Los Angeles Lakers Defense

Part 2 of the Nuggets vs Lakers Series Preview

I cannot wait for this matchup where we get possibly the most unguardable offensive player in Jokic vs the most dominant and versatile big defender in the NBA in Anthony Davis. Not only that, it is the best offense with the Nuggets scoring 1.21 PPP in the NBA playoffs vs the best defense in the Lakers holding teams to 1.07 PPP. Not to mention so many X’s & O’s and adjustment possibilities - this series is going to have everything!

Part 1: Los Angeles Lakers Offense

Note: I preferred this all in one post, but Substack was not able to properly upload everything in one place. I will have a separate solution moving forward.

All stats from Cleaning The Glass unless otherwise noted.

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Lakers Defense

Defending the Warriors is similar to defending the Nuggets with one simple tweak that might ruin everything - Jokic can shoot 3’s at the 5. This year he is 48% from 3 in the playoffs and that is a dangerous threat to the Lakers’ defensive scheme - with that in mind here are 3 main thoughts on it.

1 - How often and how will AD guard Jokic?