mane
Lebron James - 27.8 points / 6.8 rebounds / 8.8 assists / 2.4 steals (wtf?) / 1 block on 56.6% efficiency (38.5% from 3)
-What else can you say. Lebron doing this in his 21st season at 40 years old is insane. He averaged more points this year than every other players that has had a 21st season combined. He out played Jamal Murray and held his own vs Joker. Unfortunately at his age he just can't keep his foot on the gas for the entire game any more and 40 minutes/game is just too much. You could tell he had no legs left at the end of every game
Now, let's look at where Denver really won this one
Denver other starting 3 (Porter Jr, Gordon, KCP)
Combined for 45 points/game, 20.2 rebounds/game and 8 assists/game. Good efficiency from Porter Jr/Gordon including a crazy 48.8 3P% for Porter Jr
-They just flat out out played their Lakers counterparts, especially Porter Jr. He legit looked like a big 3 out there with Joker and Jamal averaging 22.8 PPG with much better effiency than Jamal. He's pretty much the main reason Denver won this series
Lakers other starting 3 (Diangelo Russel, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura)
Combined for 38 points/game, 10.4 rebounds/game and 8.6 assists/game. Mediocre efficiency across the board, horrible FT% from Russell/Rui. Austin Reaves an abyssmal 26% 3P% on 5 attempts/game
-This is why the Lakers lost. These guys could not keep it together. One would have a good game, and the other two would have mediocre or chit games. Including:
Game 1: Rui with just 7 points, Dlo shooting 30%
Game 2: Rui with 3 points on 14% efficiency (lol), Reaves with just 9 points
Game 3: Rui with 5 points, Dlo with ZERO points
Game 4: They all played at least halfway decent, Lakers won
Game 5: Reaves and Dlo shot 25% and 20% from 3 respectively. Dlo was 2 for 10 from 3
Let's also not forget to mention Spencer Dinchiddie who managed just 3 points a game off the bench and shot 25% from 3. He also missed both his FTs late in game 5, just lol
At least Taurean Prince managed to almost match Rui with 7.4 points/game in just 14 mins/game. A silver lining I guess
I think this Lakers team would have beat any other team in the West except maybe the Timberwolves. It's pretty clear that Lebron is just too old to carry a team and play 40+ mins/game anymore. AD really let this team down
Thoughts?
