They have us right where they want us. Nuggets are in the driver’s seat now. So on and so forth. Joking aside, last night’s game featured a few changes Laker fans had been clamoring for, the activation of Kyle Kuzma and a thrilling finish that was framed as a debate about fouls. Let’s dig in.
- The foul disparity issue. It’s been a contentious point since game 1 when, in the 2nd quarter, we wen to the line 24 times. Then the Nuggets got a couple games where they were allowed to wail on LeBron seeing him shoot 10 free throws over 3 games. The Lakers informed the NBA of their displeasure at this anomaly and last night saw James shoot 14 freebies, making 11. This is the one part of the playoffs I never miss: coaches griping about free throws. I get it, coaches have to bring it up (especially when the media brings it up) but it’s one of those things I feel like kind of ruins the fun. It was a well-fought contest, Murray probably ought to have shot 2-4 more free throws.
- Starting Dwight Howard. This probably ought to have happened after game 2, maybe even after he started the second half of game 1. Regardless the All-Star, Defensive Player of the Year, future Hall of Fame’r made his presence felt instantly. Now I am a fan of JaVale McGee, maybe not his current hair-do, but there’s no question that Dwight has more talent, speed and athleticism. Starting him against Jokic was the right move, just sort of surprised it took Frank this long to commit to it. One assumes the line up will stay this way for the duration of the series but I do wonder what looms ahead should we advance. At any rate, kudos to JaVale for being the consummate teammate and pro.
- Laker bench was competitive, again. While they were out-scored 35-26, out-rebounded 13-11 they caused more turnovers (4 steals to 1) and Rondo had an upswing game. Rondo is making some great reads these days and his shot is falling enough to keep the defense honest. That’s a huge factor in the win last night. Both Rondo and Caruso committed some highway robbery on Jokic when he caught the ball and brought it too low a couple of times. Caruso had a fantastic steal where he literally ripped the ball from Nikola’s hands.
- Laker defense mixing up it’s looks. This is the key to the series. Denver has so many ways they can score. Off of passes from Jokic or Murray, iso plays for Nikola or Murray, the pick and roll, LeBron James rose to the challenge of defending Murray in the closing minutes of the game and he did an admirable job. The Lakers need to keep the two Denver stars guessing what the coverage is, where the help will come from and then change that up from game to game. Our defense has to be on point for the close out, this Denver team is too dangerous to give them any more games. They’re going to come out desperate and loose on Saturday and we need to bring our A defense, hold down that advantage on the glass and keep forcing turnovers.
- Denver’s counter. I think we’ll see them force Howard out to the three point line in the next game. Jokic played fairly passively, reminded me of LeBron’s game 2. That won’t happen in game 5. I don’t know how Denver will try to get him engaged but I’d force Howard out from the paint. I also would expect to see a small parade of Nuggets trotting to the free throw line in game 5, as well. Game 5 close out is going to be tough, we’re going to need a couple guys to stay aggressive and make even more shots. It would help if our bench showed up large. But we can end this series this weekend if we show up with great effort and focus, need to bring that A game because Denver has proven one thing: being down 3-1 doesn’t affect their confidence or desire so we need to match that and apply pressure for 48 hard minutes of basketball.
All in all, I kind of expect us to lose the next game. I think Denver is going to go hard at Dwight, maybe force him onto Murray, get him in foul trouble and force us to either play McGee or go small, both of which are favorable match-ups for Nikola Jokic. AD and LBJ need to play effectively and efficiently, the team needs to keep on crashing the glass and we need to have a solid game from the 2 stripes: free throws and three pointers. We do all that and I like our chances.
Excellent ‘Fiver,’ Jamie, although I see some things differently.
1. Fouls? Ruins the fun? Tell that to LeBron. There is no equity when it comes to how the zebras treat him versus players like Luka, Harden, or even Murray. It reminds me of the inequity with which they treated Shaq, ignoring bumps and contact that are fouls with other players because of the physical stature.
2. Starting Howard? Benching McGee? Better late than never is not acceptable. The big question is what happens next game? Or next series, when we play the Heat? Dwight should certainly start Game 5. Like to see AD at the five for the Finals.
3. Rondo was terrific again, clearly the Lakers’ third best player but Caruso has been disappointing in this series. 3 points last night and 2 points Tuesday night won’t cut it despite the occasional good defense. Needs to play a lot better for the 22.5 minutes per game he’s getting.
4. Defense was not great last night but agree on mixing the zone and LeBron shutting down Murray. The Nuggets outshot us from the field and three. Agree we need to be better Saturday.
5. I think Denver might fold Saturday night. Murray was almost despondent during his interview. Looked really down. And they ran out of gas in the fourth, another goose egg for Joker and Murray got shut down by LeBron. The jokers (no pun intended) love to say they have us right where they want us at 1-3, but midnight has struck and the train has turned into a pumpkin. Lakers in five in a breeze.
Agreeing with you, but don’t think Nuggs will just fold the tent.
They will play hard to start but at some point, they will fold the tent.
That’d be great and you would have loved me as a Teach! Lol!
1) What I mean by this point isn’t that I think the game was reffed better or worse rather that the post game “chess” game of getting into whomever is officiating on Saturday’s head about how the game will be called. It’s fairly tiresome to listen to at this point. LeBron ought to average around 8-10 FTA/game. I really just wish the NBA would add to the ref squad but that’s a topic for the off-season. Bad reffing diminishes a great product.
2) This is one I know you like to harp on, doesn’t bother me as much. Really it’s the small ball minutes that I think we need to lose more than anything else. As splendidly as Morris played in the last series he’s getting eaten alive on defense and not producing offense enough to compensate. But starting Howard is the right choice, just based on an energy level and his superior post D. Next series I’m thinking we start the same as we do every series; McGee jumping center, Vogel said as much in his post-gamer. Now does that hold up for the series? That’s a big “we’ll see”
3) Caruso isn’t in there to score points, his scoring is the gravy to his mashed tater defense. He’ll hit around 30% of his threes and get a drive or two in. Watch him on offense and you might just notice he’s one of our better screeners. But his calling card is defense.
4) LeBron stepping on defense is a 2, maybe 3, minute drill. It’s not a game long affair. He carries too much of the overall team load for him to exert that much energy until the game needs to be closed out. I think we did a better job at containing the Denver perimeter game and playing defense without fouling. I expect that last sentence to change in game 5.
5) Denver has no fold in them. I think Murray was pissed at the down-the-stretch officiating and he has a worthy beef there. His off-balance, left-handed fade-away was created off of LeBron bumping him in the air, a foul any Laker fan would have howled for on the other end and rightly so. In my mind a lot of the fouls being called really just ought not to be, this is the playoffs. But, since it’s such a hot topic now, I expect a parade of Nuggets on Saturday and a minimum of a +10 FTA for Denver. We’ll need to play a great game on both ends to win, as we’ve had to do in every game except game 1. Even that one ended up a lot closer than it ought to have. Denver won’t quit, though. If the Lakers think it’s over they’ll end up doing the one thing they don’t want: give that Nugget squad a little life.
1. One thing I don’t want to see is more fouls, which I worry about with more refs. My irritant is the offensive player getting a foul for the contact he causes and intentional fouls to stop fast breaks. But, as you say, another day.
2. Start McGee against the Heat? That would be a big mistake. Aside from the fact he has stunk since the bubble, he’s a bad matchup against the heat. Bam will eat him up in the paint and on the boards and Crowder would be a terrible matchup for AD pulling him out of the paint. Look at how Miami plays. They play small ball. Howard, sure. McGee, effing no.
3. Alex is a good defender but he you can’t play him with Rondo and Howard as you kill your offense. And 3 points and 2 points the last two games in 22.5 minutes is not contributing.
4. LeBron shut down Murray. That was why we won the game last night. It wasn’t a minor detail. Did you watch the end of the game?
5. Yeah, Denver is a gutty team. Did you see Jamal’s interview? They’re whipped and the know it. At some point, they’ll quit and Malone will put in the DNP guys are.
H’ok. We’ll see…
…yes, I saw the end of the game. As I said, had a Laker driven the lane, gotten bumped off his shot and made the basket but no ‘and-1’ Laker Nation (rightly) would have howled bloody murder. Had we lost the game on that kind of thing Laker fans would be up in arms calling for Vogel’s head, the officiating crew to be pilloried and so on.
The grit you dismiss in Caruso is the same thing that informs me that Denver isn’t dead. Ask Utah and the Clippers who, I’m sure, were thinking the same thing. Grit doesn’t get a stat line, either. The points from Caruso are gravy. Would it be nice if he scored more? Sure, but I would ask that of Danny Green and Kyle Kuzma before I lambast Caruso who at least leaves it all on the court every night.
Here’s the thing, I doubt there’s much disagreement that the Lakers are the more talented and veteran team. Because they are. That doesn’t mean they will show up with the proper energy and focus. It really only means that, if they don’t, they should know better. So if the Lakers don’t play at least as well as last night, if not better, there’s a decent chance they’ll be talking about not giving Denver any more life in their post gamers tomorrow night, sounding tired, etc.