The NBA season opener officially begins, with the defending champion Nuggets hosting last season's Western Conference rivals, the Lakers.
You can see that both players are very excited, and the offense in the first few rounds is all scored, but after a short timeout, the Nuggets suddenly burst the point, playing a small climax of 20-6, and pulling the score in one fell swoop, and at the end of the first quarter, the Nuggets led by 14 points 34-20.
Although in the second and third quarters, the Lakers were able to properly narrow the point difference, but as long as the Nuggets made a force, the gap between the two sides was stretched again. In the fourth quarter, the Nuggets played another offensive climax to completely kill the game, and finally won 119-107 at home against the Lakers to win the opener.
Jokic contributed his first triple-double of the season, he had 29 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists, and the Nuggets started five well, contributing a combined of 97 points.
James had 21 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists, and Anthony Davis had 17 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks.
In this game, the Lakers had 5 newcomers enter the main rotation, but it was clear that they did not play the expected results, and 4 of them failed.
Prince started today, partnering James and Davis, and his role is 3D. In the end, he scored 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including 4-of-6 three-pointers, basically completing his mission and the only new signing to play normally.
In addition, Vincent scored 6 points on 3-of-8 shooting off the bench, Wood had 7 points and 4 rebounds on 3-of-4 shooting, Hayes did not score and Reddish scored 7 points on 2-of-4 shooting. Their performance on the field was not ideal.
However, their ability cannot be denied because of a game, the Nuggets vs Lakers game, itself is an "atypical game", or in other words, the Nuggets are the Lakers' nemesis, and all the reinforcements of the Lakers are ineffective against the Nuggets.
Why do you say that?
Coupled with last season's Western Conference finals, the Lakers have lost five straight against the Nuggets. In the 2020 Western Conference finals, the Lakers eliminated the Nuggets 4-1. The reason for such a big contrast is actually the problem of interior defense.
The Nuggets' starters are Jokic, Murray, Gordon, Porter Jr., Pope, and the overall height is not slow, and the shooting ability is not bad. The elimination of the Suns and Lakers last season depended on their starting lineup. In this lineup, there are 2 engines, the largest engine is Jokic, and the second is Murray.
That said, limiting Jokic became the only way to limit the Nuggets' starters.
In 2020, the Lakers have Howard and McGee 2 defensive interior linemen, which caused a lot of interference to Jokic.
In 2023, the Lakers' interior lineman is Anthony Davis, who is not enough to limit Jokic.
And the Lakers' reinforcement, Wood, Hayes 2 interior linemen are not defensive, Prince and other forward players are useless to limit Jokic. Therefore, it is normal for new signings to not be able to play against the Nuggets, but it is also normal for the Lakers to not be able to beat the Nuggets.
For the reinforcement of the forward, it can improve the strength of the Lakers' team, allow the Lakers to achieve a better record in the regular season, and even occupy a certain advantage in the face of fast teams such as the Warriors and the Lone Ranger, but when encountering the Nuggets, it can only be deflated.
Therefore, if the Lakers use the Nuggets as an imaginary enemy and want to rush out of the West, then strengthening the defense of the interior becomes a task that must be completed. Even in the regular season, not giving defensive interior opportunities to the inside, but hoarding, in the playoffs become a secret weapon against the Nuggets.