The Los Angeles Lakers have never won against the Denver Nuggets in the last 11 meetings. The main actors of the Lakers, LeBron James and Anthony Davis looked disappointed after losing 105-112, and trailing 0-3 in the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs. If all the players apart from LeBron and AD play badly, then they will continue to lose to the Nuggets.
The frustrating thing about this loss is that LeBron and AD did most of their work. They have been stars who make big plays in big games. Davis ended Game 3 with 33 points, 15 rebounds and 3 assists, then LeBron contributed 26 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists. However, the supporting players did not make a good contribution.
It started with Game 1, where Rui Hachimura put in a valiant defensive effort. But in the third game, he only scored five points, with a +/- reaching -12. Then, the Lakers got a great performance from D’Angelo Russell in Game 2, but at that time Austin Reaves had difficulty scoring points, so the Lakers lost.
Continue to Game 3 where Reaves scored 22 points. However, at the same time, Russell couldn’t break the goose egg, meaning he didn’t score any points at all. Russell, who was supposed to play a role in the Lakers’ offensive improvement, finished with a shooting accuracy of 0 from 7 attempts. Russell declined to speak to reporters after the game, according to a team spokesman.
This is different from the Nuggets. They had two players, Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr., who each scored 20 points to support stars Nikola Jokic (29 points, 15 rebounds) and Jamal Murray (22 points, 9 assists) in the third game. Asked if the Lakers were overwhelmed by the Nuggets’ offense, James said, “You have to ask those questions of individuals and see how they feel. It’s hard for me to say, ‘This is how I think guys feel.’ … I can’t do that. I’m not a mind reader.”
“We, me and this guy (Anthony Davis) have been playing together for six years,” continued LeBron James. “We’ve reached the top of the mountain. We’re close to the top of the mountain. We’ve played a lot of games. We know what it takes to win. We know what it takes to win a championship and how close to perfect you have to be. It’s not something crazy to obtained.”
It seems impossible for the Lakers against the Nuggets. They have lost 11 straight games against the Nuggets, which is the fifth-longest losing streak in the league of any team. The four teams ahead of the Lakers on the list are the Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, Chartlotte Hornets, and Portland Trail Blazers. They are teams that have never been able to come close to winning the title in recent years.
Although the sullen expressions from the Lakers’ bench and coaching staff at the end of the game suggested the series was over, there was still another home game to come for LA on Saturday in Game 4. Anthony Davis said the Lakers had to clean up their rebounding after missing 19 point chances second on 14 offensive rebounds, and continued to transition defensively and add more points.
“We have to score (more) points,” Davis said. “We only scored 20 points in the second quarter, 22 points in the third quarter. We have to score more points.”
The Lakers averaged just 102.3 points per game as a team in this series. Even though the Lakers are averaging 124.4 points in 12 wins in the final 15 games of the regular season plus the play-in tournament. Seeing this data, the Nuggets must remain vigilant.
“I think every game gets harder,” said Nikola Jokic after the Lakers’ third win. “They were up 20 points in Denver, they were up 12 points today in the first half. I think it’s very difficult to play against the same team again. You can’t get ‘bored’ with a style of play or anything. You just have to keep doing what you’re doing. the best, especially for us, because we won the last three games, and just believe in what we are doing and don’t get bored with success because it can go bad very quickly.”
If the Lakers can’t get a win on Saturday, expect things to get ugly as the season comes to a close and the uncomfortable topic of what this team will look like at the start of next season.
“It’s as simple as win or go home,” said Darvin Ham post-match. “It’s that simple. We have to come with competitive pride, try to get it here, stay alive. It’s one game at a time. That’s all we have is the next game. So that’s all we have to worry about, if we come here on Saturday. Have some competitive pride. Try to put this thing together and try to get a win.”
That’s all the Los Angeles Lakers can hope for now, namely some gaps in the Nuggets formation that the Lakers can find as weaknesses, and exploit to extend their breath.