Series Thread: 2023 Western Conference Finals: 1) Nuggets vs 7) Lakers (Bubble Rematch)

[Mecca of the “B” Team]

DLO. That dude cannot be MIA in this series if LA wants to win. He should come off the bench for a spark imo

That would be my lineup too.

I can’t wait to see what Russell gets in free agency.

Talk about being hot and ice fucking cold…lol

 

[shopson67]

Earned, shmearned.

Agree that they did.

But, it s not about individuals or egos.

It’s about matchups.

Porter Jr was just elevating and shooting over Dudes easily.

Denver is too big to start 3 midgets.

Especially when 2 of the 3 gave you very little.

But, that’s Monday morning quarterbacking.

Pssst....it's Wednesday morning.

 

[shopson67]

If they bench anybody......maybe it is Russell......

Schroder is a dog on defense if he is not giving you offense and Hillbilly Kobe is well.....Hillbilly Kobe.

Russell could fit really well in that 6th man offensive role for this series. Ham might give him another start though.

 

[DJ Fieri]

Would be interesting to see who gets pulled.

Asking any of them to check a 6’10 Porter Jr or Uber athletic 6’8 Gordon is a daunting task, if it’s for more then a few minutes.

Yeah.

Schroder is their best defender when they go 3 guards (with Reaves and Russ) but he is better off defending Murray because he is overmatched vs Gordon and MPJ.

 

[shopson67]

That would be my lineup too.

I can’t wait to see what Russell gets in free agency.

Talk about being hot and ice fucking cold…lol

Ice water in his veins

 

[Mecca of the “B” Team]

Good game last night.

I know we go on about “ no moral victories “.

But, all Denver did was what a #1 seed is supposed to do.

Beat the #7 seed playing on their homecourt.

…..and they barely did that.

Series doesn’t turn until somebody loses at home.

 

[DJ Fieri]

Russell could fit really well in that 6th man offensive role for this series. Ham might give him another start though.

I agree and say what you want about him but he is a pro.....doubt he takes offense to it.

 

[trojanfan12]

Yeah, I see your point.

He definitely should have made the move earlier.

Not to beat up on the guy…

But, D Lo was the problem.

He just has to give you more on offense.

If Dennis and Reaves aren’t getting buckets, they will at least give you great effort on the other end.

If Russell isn’t scoring, he’s pretty useless.

Yeah, I think they should continue to start D-Lo because when he's right offensively, it's huge for them and makes things easier for everyone, especially Lebron and AD. But it needs to be with a shorter leash.

Also, when his offense is clicking, his defense tends to pick up (like a lot of guys lol). As you point out though, Reaves and Schroder don't let their offense determine their defensive effort.

 

[shopson67]

I agree and say what you want about him but he is a pro.....doubt he takes offense to it.

He might this summer in salary negotiations. How much do you pay for someone who's getting nailed to the bench in crunch time? He needs to at least find some defensive effort, if not improved defensive ability. It will be interesting to see how this summer develops in terms of developing as a team, instead of hitting re-start and adding a dozen players to Lebron and AD again.

 

[Mecca of the “B” Team]

I agree and say what you want about him but he is a pro.....doubt he takes offense to it.

He has a chance to possibly play for a championship and he wants his bag this summer.

He wouldn’t say shit, even if he had a mouth full of it.

 

[Duffman]

Jokic had 34, 21, and 14......that is way above his season averages.....and I doubt KCP scores 21 in the next game.

This is back to back games for KCP scoring 21, obviously he’s not gonna do that every game but it’s not a once in a lifetime deal.

Jokic has been believe it or not better in the playoffs than he was in the regular season.

This is Jokic’s last 6 games, I’d bet he has a better chance of replicating tonight than AD does with his performance.

 

[DJ Fieri]

He has a chance to possibly play for a championship and he wants his bag this summer.

He wouldn’t say shit, even if he had a mouth full of it.

He has been a really good teammate since returning, unlike his first go around when he was a lot younger and got into it with Swaggy.

LOL.

 

[DJ Fieri]

This is back to back games for KCP scoring 21, obviously he’s not gonna do that every game but it’s not a once in a lifetime deal.

Jokic has been believe it or not better in the playoffs than he was in the regular season.

This is Jokic’s last 6 games, I’d bet he has a better chance of replicating tonight than AD does with his performance.

Jokic slowed down a bit when they put Hach on him.

 

[Mecca of the “B” Team]

Russell could fit really well in that 6th man offensive role for this series. Ham might give him another start though.

If he could be nonrecurring broken Norm Powell for 4 games a series, you’d win it all.

 

[Shanemansj13]

Yeah, I think they should continue to start D-Lo because when he's right offensively, it's huge for them and makes things easier for everyone, especially Lebron and AD. But it needs to be with a shorter leash.

Also, when his offense is clicking, his defense tends to pick up (like a lot of guys lol). As you point out though, Reaves and Schroder don't let their offense determine their defensive effort.

So that means they are not starting Reaves bc Schroder is definitely the matchup vs Murray.

 

[Duffman]

Jokic slowed down a bit when they put Hach on him.

Putting him on Jokic was a great move and I’m guessing the Lakers will continue with that, and so we’ll find out if they unlocked a secret to slowing down Jokic, or if it was just a really good adjustment that the Nuggets didn’t have time to find a counter for yet.

 

[Duffman]

Glad to see he’s matured a bit as a few years ago I don’t think MPJ says that

 

[Mecca of the “B” Team]

This is back to back games for KCP scoring 21, obviously he’s not gonna do that every game but it’s not a once in a lifetime deal.

Jokic has been believe it or not better in the playoffs than he was in the regular season.

This is Jokic’s last 6 games, I’d bet he has a better chance of replicating tonight than AD does with his performance.

Lakers can’t let KCP and Bruce Brown put up numbers in the same game.

Especially when their backcourt was sluggish on that end, outside of Reaves big 4th quarter.

 

[DJ Fieri]

Putting him on Jokic was a great move and I’m guessing the Lakers will continue with that, and so we’ll find out if they unlocked a secret to slowing down Jokic, or if it was just a really good adjustment that the Nuggets didn’t have time to find a counter for yet.

And Vandy should see some time.....let AD be a help defender.

But, Denver has a really dangerous starting 5. Very impressed with them after game 1.

 

[trojanfan12]

So that means they are not starting Reaves bc Schroder is definitely the matchup vs Murray.

Which is fine. Reaves has done well both off the bench and as a starter. So has Schroder, but as you point out, the matchup with Murray should give him the start.