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Four Reasons Lakers Would Be Smart To Hard Cap Themselves Next Season

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If you see Jeanie Buss wildly dancing and dropping dollars on TicToc like Ja Morant at Shotgun Willie’s, it’s because her L.A. Lakers have finally figured out how to compete for championships without having to pay luxury taxes.

If the Lakers are committed to bringing back and upgrading the core of last season’s conference finals team, the best roster building strategy to elevate the team to championship level could ironically be to hard cap themselves. Being hard capped at $169 million brings a set of advantages beyond paying zero luxury taxes. Hard capped teams can receive sign-and-trade players and have $16.6 million in exceptions to sign free agents under hard cap.

The Lakers’ ownership, front office, and coaching staffs should be proud of the team’s great finish last season and looking forward to even more this season. The Lakers still need a few roster tweaks to reach full potential.
They need to figure out what to do with D’Angelo Russell. Per Jovan Buha, the Lakers prefer to sign-and-trade him, wasive him, or re-sign him in that order. Fortunately, Pelinka did a great job giving the Lakers great options.

The Lakers also need to decide who will be the fifth starter to replace Vanderbilt. Will it be Hachimura? Or do the Lakers trade for a starting center like Turner? Both of those solutions leave LeBron defending the 3. Ideally, the best solution might be to find a legitimate 3&D small forward so James can play power forward. The only problem is every team in the league is looking for that same exact player, an O.G. Annuby clone.

Besides avoiding luxury taxes, here are four reasons why the Lakers hard capping themselves offers the most flexibility and would be the best roster building strategy to upgrade the team to championship level this summer.

1. New CBA Favors Teams That Hard Cap

The NBA’s new CBA includes major changes designed to prevent teams like the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers from willingly paying whatever crazy and exorbitant luxury taxes it takes to win a championship.

At the heart of the change is a second luxury tax threshold set at $17.5 million above the $162 million tax line or $179.5 million. Exceed that tax threshold and a team loses its MLE and has other severe limitations. Overall, the penalties are so draconian that $179.5 million will likely become the ‘de facto’ hard cap going forward. The effect will be to even the total salaries a team can pay and further even the competitive landscape.

NBA teams who exceed a second $179 million luxury tax threshold will incur harsh competitive penalties like not being able to use their MLE, take back more salary in a trades, or sign candidates from the buyout market. The league also reduced the Taxpayer MLE to $5 million, meaning a team with salaries over the luxury tax apron will only have $5 million available to sign free agents for whom they do not have either Bird or Early Bird rights.

Overall, the new CBA was targeted directly at the rich owners of the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, and Brooklyn Nets who treated luxury tax penalties as just another necessary cost to win an NBA championship. Look for those teams to lose free agents and trade players under contract to make sure they get under the $179.5 million second tax threshold. Expect the Lakers to be closely looking at those teams’ free agents and rosters.

By opting to hard cap themselves, the Lakers will be able to spend a total of $16.6 million via MLE and BAE instead of just $5 million to sign their own free agents without Bird or Early Bird rights or other team’s free agents.

2. Hard Cap Lets Lakers Bring Back Core

Despite being hard capped, the Lakers could still bring back their 9 best players from last season’s conference finals team, including James, Davis, Christie, Vanderbilt, Russell, Reaves, Hachimura, Schroder, and Walker IV.

James, Davi, Vanderbilt, and Christie had contracts while Russell, Reaves, and Hachimura were re-signed using Bird rights. Schroder was signed with MLE and Walker with BAE. Lively and Livingston were 2023 draft picks. Three open roster spots for minimum salary players brings the Lakers’ active roster to 14-players, 9 of whom were part of the team that made the conference finals and finished as one of the best 4 teams in the league.

What we’re seeing is the Lakers can build a championship contending team while being hard capped provided they pursue a two-superstar and deep roster model rather than the three-superstars model had with Westbrook. The Lakers don’t need to pay luxury taxes to bring back the core of their conference finals team. They can still bring back the 9 best players from that roster while still remaining below the $169 million NBA hard cap.

Rob Pelinka deserves kudos for the job he did in making over this roster. Not only are they near championship caliber, They’re young with real upside and they can bring most of them back despite being hard capped.

3. Hard Cap Gives Lakers $12.2 Million MLE

But the Lakers may not want to spend their $12.2 million MLE or their $4.4 million BAE on Dennis Schroder and Lonnie Walker IV. They could waive them both and instead use the exceptions to sign other team’s free agents.

We know the Bucks may have to dramatically reduce payroll due to the new CBA, which means that the Lakers might be able to convince free agent center Brook Lopez to accept the $12.2 million NT Mid Level Exception. Lopez might love the opportunity to play again for Ham rather than a new coach in Milwaukee and reuniting in Los Angeles with the Lakers where Disneyland is just a short drive away could be a very feasible move.

Top free agents whom the Lakers might pursue with their $12.2 million non-taxpayer MLE could include Brook Lopez, Bobby Portis, Bruce Brown, Naz Reid, Kyle Kuzma, Kelly Oubre, Dillon Brooks, and Alec Burks. Alternatively, the Lakers can split the $12.2 million MLE between two players and the $4.4 million BAE between two players to upgrade the roster so that the backups for each position were not minimum salary players.

Having $16.6 million rather than $5 million in exceptions to sign their own or other teams’ free agents is a huge advantage for a team like the Lakers who usually operate over the cap and just need one or two more players. Being able to offer an unrestricted free agent from your team or another team the $12.2 million non-taxpayer MLE versus the $5.0 million taxpayer MLE is one of the major advantages of a team hard capping themselves.

The Lakers should seriously consider offering their $12.2 million non-taxpayer MLE to an impact two-way player like Brook Lopez who’s exactly what they need since the path to the championship goes through Jokic.

4. Hard Cap Lets Lakers S&T for 3rd Star

While being hard capped would limit the Lakers to a total payroll of $169 million, it would also give them the ability to pull off a sign-and-trade for Kyrie Irving to join superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis in L.A.

LeBron James and the Lakers’ have long coveted superstar Kyrie Irving, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, although there were rumors that he already has a ‘handshake’ deal to re-sign with the Mavs.
But there is a scenario where Kyrie Irving decides he has a better chance of winning an NBA championship with LeBron James in LA than with Luka Doncic in Dallas and the two teams pull off a mega double sign-and-trade.

While unlikely, here’s how it could happen. The Lakers sign Russell to a 3-year $60 million deal, exercise Beasley’s team option, and trade the two to the Mavs for Kyrie Irving, who would sign a 3-year $112.5 million contract. Kyrie gets 3 years at $37.5 million to play with LeBron. The Lakers lose Russell and Beasley in trade and waive Bamba. They also no longer have space under hard cap to use MLE and BAE to re-sign Schroder and Walker.

Despite being hard capped, the Lakers could still sign-and-trade for Irving, assuming he would accept $35 million per year, and still be able to bring back James, Davis, Reaves, Hachimura, Christie, and their two draft picks.

Major changes in the CBA, ability to bring back their core, opportunity to offer free agents the $12 million NT MLE, and ability to sign-and-trade for a superstar are the four reasons why the Lakers should hard cap themselves.

Hard capping not only would eliminate any luxury tax for this season but also start the process of reversing their current status as a repeat offender, which has suddenly become much more urgent with the tougher new CBA. There’s no question Jeanie Buss and the Lakers were one of the teams in favor of the harsh new second luxury tax threshold. It should bring back sanity to team building that was undone by the Warriors and Clippers.

One of the most impressive parts of the masterful job Rob did setting the stage for the Lakers to take the next step in building a championship roster was the flexibility that the collection of players he signed gives the team. Rob has all his ducks in a row. Reaves and Hachimura are restricted free agents. Beasley, Bamba, and Vanderbilt have team options on non-guaranteed contracts. The team also has two tradable first round picks.

By hard capping, Rob has three exciting options available to him. He can bring back everybody from last year’s team including Dennis Schroder and Lonnie Walker by using the $12.2 million MLE and the $4.4 million BAE.
Or Rob can use those exceptions for other team’s free agents. The MLE might be enough to sign free agent center Brook Lopez. Or the Lakers can go all-in and try to pull off a mega double sign-and-trade for Kyrie Irving.

Bottom line, the Lakers would be smart to hard cap themselves this season so they can take advantage of the new CBA rules and either bring back last season’ team, upgrade it with a star player, or trade for a third superstar.

Myles Turner Plus Last Season Roster Would Transform Lakers Into Champs

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If the Lakers want to seriously compete for a championship, they need to trade Malik Beasley, Mo Bamba, and 2029 first round pick to the Pacers for Myles Turner and bring back their core rotation from last season’s roster.

That would give the Lakers a proven 12-man roster with 9 rotation players from last season’s ‘post-trade deadline’ roster, including James, Davis, Reaves, Russell, Vanderbilt, Christie, Walker, Hachimura, and Schroder. Besides trading for 6′ 11″ center Myles Turner, the Lakers would use their #17 pick in the first round for 6’11” Duke center Dereck Lively II and their #47 pick in the second round for 6′ 7″ Kentucky forward Chris Livingston.

The Lakers’ goal this offseason is not only to build a championship team but also to be in position two years from now to be the premier landing spot to attract an NBA superstar to replace LeBron James when he’s likely to retire. The Lakers want to do a better job making the transition from the LeBron James era than they did moving on from the Magic Johnson or Kobe Bryant eras, which were followed by years of bad rosters and losing seasons.

Pelinka has already said the Lakers were going to try to bring back the core of the team that surprised everybody by being the fourth best in the league after the trade deadline and making it all the way to the conference finals. The challenge will be to accomplish that without crossing the threshold of the league’s new draconian second luxury tax, which starts when a team’s payroll exceeds $186.5 million, which will become the NBA’s real hard cap.

Let’s look at what the Lakers would have to give up to trade for Turner, what they’re likely to do in the draft, how they’re going to bring back their core, and what their starting lineup and rotation would look like after the trade.

1. Lakers Trade With Pacers For Myles Turner

The Lakers have long coveted Indiana center Myles Turner and came close to trading for him before the start of last season before backing out at the last minute. The timing for pursuing Turner now appears to be perfect.

The Lakers need to get bigger, younger, and better defensively and easiest way to accomplish that is to trade for the Pacers’ 27-year old 6′ 11″ center Myles Turner and move LeBron James and Anthony Davis down a position. Turner is the crown Rob Pelinka needs to add to the masterful makeover of the Lakers’ roster he pulled off last trade deadline. He and a pair of stud rookies in Lively and Livingston are the final pieces to the Lakers’ puzzle.

When the Lakers and the Pacers discussed trading Turner last summer, Indiana wanted one first round pick for taking on Westbrook’s contract and one for Myles Turner with protection on the two picks a big sticking point. The trade was always about Turner for draft capital with any Lakers players simply being salary filler. Realistically, the Lakers are going to have to make their 2029 first round pick unprotected for the Pacers to make trade.

Trading for a starting center like Myles Turner would allow Anthony Davis and LeBron James to move down a position, have positional size advantage, and reduce physicality and avoid injury by playing against smaller players. With Turner replacing Vanderbilt, the Lakers starting lineup is suddenly dramatically better at both ends of the court. Turner adds both horizontal and vertical spacing on offense and is one of the league’s top shot blockers.

Finally, trading Beasley and Bamba for Turner will save the Lakers $5.8 million in annual salaries, which not only allows the Lakers to bring back almost everybody from last year but also to avoid the NBA’s new luxury tax.

2. Lakers Turn to Klutch Sports for 2023 Draft

The silver lining of this season is the Lakers ending up with the #17 and #47 picks in what should be an excellent draft class. Look for the Lakers to lean heavily on their long alliance with Klutch Sports when making their picks.

The Lakers’ biggest two roster priorities are finding an athletic center who can play defense and protect the rim and a legitimate bigger 3&D wing who can guard the bigger wing scorers who dominate the Western Conference. Fortunately for the Lakers, Rich Paul and Klutch Sports have two clients in the upcoming 2023 NBA Draft in 6′ 11″ Duke center Dereck Lively II and 6′ 7″ 3&D wing Chris Livingston who would be excellent fits on their roster.

Lively has been projected to be drafted by the Lakers at #17 in several mock drafts while Livingston worked out for Los Angeles right after Klutch Sports Pro Day last week. Both are elite athletes who provide depth and upside. The Lakers as a team want to get younger, bigger, and better defensively. They got a great start when Pelinka remade the roster at the trade deadline and now Rob has an opportunity to finish the job with a killer NBA draft.

The Lakers’ scouting department has shown great ability to find talent late in the first round, second round, or undrafted. If they can land Dereck Lively II and Chris Livingston, they would deserve a draft grade of A+.

3. Lakers Bring Back Core of Last Year’s Team

The Los Angeles Lakers currently have 4 players still under contract in James, Davis, Vanderbilt, and Christie and 5 players whom they would like to bring back in Reaves, Hachimura, Russell, Schroder, and Walker.

The above salary cap projection show the Lakers re-signing restricted free agents Reaves and Hachimura to long-term contracts and unrestricted free agents Russell, Walker, and Schroder using Bird, Early Bird, and TPMLE.
Re-signing those 5 players would then mean the Lakers were returning 9 of 15 players from the roster that made it to the conference finals last year, which would give them better continuity heading into next season.

By saving $5.8 million in annual salary in the Myles Turner trade, the Lakers were able to keep their total salaries under the NBA’s $186.5 million second luxury tax threshold and avoid its multiple draconian competitive penalties. There’s no question the NBA’s new second luxury tax is essentially going to establish $186.5 million as the league’s ‘de facto’ hard cap because the penalties for exceeding the threshold greatly impact competitiveness.

By adding Turner and two draft picks to their core rotation from last year, the Lakers are projected to spend $185 million in salaries and pay $47 million in luxury taxes for a total annual payroll expense of $232 million. With three open roster spots for veteran players as insurance or younger players with upside, the Lakers have an opportunity to start next season with the best and deepest roster they’ve had in the LeBron and AD era.

This summer is the second phase of Rob Pelinka’s master class in extreme roster makeover. This summer’s trade for Turner and great draft should finally win Rob Pelinka his overdue trophy as NBA Executive of the Year.

4. Lakers Projected Championship Rotation

Almost every player on the Lakers expressed a desire to see what this team could have done if they had had a training camp and full season to play together, get to know each other, and build some chemistry and rapport.

Imagine bringing back the 9 best players from last season and adding Myles Turner and 2 promising draft picks to that roster. That might be the best 12-player roster in the NBA before you even add two or three more players. The Lakers’ starting lineup of Russell, Reaves, James, Davis, and Turner would be the biggest and baddest defensive team in the league and a bench of Schroder, Walker, Vanderbilt, Hachimura, and Lively would dominate.

This roster would also allow Lakers head coach Darvin Ham to play a deep and diverse 10-man rotation that could dramatically reduce their reliance on and workloads of overworked superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The Lakers know the smartest way to keep their two superstars healthy is to reduce their minutes and workloads and surround them with players who will make their jobs easier and the team far more dangerous.

Ultimately, the Lakers’ roster goal to become younger, bigger, and better defensively will not only pay off by winning more NBA championships but also by making the Lakers the ideal landing spot for LeBron’s replacement. Successfully navigating the transition from LeBron James is right now a bigger challenge for the Lakers than winning next season. As always, the Lakers are trying to have their cake and eat it too. They just might do it.

Rob Pelinka has a great opportunity this summer to transform the Lakers into a championship team by bringing back the core rotation from last season, adding center Myles Turner, and drafting two Klutch Sports clients.

Lakers On Brink Of Elimination Need Miraculous Comeback to Save Season

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LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers are down 0–3 and facing the harsh reality that none of the 149 NBA teams who found themselves down 0–3 was ever able to mount a comeback and win a 7-game playoff series.

Make no mistake. LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the Lakers are not going wave a white flag or throw in the towel. As long as LeBron James and Anthony Davis can lace them up, they’re going to keep on trying to win. James has always had a problematic relationship with the ‘impossible’ and actually proved it was possible to come back from 1–3 in the NBA Finals. What makes you think LeBron can’t make coming back from 0–3 possible?

The most frustrating and infuriating part of being down 0–3 to the Nuggets is that the Lakers had opportunities to win all three games but essentially were clearly outplayed in the last five minutes of each of the three games. The reality from the first three games of the Western Conference Finals is the Nuggets are now better than the Lakers and Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray are now better superstars than LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Frankly, I’m not ready to accept those conclusions from a 3-game sample. Nor am I as a fan, ready to concede LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the Los Angeles Lakers can’t win four straight games from the Denver Nuggets. It certainly won’t be easy, especially with two of the four games in Denver, but the Lakers have no choice but to take the series one game at a time. Right now, the goal is to win Game 4 Monday night and extend the series.

Assuming the Lakers are going to try and win Game 4 Monday night, there are questions to answer, including how hard should Lakers be trying, who should start, and how hard and long to play injury-prone James and Davis.

How Hard Should Lakers Try?

There’s no way this Lakers team doesn’t come out with an all-out desperate aggressive attempt to win Game 4 and force the series to Game 5. This team has never quit and they’re going to die trying before getting swept in four.

Lebron James is 14–11 in elimination games and while no NBA team has ever come back from being down 0–3, he’s the one who’s proven before that ‘once impossible’ tasks can sometimes be changed to ‘now possible’ tasks. Being down 0–3 to the Nuggets is going to be a great character test for this Lakers team. Do they fold like wet laundry or come out angry and defiant and ready to prove they’re not overrated and overhyped as Nuggets claim?

As LeBron showed against the Dubs, nothing is impossible. Win Monday night and the series becomes 1–3. Denver can still pull off a Gentleman’s Sweep. Win in Denver on Wednesday night and then everything changes. Suddenly, the series is 2–3 and the Lakers are just 1 home win away from forcing a Game 7. Win Game 7 in Denver and the Lakers are then just four wins against the Miami Heat from winning their 18th NBA Championship.

The Lakers have to be asking themselves as players and team if they believe they’re still the same team they were before the conference finals began, the team that was totally confident they could beat anybody and win it all? Or did the brash Denver Nuggets steal their competitive soul along with their championship hopes by winning those three games? Or even worse, irreparably damage their self-confidence to be champions in the future?

How the Lakers play tonight will give you their answer. I, for one, fully expect nothing but the kind of win we expected but did not get in Game 3. Lakers have a lot to fight for and prove tonight by preventing a sweep.

Should Ham Change Starters?

Winning Game 4 is an opportunity for Darvin Ham to change the narrative of the 2023 West Finals from his being outcoached by the Nuggets’ Michael Malone to how the Lakers smartly fought back and turned 0–3 into a series.

The first move that Ham needs to make is to bench D’Angelo Russell, who has potentially played himself off of the Lakers and out of a new free agent deal close to the $30 million he’s making in the last year of his contract. While Game 4 could be an opportunity for D’Angelo Russell to start to redeem himself, he’s going to have to be content to do that off the bench. The Lakers need to win this game to avoid an embarrassing sweep.

His logical replacement should be Dennis Schroder, who has the Lakers’ best defensive rating in the series but he has not been providing the outside shooting, points at the rim, or playmaking in the paint the Lakers need. Darvin Ham might be smart to turn instead to Lonnie Walker IV or even untested Max Christie, both of whom have the size and length to defend Murray and the handle, shooting, and playmaking to complement Reaves.

Finally, Darvin Ham needs to start Rui Hachimura, who is the only Lakers player in this series with a positive plus/minus. Hachimura is averaging 10 points per game more than any player not named James, Davis, or Reaves. His ability to play Nikola Jokic 1-on-1 with Anthony Davis providing weak side help has been the Lakers only effective defensive scheme against the Nuggets’ two-time MVP. Hachimura needs play 40 minutes in Game 4.

Darvin Ham will likely start Schroder, Reaves, James, Hachimura, and Davis for Game 4. Russell and Vanderbilt will come off the bench but have short leashes. Lakers need to get off to fast start to lesseon the pressure.

Load Manage James and Davis?

Much as the Lakers would like to pull off a miracle comeback from being down 0–3, the last thing this franchise needs to do is risk a major injury to one of their superstars in a game that has only a remote chance to matter.

Ham and the Lakers should go all out to win this game because it is a test of their heart and character but leaving James and Davis in the game should the Nuggets get ahead by more than 10 points would be too foolish to risk. Both LeBron James and Anthony Davis have long time foot injuries that may require offseason surgery. They both have essentially been playing ‘must win’ games for over two months and they have to be exhausted.

Frankly, the Lakers and their fans desperately need to win Monday night and avoid the bad taste of getting swept. Somehow, some way, Los Angeles has to figure out how to win and keep the series going back to Denver. That’s why Game 4 is so important. The last thing the Lakers want is to spend the entire summer after being swept in a series they thought they could win. All they can do at this point is play one game at a time.

As for James and Davis, the Lakers’ load management has to incorporate the odds the team is playing against when it comes to heavily relying on James and Davis to play heavy minutes under intense playoff pressure. Until the Lakers win a couple of games, the Lakers have to be careful not to risk James and Davis getting injured in playoff games they’re likely to lose. Should the Lakers get the series to 2–3, then it’s all out for James and Davis.

The ideal situation for Game 4 would be for the Lakers to lead the Nuggets by 20 at the half and seal the game in the third quarter so James and Davis could sit the entire fourth quarter. Do that and Lakers will be alive.

How the Lakers Pull Off A Back-Door Sweep and Defeat the Denver Nuggets

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After blowing two golden opportunities to steal a win in Denver, the Los Angeles Lakers still remain on course again to win the series in six games by winning their three home games and stealing one game on the road.

As impressive as Jokic, Murray, and the Nuggets were in their two wins over the Lakers, the reality is they needed a superstar performance that’s probably irreplicable in each game to barely hold home court advantage. Michael Malone can be proud of what his Nuggets accomplished in Denver but this series is far from over and what advantage Denver has right now could be gone by Monday night if the Lakers win their two home games.

The Lakers are a perfect 7–0 in this postseason, winning one home play-in game and six home playoff games in rounds 1 and 2. They dominated all six home playoff games, winning by 18.3 points per game with a 98.3 DefRtg. The Nuggets are going to need another transcendent performance from Jokic or Murray to beat the Lakers at home. Far as Lakers are concerned, they’re right on course to win this series in six games just as planned.

Championships in the NBA are won by superstars and it’s hard to imagine the championship-tested LeBron James and Anthony Davis being outplayed by the Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. They’re have to prove they belong. LeBron James may be old and hurt and Anthony Davis frustratingly inconsistent but there’s no way they’re not going to come out tonight and angrily dominate the Nuggets with the crowd screaming for a massacre.

The Lakers now know they must slow down both Jokic and Murray, which could mean starting both Hachimura and Vanderbilt, who have shown to be the best answers Darvin Ham has to defend the Nuggets’ superstars. They also know they need to dominate the boards and points in the paint, which to me means letting Reaves, Hachimura, and Walker be the outside shooters and having James and Davis dominate the paint and the rim.

The Lakers need to double down on going big and relentlessly punish both Jokic and Murray by targeting them with James and Davis. Put them on the bench with fouls. Wear them out on Defense. Get to the free throw line.
The Lakers know the best way to setup their defense is to get to the line on offense. That means no more ‘hero threes’ from LeBron and Anthony, no more settling for jumpers. Attack the paint and rim relentlessly.

The Lakers are still of the course to win the series is six games. Win Game 3 and 4 at home, steal Game 5 on the road, and close it in Game 6 at home. Lakers pull off improbable back-door sweep and roll into the NBA Finals.

Have LeBron James, Anthony Davis, & Los Angeles Lakers Hit Their Ceiling?

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The bad news is the Los Angeles Lakers lost two close, winnable games on the road to the Denver Nuggets. The good news is the Lakers now have an opportunity to win the next two games in Los Angeles to even the series.

While the Nuggets have a 2–0 lead in the Western Conference Finals over the Lakers, all they have done is to hold home court advantage by winning their two games in Denver. Now it’s the Lakers’ turn with two home games. Unfortunately, losing two games in a row for the first time in two months will likely have the Lakers questioning their series strategies and schemes, especially since they had a legitimate opportunities to win both games.

The reality facing Los Angeles is they lost the first two games of this series because the Nuggets’ underappreciated superstars Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray outplayed Lakers’ superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Jokic averaged an unbelievable 28.5/19.0/13.0 in 28.5 minutes per game while shooting 55.3/50.0/85.7% while Murray averaged 34.0/7.5/5.0 in 39.9 minutes per game while shooting 52.3/45.5/92.3% for the 2 Denver wins.

Meanwhile, James averaged 24.0/10.5/9.5 in 40.0 minutes per game while shooting 51.4/0.0/80.0% while Davis averaged 29.0/12.0/3.5 in 41.4 minutes per game while shooting 47.4/50.0/90.9% during the 2 losses in Denver.
For the 2 games, Jokic and Murray combined for 125 points, 53 rebounds, and 36 assists while James and Davis combined for 106 points, 45 rebounds, and 26 assists, a Nuggets’ edge of 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 10 assists.

So while the Nuggets only held home court, the Lakers have some serious issues to fix before they can count on winning their two home games as their defense was shredded by the Nuggets while their offense struggled. While the Lakers did have some success with Hachimura guarding Jokic and Vanderbilt defending Murray, the Nuggets have been ignoring Vando in the corner so their defense would be able to play 5-on-4 against the Lakers.

As the Lakers get ready to defend their 7–0 postseason home record at Crypto.Com Arena tomorrow night, here are the four big questions they need to answer if they’re going to be able to hold home court in L.A.

1. How to Stop Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic?

The one good sign for the Lakers from the two close losses in Denver is the defensive scheme involving Rui Hachimura defending Nikola Jokic to allow Anthony Davis to roam the paint and protect the rim definitely works.

No scheme will shut down the two-time MVP but Hachimura being Jokic’s primary defender with Davis roaming to protect the rim was successful in keeping Nikola from having another historic performance like in Game 1. While the Lakers will try to keep Hachimura on Jokic as much as possible, there will be switches they can’t avoid and it’s likely that Davis and James will also spend time defending the Joker and maybe even Mo Bamba.

Ham needs to start Hachimura and play him starter minutes. The Lakers’ best strategy to stop Nikola Jokic is to have Rui Hachimura be his primary defender so Anthony Davis is free to patrol the paint and protect the rim.

2. How to Stop Nuggets’ Jamal Murray?

The Lakers best option to slow down Denver Nuggets’ superstar point guard Jamal Murray, who single-handedly scored 23 points in the fourth quarter to beat the Lakers in Game 2, is likely to have Jarred Vanderbilt guard him.

That means the Lakers have to find a way to start Jarred Vanderbilt so he can mirror Jamal Murray’s minutes. The only way to do that is for Jarred Vanderbilt to replace D’Angelo Russell in the starting lineup for this series. That would mean the Lakers going all-in on defense with a starting lineup of Austin Reaves, Jarred Vanderbilt, LeBron James, Rui Hachimura, and Anthony Davis, which is essentially the Lakers’ version of a ‘Death Lineup.’

The Lakers’ championship hopes and aspirations are based on their ability to play defense. What they learned in Denver is they need to start their best defensive lineup to have their best opportunity to win 2 games in L.A.

3. How to Get LeBron James Going?

Game 2 left no doubt LeBron is not 100%. The fourth quarter was a comedy of errors for James as he fumbled away fastbreak dunks, had no lift when down hill in paint, and settled for hero threes instead of attacking the rim.

There’s little the Lakers can do about James’ foot injury that will likely require surgery this offseason but they can limit James minutes so he’s not totally gassed in the fourth quarter and settling for long hero 3-pointers. Frankly, it’s doubtful that going 0–10 from three in the two games in Denver is going to dissuade LeBron James from letting it fly from deep. With Rui and Reaves spacing the floor, the Lakers need to play LeBron in the post.

James may not have the explosiveness, lift, or 3-point shooting to carry the Lakers by himself but playing him closer to the basket where he can take advantage of his superior strength, power, and experience would be smart.

4. How to Get Anthony Davis Going?

Just when you think Anthony Davis has taken the torch from LeBron James, he has a game like Game 2 in Denver where he posts 18/14/4 but shot a poor 4–15 from the field and ended up with a -10 plus/minus for Game 2.

And just like that, the Los Angeles Lakers find themselves down 0–2 to the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals with the newly crowned face of the franchise laying an egg in the biggest playoff game of his career. Anthony Davis needs to attack faster, quicker, and more aggressively on offense. Since he’s guarded by Nikola Jokic, the Lakers need him to attack Jokic and get him in foul trouble so he can’t average 42.2 minutes per game.

The Lakers cannot win with Anthony Davis scoring 18 points. They need him to score in the 30’s and get Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets in foul trouble. Davis needs a monster bounce-back 35/20/5 Game 2 to help Lakers win.