Have LeBron James and Anthony Davis let the Lakers down? Nuggets vs. Media and additional notes

DENVER – When Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka made the phones in February, making all those trade calls, he was hoping to add some help to LeBron James in one of the most impressive turnarounds the league has ever seen. And Anthony Davis and then returning to league-wide significance.

And they ever did.

But how is this a playoff conspiracy that no one within those Lakers walls ever saw coming? Those same Lakers legends, whose greatness required more help around them and who shouldered the biggest burden in winning that bubble title in 2020, have seriously run into a Cinderella run of inconsistency and mediocrity in these West Finals. Now the problem.

Denver’s 108-103 win in Game 2 was just the latest evidence of this truth, as Davis turned in one of those mysterious fadeaways on the offensive end (18 points on four of 15 shooting) and James spent the offensive lowlights. He included his A blown, wide open dunk in the second quarter, a foul layup that came seconds ago and an 0-of-6 night from 3-point range now makes him 0-of-10 for the series. But here’s what’s largely been overlooked in this unexpected playoff run: The Lakers’ dynamic duo hasn’t been as dominant as it was three years ago, and it’s starting to look like the Lakers are going to end up here, unless that’s a trend. Changes.

That’s partly the result of their system being tweaked by first-year coach Darwin Hamm, who beat our Lakers writer Jovan Buhan, which was eloquently described in a recent episode. And with all the help they have this time around — from Austin Reaves to D’Angelo Russell to Rui Hachimura and the like — offensive responsibilities are shared more than ever before.

On James’ part, this comes with a disclaimer that he’s doing things we’ve never seen at this age (38) of his career, and let’s not forget that his decline is inevitable this season – especially considering he’s on the way down. He suffered a serious foot injury late in the regular season. But Davis is a 30-year-old who should be at the peak of his powers.

As you can see here, the difference in their production results between then and now was very strong. And while the Lakers’ defense is elite, this historic Nuggets offense is so dangerous that it needs a much better offensive response from Davis and James.

When Davis is in Jekyll-and-Hyde mode on the offensive end, he’s not the type to share his inner monologue during postgame press conferences. That situation again on Thursday night, he underestimated the situation as many times before.

Asked if the Nuggets did anything different defensively this time, he said, “No, I got the same look (as he did in Game 1, when he scored 40 points). Most of them were short tonight. It’s better for me. … I loved all the looks I got today. Only most of them were (short). I’m going to keep shooting those shots and I’ve got to be better, more efficient, (to help the team win). So I’d better.”

A day before Game 2, Davis made it clear that he was under pressure to cool down both Nikola Jokic (who had 34 points, 21 rebounds and a 14-game opening streak) and the Nuggets’ offense as a whole (which it had). 132 points).

“That’s why they pay me big money.” he said. “I need to know.”

There was a time when Davis’ two-way talents were considered a better player than Jokic, who long ago passed on that league-wide list. And while the defense has been elite in these playoffs, the offense needs to be a consistent part of the AD package as well.

What’s more, Jokic did things again in Game 2. He finished with 23 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists, passing Wilt Chamberlain (since 1968). Most of his production came in the first three quarters, allowing Jamal Murray to finish the job in that explosive fourth quarter, where he scored 23 of his 37 points. .

James, on the other hand, took rose-colored glasses to evaluate this series of holes.

“This isn’t the NCAA Tournament,” said James, who had 26 points, 12 rebounds and 9 assists in Game 1 and missed a 3 with 45 seconds left. “We have an opportunity to go home and play our best basketball and hold serve.” So until a team beats you four times, you always have a chance to get out of it. So we have to have confidence. I know it’s going to be a tough hill to climb, but we have a chance to play good basketball and play the best basketball of the series in Game 3. Like I said, if we’re better than Game 2 tonight going into Game 3, then we’re going to put ourselves right there.

Conflicts with the media world

Michael Malone is really enjoying this national spotlight.

For years, the Nuggets’ coach has been frustrated with the way his top team has been covered — or not covered, really — and it’s clear that all that anger is coming out in this series of press conferences. But his recent mic miss was at least an all-timer.

“You win Game 1 of the Western Conference finals, and all everybody said was the Lakers,” Malone began. “Let’s be honest. That was the national narrative, ‘Hey, the Lakers are fine. They were 1-0 down, but they figured something out.’ No one talked about (how) Nicola had a historic performance. He now has 13 triple-doubles – third time (in the game). What he does is incredible. But the narrative wasn’t about nuggets. The narrative was not about Nicola. The narrative was about shippers and their adaptations. You put that in your pipe, smoke it and come back, and you know what? We’re going to go 2-0 up.”

As I joked with one Nuggets official, Malone didn’t read the 1,625-word love letter I wrote to, err, Jokic after Game 1. But even if he had, Malone’s truth is creeping into us. With the world-of-the-world mentality with the team for some time now.

The difference this time, however, is that Jokic is sounding like we haven’t seen him before.

“It’s nothing new for us,” he said when asked about Malone’s comments. “To be honest, I like it. We don’t care. What’s wrong with me? Remember, when we beat Utah (after going 3-1) they were talking about how he blew the lead even in the bubble. When we beat the Clippers (in the bubble after being down 3-1), (it was) how they blew the lead. No one is talking about how we won the game. It’s normal for us. To be honest, I don’t pay any attention.

This is true and fair: As long as the pitchers get disproportionate media coverage — especially when it comes to TV talking heads — Malone will have more fuel to add to the team’s fire.

“We know our narrative in that locker room,” Malone said. “We know we’re not done yet. We haven’t done anything yet. If you really want to do something in the series, you have to win a game on the other team’s home field. We know how good that team is, especially on their home court. We are not celebrating. This is not a reason for celebration. This is reason to dig deeper and find better ways.

Jamal Murray’s big night

Speaking of blistering memories, Murray’s spectacular postseason three years ago has long been frowned upon, sometimes in the context of his career as an exceptional player. Add in all the understandable doubts that came with the ACL tear he suffered in April 2021 that cost him last season, and it’s fair to wonder if we’ll ever see that version of him again. The answer, surprisingly, is yes.

After Murray’s latest journey, take a look at some of his celebrated bubble games and this current run. While its efficiency has decreased slightly since then, the overall effect is very similar.

In Game 2, Murray missed 12 of the first 15 shots before hitting eight of the last nine. He hit four of his six 3s in the fourth quarter alone, almost single-handedly putting the Lakers away.

“Yeah, what’s the bubble, 2020?” Murray said when asked about those common comparisons. “And it’s 2023. I’m coming off an injury, and I’m playing decent. I think the years speak for themselves, coming back from injury and (at) this level he can at least play this way. I think I need to comment more on this.

It’s enough, really.

Related reading

Jones: How Jamal Murray’s fourth quarter was the difference.
Cosmider: Lessons from past failures are reflected in Nugget Run
Flea: The Lakers were tired after losing in Game 2

(Top photo of LeBron James: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)