![]() ![]() Zach Kram: The Nuggets traded for Gordon so that they’d have a better defender against the West’s best big wings. The Lakers will spend this entire series trying to answer one of basketball’s most complicated questions. Michael Pina: Who will guard Jokic? Will the Lakers stick Davis (by far the best defender in these playoffs) on him to try to limit huge scoring outputs from the two-time MVP? Or will they opt for a different matchup that lets AD stay around the paint? Aaron Gordon could be an intriguing option for Davis to defend, but that matchup doesn’t help with their most obvious defensive dilemma: Jokic. The Lakers Have Recaptured Their Championship Formula The Suns Lost to a Better Team. If James can summon the stamina to consistently punish them on the interior, Michael Malone will likely have to bring Bruce Brown off the bench even sooner than he’s become accustomed to lately-a development that could push the burden of attrition back to the Nuggets. On the other hand, the Nuggets have shrunk their rotation to eight players. The Lakers are coming off playing a game every other day against the breakneck movement of the Warriors, LeBron James is operating on one healthy foot, and after three nights of rest, the Lakers will have to get used to huffing and puffing in high-altitude Denver. Can the Lakers defense, which has been absolutely exceptional to this point, really stand up to that? It’s a lot to ask of any team, especially when Jokic turns every player around him into a problem. Jokic has been shooting 48 percent from deep in these playoffs, picking coverages apart on the short roll, and absolutely dominating inside. Hopefully the Lakers defense got used to that arrangement because it will basically be the default for every possession in the Western Conference finals-only, instead of Davis guarding Draymond Green or Kevon Looney, he’ll be checking a two-time MVP who can score or facilitate from anywhere. The Warriors were at their best in their second-round matchup against the Lakers when they involved Davis directly in the pick-and-roll, pulling him away from the basket and forcing L.A.’s supporting cast to cover all the space behind him. ![]() Rob Mahoney: Whether Anthony Davis can both slow down Nikola Jokic and stifle everything else he creates. To preview the action-and discuss some of the ripple effects from the second round-the Ringer NBA team teamed up to answer five burning questions. On the other side of the bracket, the Heat refused to relent (again) against the New York Knicks, and the Boston Celtics came back from a 3-2 deficit to outlast the Philadelphia 76ers in seven games.Īnd now, after a month of full-blown chaos, some of the NBA’s biggest names will face off for a chance to play on its biggest stage. Check out our daily predictions hub for the 2022-23 championship, the no. ![]()
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