1Q: This should be concerning for Laker fans, Green hesitates on the first open look he had, then misses one in the corner. If he's going to get gun shy from three, that is a serious problem. Aggressive early from LeBron … he’s 3 for 4, and the rest of the team 0 for 8, including a couple missed tap ins inside from Davis. Game is being called differently inside. Tight whistles in Game 1, more loose here in Game 2. Lakers have to adjust and play through it. The Nuggets got to think about sending a double when Davis is facing up on Jokic. Make him into a passer, can't leave Jokic on an island.
2Q: LAL’s defense has dropped of without AD on the court … Nuggets scored only 21 in the 1st Q (AD played 12 minutes). They already have 15 points at the 7:20 mark of the 2nd Q. Great cut from Kuzma with LeBron in the mid post and Grant loading up. Murray isn't staying connected to James. This is the value of playing Rondo with James, it turns James into a cutting option for the Lakers with the trust that Rondo will get him the rock. Dwight's been consistent all season, struggled at the start of the bubble but he's been big defensively for the Lakers in this series. Doing his job. Denver has to attack the switches better. These two games are the best the Lakers have looked on both ends in the playoffs. Nuggets were not able to capitalize on the minutes that LeBron spent on the bench as the Lakers lead expanded.
3Q: Denver’s done a better job of keeping LAL out of the paint of late, but AD’s now starting to rain in mid-range J’s. Lakers haven’t been getting into Denver’s lane much at all, doing a lot of settling for jumpers against a packed paint. When the Lakers have AD at the 5 and Jokic defends him, it’s similar to the Portland series for AD, when he could get a wide-open look at a mid-range jumper whenever he wanted against Nurkic or Whiteside. Jokic has to be aggressively posting up on these switches. LA has to double but coming from first pass away is always a bad idea. Too easy of a pass to make, especially for Jokic. Lots of uncharacteristic mistakes and breakdowns from the Lakers in the 3rd Q, and Denver took advantage.
4Q: Mike Malone stressed Denver’s transition defense above everything else, and the Nuggets have done a much better job getting back tonight. LAL had 6 fastbreak points in the 1st half, and only 2 in this 2nd half. LAL had 54 points in the paint in Game 1. They have just 34 tonight. This is due to the adjustment made by the Nuggets to pack the paint in and force the Lakers to beat them from the perimeter. It resembled the pack line defense. The Lakers got to get into their actions much earlier and be more deliberate with what they want to do. It is like they are just trying to figure it out on the fly. Hard back in from Jokic, who scores over Davis. That’s 11 straight from the Serbian center, and DEN’s lead is 1 with 20.8 left. But Anthony Davis answers with the game winner from 3 as the Nuggets make a huge mistake communicating on a switch which shouldn’t of took place anyways. Defensive sub Plumlee just completely blew that coverage. Wasn't even screened and just pointed for Grant to switch off LeBron.
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