Every time the Lakers plugged a hole in the dike, the Nuggets only seemed to come back with a sledgehammer.
Through three games of a Western Conference finals series, in which Denver holds a commanding 3–0 lead after 119–108 win, Los Angeles has found different ways to defend the Nuggets’ rollicking offensive attack.
Two-time MVP Nikola Jokić dominated Game 1 in historic fashion, prompting the Lakers to seek a counter defensively with Rui Hachimura the following contest. Then, as Jokić cooled off a bit after halftime of Game 2, guard Jamal Murray—an ice cold 5-for-17 through three quarters—exploded for 23 points in the final period to push the Nuggets to a 2–0 lead. His hot streak continued through the first half of Game 3—a stretch in which he tallied 30 points—but things dried up for him in the third quarter, when Lakers floor general Dennis Schröder made a point to start picking him up full court. And the Nuggets’ situation looked even more in jeopardy around that time, when Jokić had to go to the bench with an early fourth foul.
Yet even with Murray’s offensive game grinding to a halt—he was held scoreless in the third after the massive first half—and Jokić sidelined less than five minutes into the half, Denver managed to essentially hold serve and maintain a lead on the road despite no scoring from its best two stars. (Michael Porter Jr., Bruce Brown and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope all had multiple baskets each over the final seven minutes of that third quarter.)
And just in case that wasn’t impressive enough, there also was the deciding quarter, where the Nuggets stepped on the gas pedal upon returning to full strength. The vaunted Lakers defense had only so many thumbs to plug the dike Saturday. Once they got Murray contained, they had to be concerned about Brown’s ball-handling and playmaking.
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With Los Angeles up 94–93, and just over seven minutes left, Brown kicked a pass to 36-year-old Jeff Green, which resulted in a go-ahead three. The following possession, Brown then drilled a three of his own off a beautiful feed from Porter. Then Murray knocked one in the next play. Brown and Jokić finished the run—13–0 in all—with layups of their own, respectively, effectively silencing an already nervous, once-hopeful Laker crowd. Those Los Angeles fans, like the rest of us, witnessed the Nuggets taking what all was left of the 2022-23 Lakers’ soul.
The Lakers certainly had at least one self-inflicted issue in Game 3, too. Coach Darvin Ham, in the face of plus-minus data that suggested starting guard D’Angelo Russell should have been hot-glued to the bench, stuck with him for too long—20 minutes—in the midst of a 1-for-8 shooting performance. (He doesn’t defend well enough; especially with Murray on a 30-point heater in a single half.) They weren’t effective enough at forcing Denver miscues, and surrendered 30 Nuggets’ assists to six turnovers. But even with Austin Reaves averaging 23 points per game this series, and Hachimura continuing to impress this postseason, the Lakers simply look overmatched. They can momentarily solve one problem, but doing so just springs another problem elsewhere; too much for Anthony Davis or LeBron James to handle.
While it feels like absolute ages ago at this point, back in late February and early March, this sort of outcome, with the Nuggets potentially sweeping their way to the NBA finals, might not have seemed so stunning. Jokić looked like he had a better-than-decent shot to land a third-straight MVP award, and the Nuggets were starting at chaos beneath them in the standings. Ja Morant was about to be suspended in Memphis, and fans and analysts wondered whether the young, playoff-inexperienced Kings would be up to the challenge. The Clippers were injury prone, the Suns and Lakers lacked cohesion and the defending-champion Warriors, for some reason, couldn’t manage to win on the road.
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Then the Nuggets struggled, losing four straight—including one to the Spurs, who’d tie for the West’s worst record—looking listless on defense during the season’s homestretch. Was it reason for concern? (A certain contingent will say there never was, and that Denver—with a healthy Murray and Porter to go with a dominant Jokić and solid supporting cast—was always the clear favorite.) Perhaps it shouldn’t have been, given how well the team’s pieces fit, from cutting, shooting and defensive standpoints. There’s experience. There’s playmaking. The club has the generational blend of skill and talent that Jokić, 28 years old, brings. And there seems to be genuine belief. This may just be the Nuggets’ time—something that seems more and more the case by the day, given how long they’ve held the top spot in the West all season, and how complete they’ve looked throughout this playoff run.
A championship team doesn’t necessarily need to have a killer instinct in late February or early March. As we all sit and watch the Eastern Conference finals with awe, many wonder how the Celtics can seemingly play without a desperate mentality. The Nuggets, on the other hand, seem to not only have a sense of the moment, but a superstar and a fantastic, balanced supporting cast to help them seize it.
