Nice win for the Nuggets. The Nuggets big two came up big but Jeremy Grant played like a 3rd star on defense and offense.
In relation to my OP I maintain that Jokic is doing what to some extent Boban could have done for Dallas even in less minutes. Jokic 22pts/10reb/5 asts on offense with a very efficient 9/14 shooting in 37 minutes.
The key to his offensive efficiency is the gravity he demands from the Lakers who tried to defend him with some 1 on 1 using 42 minutes of AD with Dwight + McGee logging 22 minutes.
Jokic forces the floor to open up even though he was only 1 of 3 from the 3. He is a threat from the paint and forced the lakers hand by hitting his midrange 2's. His gravity on offense makes the rest of the Nuggets scoring life much easier.
Jokic is somewhat slimmed up, but he's still slow yet his defense is smart. Of course the Lakers might argue they just didn't hit their 3's, they shot poorly.
AD did argue this post game as he himself was 9 of 17 but 0 of 4 from 3. So defensively it may be that the Lakers simply missed and next game they'll make.
I thought the defense against Lebron, including shutting off the lanes and paint was tremendous by the Nuggets. I never really see that from Dallas. The lanes to the bucket are just too free against these Mavs.
If the Nuggets can do it again, then I'll start to believe that Jokic and company can actually put an elite defense against the Lakers.
I also have to reference this
If you watch the Nuggets lead evaporate during the Lakers run that almost stole that game in the late 3rd and 4th, the Nuggets started taking 3's and low % shots. It was very Mavericks-high-powered-offense-sputters-in-clutch-like.
Instead of getting to the paint and rim, even though they had Jokic there to play off of, they stayed with the perimeter style offense that got them the lead. That was a time to switch gears IMO and get inside to hold the lead longer.
That was a time where some high % offense inside/out could have kept them from needing last 2 minute heroics to preserve their win.
In relation to my OP I maintain that Jokic is doing what to some extent Boban could have done for Dallas even in less minutes. Jokic 22pts/10reb/5 asts on offense with a very efficient 9/14 shooting in 37 minutes.
The key to his offensive efficiency is the gravity he demands from the Lakers who tried to defend him with some 1 on 1 using 42 minutes of AD with Dwight + McGee logging 22 minutes.
Jokic forces the floor to open up even though he was only 1 of 3 from the 3. He is a threat from the paint and forced the lakers hand by hitting his midrange 2's. His gravity on offense makes the rest of the Nuggets scoring life much easier.
Jokic is somewhat slimmed up, but he's still slow yet his defense is smart. Of course the Lakers might argue they just didn't hit their 3's, they shot poorly.
AD did argue this post game as he himself was 9 of 17 but 0 of 4 from 3. So defensively it may be that the Lakers simply missed and next game they'll make.
I thought the defense against Lebron, including shutting off the lanes and paint was tremendous by the Nuggets. I never really see that from Dallas. The lanes to the bucket are just too free against these Mavs.
If the Nuggets can do it again, then I'll start to believe that Jokic and company can actually put an elite defense against the Lakers.
I also have to reference this
Quote:The Nuggets lost almost all of a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter but held on, avoiding a 3-0 hole that would have been daunting even for this never-out-of-it team.
''We feel that we should be up 2-1 right now, to be honest,'' Murray said. ''So we're just going to move on to Game 4.''
If you watch the Nuggets lead evaporate during the Lakers run that almost stole that game in the late 3rd and 4th, the Nuggets started taking 3's and low % shots. It was very Mavericks-high-powered-offense-sputters-in-clutch-like.
Instead of getting to the paint and rim, even though they had Jokic there to play off of, they stayed with the perimeter style offense that got them the lead. That was a time to switch gears IMO and get inside to hold the lead longer.
That was a time where some high % offense inside/out could have kept them from needing last 2 minute heroics to preserve their win.