After suffering a tough loss at the buzzer in Game 2, the Lakers (0-2) return home with a chance to get back into the series when they face off against the Nuggets (2-0) in Thursday's pivotal Game 3. The game tips at 7:00 p.m. on Spectrum SportsNet. Below are three keys to the contest.
WELCOME HOME
The last time the Lakers played a home game was April 9th when the team faced off against the Golden State Warriors. In the 16 days since then, the Lakers closed the regular season with games in Memphis and New Orleans, then stayed in Louisiana for a play-in game against those same Pelicans, and then opened up their 1st round series vs. with two games against Nuggets in Denver.
Needless to say, then, the team is eager to get back in front of their home crowd and feed off the energy they can provide.
There is good reason for this excitement, too. In the LeBron and AD era, the Lakers are 7-2 in home games that both their superstars have started and finished the game (the Lakers lost game 6 against the Suns in 2021 when AD only played five minutes). That includes a 6-2 record last season when the Lakers outscored by 97 points over those eight games and included several big performances in games that closed out opponents and allowed the Lakers to advance.
Now, on the flip side, the team that handed the Lakers those two home losses are these Nuggets in last year's WCF. The Lakers will need to get over the hump against this team in general, but specifically in this building. But, considering the level the Lakers have reached in the first two games and the leads they have been able to take, they have good reason to be confident that they can not only accomplish those same things at home, but close things out better than they did in Denver.
ABILITY TO SUSTAIN
After Monday's tough loss, the Lakers returned to their own practice court to both regroup but to also refocus on what they need to do to get back into the series. Part of that preparation involved a film session meant to look at the tape with clearer eyes than in the immediate aftermath of an emotional loss and then turn the focus on what has worked, what hasn't, and find ways to cut out the latter and do more of the former.
To that end, the Lakers can feel good about a lot of what they have done against the defending champs. The Lakers have held double-digit leads in both games and have won three of the four quarters overall and tied the other. On the flip side, the Lakers have lost both games due to individual quarters in which their execution on both sides of the ball dipped to the point Denver was able to win those periods by double figures and, thus, take control of the game.
If the Lakers are going to avoid what happened to them in the 3rd quarter of Game 1 and the 4th quarter of Game 2, they need to be better at sustaining what they're doing in the other parts of the game that is clearly working to get them their leads in the first place.
This idea of sustaining what does work is one that LeBron spoke to in Wednesday's media availability as critical to closing out these contests and getting wins.
"It's all about sustainability," LeBron said. "It doesn't matter what you can do in the first 47 and a half minutes, you got to close the game, which we didn't do, and we got to do a better job of that. Some of the things we've done over the first couple of games, we're very excited and happy about those but we have to do a better job of closing."
Being back at home, the Lakers can hope if they find themselves back in that same position of needing to hold onto the lead that some energy from the crowd can help generate some energy and foster that sustainability the team has not had so far.
ADJUSTMENTS AND COUNTERS
As playoff series move forward, teams rely more heavily on tweaks and adjustments to their game plans in order to seek out the advantage needed to get wins. In Game 2, it was Denver changing up their defensive matchups by moving Aaron Gordon onto AD and Nikola Jokic onto Rui that helped contribute to the Lakers offensive struggles in the 2nd half and gave Denver their window of opportunity to come back and ultimately win.
In Game 3, the Lakers must not only be ready for this new defensive wrinkle, but also find more ways to score against some of Denver's base sets while also being sharper defensively when both sets of starters are on the floor.
Offensively, the Lakers can continue to play through their star players, but not necessarily taking the same approach -- particularly when Denver changes their matchups. If Denver decides to defend LeBron with a smaller wing like they did down the stretch of Game 2, there is potential for the Lakers to play more through him in the post to force Denver to either single cover him with that smaller player or send help in his direction.
Similarly, if the Nuggets are okay playing their power forward on AD, the Lakers can try to play more through direct post ups in order to keep up the volume of touches for Davis and let him try to use his height and length to score over the top of the shorter Gordon. The team can also continue to use AD in ball screens, but potentially shift the ball handling responsibility to one of their guards in order to target different perimeter defenders who might not have as much success getting over screens or dealing with AD on a switch should they go that route.
Defensively, the Lakers have had a fair amount of success in targeted groups and for extended portions of both games, but their overall numbers have suffered due to some shorter, yet meaningful stretches in which Denver's ability to generate good looks and their high level of shot making bore out. Finding more ways to get the ball out of Jokic's hands and then still recover to shooters is a major key, and particularly when that shooter is Michael Porter Jr.
Over the two games of the series, Porter Jr. has made 16 of his 28 attempts from the field which includes nine of his 17 attempts from behind the arc. Denver has been doing a great job of making the extra pass to Porter Jr. when the Lakers rotate after doubling, and he's paid off those passes with made jumpers. It is easier said than done, but the Lakers would do well to run Porter Jr. off the line more and turn him into a driver in an attempt to turn him into a playmaker instead of being a spot up shooter.