2024 NBA Playoffs: West 1st Round: #2 Denver Nuggets vs #7 Los Angeles Lakers (DEN WINS 4-1)

[Mavrelous]

Sorry LAL fans, this is too funny

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[mkot]

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How does he always do this lol

i have to admit... no matther what context, how Joker played... his numbers always look great..
the whole series, he has been lack of aggression, be comfortable to be a no.2 to Murray no.1, he still got his numbers...

I know he is averaging close to a triple double of 28/16/9 on 60+%TS but his lack of aggression frustrates the hell out of me. AD obviously is one of the reason but he wasn't even looking to post up when it was Hayes guarding him. They were lucky to win this in 5 with Murray struggling the way he did the first 4 games and playing hurt in game 5.

Btw it's interesting that with MUrray obviously struggling to make shot in Game 2, he still involved him in the offense, running DHO and PnR with him every possession to keep him engaged in the game, and his persistent paid off in the last minutes of that game. Ultimate leader and teammate.

[Up-And-Coming]

Honestly was a very good series. I predicted the Nuggets would win in 5 before it started and the Lakers made it a lot more competitive than it would appear on the surface. Losing 2 game winners is demoralizing but they still fought throughout the entirety of it. The Nuggets were the better team but the Lakers are not that far off as long as Lebron continues his epic longevity.

Congrats Denver! Hope the General Board continues the "Are the _____ team even good?" threads for every team you guys beat and not just for the Lakers. Now let's see how the rest fair in comparison...

[nomansland]

Lets keep it real. Is it fair to win a challenge and lose a timeout anyway just because the referee made a mistake? I don't think so.

The nba wants the game to flow so you lose a timeout or that’ll be another stoppage. This was never a problem, but as usual because it’s the Lakers and they lost we need to make this an issue.

I'm a Spurs fan, trust me I'm not white knighting for the Lakers...

But even I can see it's not fair for a team to lose a timeout over someone else's mistake. Obviously it was a problem for them when they were stuck throwing up a half court prayer for their season when they should've had a TO in their pocket. The NBA should just give each team one free challenge for the game like the NFL and just call it a day.

They all have enough technology to help them determine whether to challenge though. It's not like they go into the decision to challenge blindly.

[JordansBulls]

Would have been interesting a first round of LA vs OKC or Minnesota. Was Denver the only team who could have beaten LA in a series?

[nomansland]

Would have been interesting a first round of LA vs OKC or Minnesota. Was Denver the only team who could have beaten LA in a series?

Minnesota could have beaten the Lakers, without question. The other teams I'm less sure about.

The Lakers played really well and deserve some credit though. They're better than a 7 seed play-in team.

[hauntedcomputer]

It’s just basketball after all. Except if he wins, then he’s the goat and it was the hardest path to victory.

LeBron: "I just wanna get home to my family."

Realgm: "lol what a loser"

Sore loser maybe.

He's going to be Brett Favre-ing it for the next ten years, even after he "retires," until he moves into ownership. Get used to it. He;ll probably have three separate retirement tour seasons.

[Special_Puppy]

Jokic came into this game totally hammered to challenge his teammates to stepup

[kacey ring]

Murray silenced some haters. Dude is built for the playoffs and crunch time!

[Cubbies2120]

Murray wasnt hobbled, dont gimme that ****

He just played his best game by far and was hot again down the stretch

Den didnt impress me tbh

They stole 2 games. One in which we played poorly in the 2nd half and Dlo getting hit in the face is a no foul

And another in which AD gets hurt and we lose the lead when we were rolling

Are Lakers fans just incapable of accepting losses like a man?



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Everything he said is factual. Lakers were the better team for the majority of the series.The coaching was the difference, Nuggets had better late game execution when it mattered and Ham was incapable of making adjustments on the fly. Wolves are gonna give the Nuggets all sorts of fits, Murray is about to be another victim on McDaniels island but good thing he already has a built in excuse.

Ban bet? If the Wolves beat the Nuggets I don't post til draft day, if Nuggets beat Wolves you don't post til draft day?

If the Lakers were the better team for the majority of the series, just imagine what the Wolves will do!

[Hans1984]

Lakers played their hearts out in this series. I tip my hat to them.

[Ssj16]

So this is The Calf Game right

Phantom injury game.

So much salt.

[Tyrone Messby]

AD injury saved the Nuggets

KCP and Murray are hurt too...

When is AD ever healthy? Get out of here with that weak excuse. #Mutumboswat

[Froob]

Lakers played their hearts out in this series. I tip my hat to them.

Not that everyone can do this because AD was incredible, but Lakers laid down the blue print how to defend them. No 3s, no easy drives to the basket. Making Jokic take tough contested shots is a good defensive possession.

[Ssj16]

Murray wasnt hobbled, dont gimme that ****

He just played his best game by far and was hot again down the stretch

Den didnt impress me tbh

They stole 2 games. One in which we played poorly in the 2nd half and Dlo getting hit in the face is a no foul

And another in which AD gets hurt and we lose the lead when we were rolling

Are Lakers fans just incapable of accepting losses like a man?



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Everything he said is factual. Lakers were the better team for the majority of the series.The coaching was the difference, Nuggets had better late game execution when it mattered and Ham was incapable of making adjustments on the fly. Wolves are gonna give the Nuggets all sorts of fits, Murray is about to be another victim on McDaniels island but good thing he already has a built in excuse.

Kobe is unequivocally my favourite basketball player and athlete of all time.

I feel like you're doing him an injustice with your handle, while being such a sore loser in this Lakers lost. I feel like the real Mamba Mentality is recognizing other players with the Mamba Mentality and not putting those players down.

[Ssj16]

Yea I don't think either is top 10 at this point unless they're like 10th

Davis just averaged 28, 15 boards, 4 assists and Lebron averaged 28, 7 boards, 9 assists. So, they conserve energy in the regular season, but they are definitely top 10 talents in the playoffs.

In the playoffs I'd take the above comfortably

Jokic
Giannis
Luka
Steph
Ant
Brunson

I think AD is in the
Tatum
SGA (haven't seen enough)
Bam
Butler
LeBron range

I didn't rank Kawhi and Embiid due to oft-injured status in the playoffs. So I guess both are back half of top 10, I'd rank LeBron behind AD because LeBron has really dropped off defensively and its infected the team. He was a different animal on defense in 2020 and it set the tone. You'd expect that with age but its definitely pulled down the Lakers upside.

Lol, if Lebron and AD are below Steph and Brunson on this year's playoffs which Steph didn't even make.

[TheGeneral99]

Not the biggest fan of Lebron, but I thought he was incredible this series.

28, 9 and 7 on 56%fg and 38%3fg...just amazing for a 39 year old.

Lakers made it closer than it looked and if a couple of bounces went there way who knows what would have happened.


Also, Jokic is so dominant that he averaged 28, 16 and 12 on 59%fg but it didn't even feel like he had a great series...WTF? These are better than prime Shaq numbers and he doesn't even look like he's trying, lol.

[Michael Jackson]

I had Denver in 6 but hats off to LeBron and AD. They played a great series. Too much meh from the rest of the squad though.

[Mamba Mentality]

Are Lakers fans just incapable of accepting losses like a man?



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Everything he said is factual. Lakers were the better team for the majority of the series.The coaching was the difference, Nuggets had better late game execution when it mattered and Ham was incapable of making adjustments on the fly. Wolves are gonna give the Nuggets all sorts of fits, Murray is about to be another victim on McDaniels island but good thing he already has a built in excuse.

Kobe is unequivocally my favourite basketball player and athlete of all time.

I feel like you're doing him an injustice with your handle, while being such a sore loser in this Lakers lost. I feel like the real Mamba Mentality is recognizing other players with the Mamba Mentality and not putting those players down.

Kobe is my goat, but I'm never going to associate him with a player that just beat my team. Sorry, but I'm just not built that way... Respect to Murray for hitting two game winners but **** him, you're out your damn mind if you think I'm going to compliment him any more outside of that.

[Dirk]

Lakers played their hearts out in this series. I tip my hat to them.

Not that everyone can do this because AD was incredible, but Lakers laid down the blue print how to defend them. No 3s, no easy drives to the basket. Making Jokic take tough contested shots is a good defensive possession.

Thanks for the tips,

- Joe Mozzarella