Topic: 2019 NBA Pre-Season - page 635. (Read 914751 times)

The results of the two games give the impression that the Lakers players can't find their rhythm. Another problem is that the Lakers rely a lot on Davis, but he is unstable, and his performances are unpredictable every time. As an example, he scored 40 points in game one, then he had problems offensively in game two, and his field goal percentage was only 26.7%.
However, I still hope the Lakers can do better on their home court in the upcoming games.

I agree that both teams played a bit worse compared to the first game, that's a situation they have to handle. But that doesn't mean that we can't really expect them to be like this for every single game. I am sure both teams will realize that they have been tired a lot and will focus on getting more rest. Now its time to fly back to Los Angeles and that means two things. First of all, Denver is the highest point in NBA, meaning thinner air, meaning harder to breath, which was a disadvantage for Lakers, this is common knowledge so when they go back, its going to be much better. Secondly we are taking everyone back to LA, so players of LA will sleep at their houses, whereas Denver players will travel and then sleep at hotels, and hope everything is fine, not always the best thing for players. I think resting better will be easier for Lakers whereas it will be much harder for Nuggets. I see third game as a win for Lakers, not sure about fourth.

Davis and James are, on paper and on stats, better than Jokic and Murray but unfortunately these two don't have the connection that the Nuggets duo has. I didn't expect the Nuggets to also perform this way honestly, and I was sold that David and James would be carrying the team easily not until Jokic made some good plays and had Murray involved in the fray.

The Lakers need to step up their last quarter games. This is when the Nuggets are really stepping on the pedal real hard and it has worked quite well.

They've been overrated based on the people's picks and that's probably people don't like Heat. But we saw how Heat beaten them at the first game.

This 2nd game will prove if they've learned from the first game that they shouldn't belittle Heat. They've been beaten once, and let's see if they'll allow that again on the 2nd game.

Everyone is starting to speculate that it's gonna be hard for Lakers to have straight wins against them.

I fully expect the Nuggets to win the series, I'm just saying Lakers had game 2 won. If they would have stuck with the game plan they had in the 1st half, they could have had Murray in foul trouble and not be a factor in the end of the game.

Well Murray and Jokic played an amazing game and dominated again. This duo is so deadly that i see them going all the way. Lakers might get 1 or 2 wins but they will probobly lose this series against the Nuggets for sure. Jokic and Murray are just better then Davis and James

Celtics are pretty heavy favorites at home against the Heat considering they lost the last game. Seems like maybe people are expecting a little much from the Celtics or maybe just underestimating what the Heat have been able to accomplish this postseason. Should be a good game. If the Celtics lose this it’ll be extremely hard to recover in Miami.

The Lakers had Game 2 won. They just had to stop 1 player and couldn't. They led the whole game until the last 5 minutes and then Murray can't miss a 3. Play better defense??? Even if they had played better defense, they still missed a ton of shots down the stretch themselves. Anthony Davis needs more than 18 points a game as well. They started off the 1st half being super aggressive and driving to the hoop getting foul calls left and right. Why did they abandon that?

I think Lakers got a bit unlucky as well, for two games in a row they get close enough to win with just one ball and then they end up losing that and just lose the game. I get that it is not going to be easy to win games and all, but I feel like they were too close so it must have felt terrible. If they lost clearly that would have been even worse considering they would lose hope, but this way they know that they are good enough to beat them.

Let's see how it will be at Los Angeles, now Lakers will try to defend and get two out of two, it is going to be quite the challenge and I believe that if they can do that then they can win the series. But if Nuggets wins any of these series then we are going to end up with a bad result and Lakers will lose.

Honestly, in my own view, there was no major big problem that we can look at on why the Los Angeles Lakers lost their recent game even throughout the game, they are in the lead. It's just that Denver Nuggets insanely rallied on 4th and some of their guys stepped up even having a bad night.

Those 4 consecutive 3's made by the Denver Nuggets in the 4th is the game changer and that leads them to feel the momentum.

Jamal Murray, for example, is struggling the whole game not until he found his rhythm in the 4th Quarter and he's nailing his shot even though there's a proper defense. That is something that the Lakers can't control anymore. Overall, I see a good game on the Lakers and there's no such thing as they ran out of gas. They even close the gap in a few seconds.

Maybe the best adjustment next game for the Lakers would be, Coach Ham should consider utilizing Rui Hachimura more. He's doing great at the early quarters and consistent on his "attacking the rim" strategy as Nuggets has no rim protector at the paint. Seems effective though.

There is no need to for us to look for an answer especially if you're a bettor, listing the Miami Heat as an underdog is already an opportunity to us. It sure don't matter to me anymore if they are being looked down despite having the very same situation of the Lakers this season, what's important is we can take an advantage to the opportunity that has been brought to us.

That said, I don't think that the Celtics can finish this series successfully as long as the Heat can retain their roster that they have now without having any additional injury because being undermanned already gave them a hard time. Oladipo and Herro was surely a good asset to the team but the team cannot utilize them this time as they have met a season ender injury.

I agree. Everyone should step outside the box to provide support to their core, it's already a fact that AD and LBJ alone cannot carry the team anymore especially now that the latter is already near his 40s. Game 3 will happen at Crypto.com, so let's expect that we can see a different outcome in-favor of the Lakers. I know they can still make a difference because in the past two games, the score is not really a blow out defeat.

It was a prime Lebron James though when he had to make a comeback from a 3-1 deficit. Not saying that he can't do it again, but the team is very different as well. And in Game 3, just strange for Lebron to missed a layup or that open dunk.

In any case, the next game will be in their homecourt, so I do agree that they have the advantage at Crypto.com. But they still have to play solid basketball for 48 minutes, and not allow Nuggets to take the early lead and then again, they will do the catching up because they might run out of gas again, just like the first 2 games. They need to start fast and improved their shooting percentage. And D'Lo is on the slump, so he also need to jump start at their home court to help Lebron and Davis.

Actually the Lakers covered last night that was the bet to make.  I didn't think the Lakers could hang but they did way better than I thought.  The combination of jokic and Murray are just too much to handle.  Murray is playing at pre injury pace right now.  Dude is a top 5 guard in the league and the Lakers have no one in their backcourt to contain him.  Lakers NEED to win both in LA or this series is going to be a wrap.

He'll never learn a lesson until all of those sponsorships that he's got will pull out and he'll be left with nothing. Because the Grizzlies might not tolerate it anymore if he keeps on doing shits in public like this or else, he would just disconnect himself through social media and focuses on the team as he's still got a contract with them. But little did he know and shouldn't forget that his team has the ability to revoke the contract with him if they dislike the things that he does. He should remember that at most times or else he's the one ruining his career and wasting opportunities that's set him for life. People are like this when they got money and everything and acts tough and free when they're at the top of their worlds.

Next game, the Lakers are back again on their homecourt where they are much stronger compared when they are on the road. While playing at home, statistics said that the Lakers are undefeated since from the play-in tournament up until the playoffs commenced. Not sure though if they can uphold that unstoppable victory at home because the Nuggets are just unpredictable too and they are very difficult to stop when their hands are already hot.

But, I also don't think that the Lakers will just agree with it easily without putting a good fight in their home. Having a 3-1 deficit is manageable and LeBron already proved that but if in-case it's a 3-0 in Game 3, that is a different situation and much difficult to handle.

Well, I'm also boarding the same train this year which is the Lakers train that got Lebron in it. Sadly, after having a good run in 3 whole quarters, they just lost the lead when the 4th quarter began, Murray stepped up while the Lakers was just having too much from downtown that they cannot entertain everybody anymore.

Yes, he did it again. It's like the kid never learned his lesson because he was really feeling gangsta even though he is literally not. Now, Nike is rejecting him and his signature shoes and most likely Powerade will also join the parade by pulling out their stock that got Ja's name on it. And last but not the least, his lame apology was found that it was created through ChatGPT.

It's just that Nuggets is a tough beast plus they're playing on their home court. Let's see if the games 3 and 4 will be for the Lakers.

If Denver Nuggets will win this conference finals against the Lakers, they'll surely be one of the heavy favorites and not just that. They'll make history of their on for reaching that far for the first time in the finals.

I want to see them win Game 3 first and there I will say it is far from over. It's just that, every time they have the momentum, they do foolish things. Lebron for example didn't stop forcing a three-point shot while we all know according to his playoff stats he is not shooting pretty well in that area. The best thing for him is always to attack the paint and just try to get a foul as much as possible.
I may be betting for the Nuggets but I might take the handicap too just to be sure, in case it ends in a close game like what happened in both games 1 and 2.
Transition defense is also one of the Lakers' weaknesses. How many times did we hear the commentator pointing this out and yet it is still not solved up until now. Find the guy who can go back as much as possible because Jokic will always find a man in the front court if ever there's an opening and make a touchdown pass.
They actually did better yesterday at defending Jokic. They restrained him to just 23 points and he had a lot of misses or forced shots when he runs out of shot-clock. But it must be done consistently on every player on the floor. Halfcourt defense, the Lakers are actually better and Mike Malone pointed that out in Game 1. With how Schroder restricted Murray in the first half was amazing.

I think the Lakers did really well or more than enough to steal one game in Denver but it's really tough to win when your opponent suddenly catches fire at the crucial moment of the game. It's just one of those moments.

Agreed. If they can finish the Lakers in four of five games then they'll definitely become the huge favorite. That's tough to do but they are certainly capable.