The 2020 NBA Western Conference Finals
will have a team from L.A. competing. Unfortunately, the anticipated match
between the 16-time NBA champions versus their so-called little brothers will
not take place. Instead, they will be taking on the comeback boys from the “Mile
High City” of Colorado in their quest to be NBA champions for the 17th
time in franchise history.
For both the No. 1 Seeded Los Angeles
Lakers and the No. 3 Seeded Denver Nuggets, just getting to the point that they
stand one series away from competing for the Larry O’Brien trophy is something to
behold, even though both teams took entirely different paths to reach the other
half of the NBA’s version of “The Final Four.”
The Nuggets had to rally from a pair of
3-1 best-of-seven series deficits and win a pair of Game 7s against the No. 6
Seeded Utah Jazz and the No. 2 Seeded Los Angeles Clippers to earn their first
Western Conference Finals appearance since 2009, where they were led by current
Portland Trail Blazer and 10-time All-Star Carmelo Anthony and 2004 Finals MVP
with the Detroit Pistons Chauncey Billups played against ironically enough the
Lakers, who were led by the late Hall of Famer to be Kobe Bryant. The Lakers
won that series 4-2 on their way to the front end of back-to-back titles.
For the Lakers, they reached this moment
of being eight wins away from earning their 17th title in franchise
history by winning the final four games in each of their first two rounds after
dropping the opener to take down the No. 8 Seeded Portland Trail Blazers and
the No. 4 Seeded Houston Rockets 4-1 respectably.
One thing this series will come down to is
which dynamic duo will outdo the other in this series for the Western
Conference title.
The Lakers bring double-trouble in four-time
Kia MVP and three-time Finals MVP LeBron James and perennial All-Star Anthony
Davis, who both were named to the 2019-20 All-NBA First-Team on Thursday.
James, who earned his league-record 16th
All-NBA selection (13th on the First Team) has showed no signs that
he is in season No. 17 with postseason averages of 26.6 points, 10.3 rebounds,
8.8 assists, and 1.6 steals on 55.3 percent from the field and 37.1 percent
from three-point range.
Davis, who will be competing in his first Western Conference Finals has been equally as spectacular leading the Lakers at 27.6 points along with 10.9 boards, 4.1 assists, and 1.5 block shots so far this postseason on 58.6 percent shooting, including 39.1 percent from three-point range.
“I just feel like everything’s falling
into place, you know” Davis, who was acquired by the Lakers from the New
Orleans Pelicans in the summer of 2019 said after his double of 13 points and
11 rebounds in the Game 5 clincher said in his postgame presser. “When I first
got here, obviously, the goal is to win a championship, and we’re eight wins
away. So, it’s been a great process for me. Been great, you know, being around
the guys we have. Obviously, being around ‘Bron, and just helping me through it
all.”
“Obviously, at this point now, Western
Conference Finals is new for me. So, that process is going to be fun. But it’s
everything I envisioned.”
As good as those two have been, the Lakers
are where they are because of the fact that the supporting cast around LBJ and
A.D. has played better and better as this postseason has gone on.
That truly was the case in the West Semis
against the Rockets as Kyle Kuzma and veteran guard Rajon Rondo really shined.
Rondo, who missed the seeding games and the
opening-round against the Trail Blazers because of a broken thumb and then a
back injury played like the star he has shown over the years during this time
of the season.
After registering eight points and four
assists in the 112-97 loss in Game 1 on Sept. 4 versus the Rockets on ESPN,
Rondo responded with 10 points, nine assists, and five steals in the 117-109
win in Game 2. He followed that up with 21 points and nine assists going 3 for
5 from three-point range in the 112-102 win in Game 3, and had a near triple-double
of 11 points, 10 boards, eight assists with two steals in the 110-100 win in
Game 4.
For much of this season, Kuzma (11.0 ppg
3.7 rpg, 45.1 FG%) has been up-and-down in terms of his production. In the
playoffs though, we have seen him take strides in building his consistency on
both ends, which really showed in the Semis against the Rockets.
He had 13 points and six rebounds in Game
2, followed 14 points on 7 for 10 shooting in Game 3. The third year forward
out of the University of Utah saved his best for the series clincher with 17
points on 3 for 6 from three-point range in the 119-96 win in Game 5 versus the
Rockets last Saturday on ESPN.
“Well, I think especially as the playoffs
continue, guys are singling in on LeBron and A.D. So, it’s up to us collectively
as a group to when those guys are collapsed on, and they kick it out, they
trust us. And we have to make those shots,” Kuzma told ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt on
“Sportscenter” after the win.
“For this series, we shot it pretty well, and we just got to continue to make those shots. Be ready and be confident in ourselves.”
One adjustment that head coach Frank Vogel
made against the Rockets is he went small taking JaVale McGee, the team’s
starting center all season out of the starting lineup, replacing him with
Markieff Morris, who was a big reason the Lakers won Game 2 as he registered 16
points and five rebounds on 4 for 6 from three-point range off the bench to
help tie the series at 1-1. In the Game 5 clincher as a starter, he again
registered 16 points on a perfect 4 for 4 from three-point range.
The other constant for the Lakers throughout
this season besides James and Davis has been their play at the defensive end.
In their series against the Rockets, the Lakers
held one of the top scoring and three-point shooting teams in terms of makes
and attempts on the season to 103.8 points in the five games on 43.9 percent
shooting and 36.8 from three-point range.
They also dominated them on the boards,
outrebounding them by a +12.8 (45.4 to 32.6).
“Well, from day one, Coach Vogel and the
coaching staff said that we need to be the best defensive team in the league,
and we took that to heart,” James, who averaged 25.8 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 7.4 assists on 51.1 percent shooting against the Rockets in the Semis said postgame after the Game 5 win. “And we’ve
had some great months. We’ve had a couple of weeks where we were not that good
defensively. But we’re hitting our stride at the right time, and that’s in the
postseason.”
The Lakers three-point shooting has been
inconsistent for much of this season. But they were able to find some
consistency in that department, shooting 37.7 percent from distance against the
Rockets in the Semis.
In the Game 5 clincher, the Lakers beat
the Rockets at their own game going 19 for 37 from three-point range.
“When we’re sharing the ball, and the ball
has energy behind it. So, when we’re getting into the paint, we’re sharing the
ball, our shooters are in great rhythm,” James said to ESPN’s Cassidy Hubbarth
after the win.
The Nuggets are back in the West Finals in
11 years because of the play of their dynamic duo of Jamal Murray (27.1 ppg,
6.4 apg, 50.2 FG%, 49.1 3-Pt.%) and Nikola Jokic (25.4 ppg, 10.8 rpg, 6.0 apg, 51.5
FG%, 44.0 3-Pt.%).
After trailing 3-1 in the opening-round
versus the Jazz, it was Murray who got the Nuggets back into gear beginning in
129-127 loss Game 4 with 50 points to go along with 11 rebounds and seven
assists on 18 for 31 shooting, including 9 for 15 from three-point range in the.
He followed that up 42 and 50 points in respective victories in Games 5 and 6
that tied the series for the Nuggets at 3-3.
In Game 7, Murray, who was going
point-for-point and shot-for-shot with Jazz All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell,
struggled scoring just 17 points on 7 for 21 shooting, including 1 for 6 from
three-point range in Game 7 on Sept. 1 on ABC. It was Jokic who stepped up to
lead the Nuggets on in the clincher with 30 points and 14 rebounds on 12 for 24
shooting.
However, the Jazz still had a chance to
win the series, but Joe Ingles game-winning three-pointer in the closing seconds
fell short as the Nuggets became the 12th team in NBA postseason
history to rally from a 3-1 series deficit in a best-of-seven series.
In the Semis against the heavily favored
Clippers, the Nuggets again fell behind in the series 3-1 and Murray really had
his problems. Aside from the 27-point, six-assists performance he had in the
110-101 win in Game 2 on Sept. 5 on TNT that nodded the series at 1-1, the
Nuggets starting lead guard was averaging 14.7 points on 34 percent from the
field to that point in the series.
He eventually figured out how to strike a
match offensively though against the perimeter defensive aces of two-time
Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, perennial All-Star Paul George, and Patrick Beverly
registering 26 and 21 points in the Game 5 and 6 wins to tie the series at 3-3.
He saved his best for the clincher scoring 25 of his game-high 40 points on 15
for 26 shooting, including 6 for 13 from three-point range in the 104-89 win in
Game 7. Jokic was spectacular in that Game 7 also with the fifth triple-double
of his postseason career with 16 points, 22 rebounds, 13 assists, three blocks
and two steals.
The Nuggets with that win became the first team in NBA postseason history history to comeback from a 3-1 series deficit in a best-of-seven, and the 13th team to come back from a 3-1 series deficit.
The Nuggets are also the first team in NBA
playoff history to register three straight comeback wins when facing
elimination, as they improved their mark to 7-1 in elimination games dating
back to last season, with their only loss in Game 7 of the 2019 West Semis
versus the Portland Trail Blazers. Their six wins when facing elimination this
postseason ties the league’s all-time postseason mark that the 1993-94 Nuggets
squad led by Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo, LaPhonso Ellis, Bryant Stith, Robert
Pack, Rodney Roger, Reggie Williams, and head coach Dan Issel.
“I’m really excited about what is to come,
and you know, last year we got to the same situation in a loss to Portland,”
head coach Michael Malone said postgame. “To get over the hump against that
team, growth, improvement, belief, and, you know, the skies the limit for this
team. We’re not afraid of anybody.”
After the win, Murray made a point during
his postgame presser to tell all the naysayers in the media, especially those
at Turner Sports and FOX Sports 1 about the Nuggets that they should be in the
conversation as one of elite teams in the league.
“You got Shaq [Shaquille O’Neal]. You got
Charles [Charles Barkley]. You got I think Zach Lowe’s name. Stephen A. [Stephen
A. Smith]. All y’all better start giving this team some respect because we put
in the work and we got a resilient team,” Murray said. “And you know, we
shouldn’t have been down 3-1. But, you know, to come back from 3-1 against the
Clippers is a big achievement.”
“So, it’s fun, you know, to change that
narrative. Y’all can finally start to change that narrative and look at us in a
better light.”
That perspective might change even more if
the Nuggets can beat the Lakers to reach the NBA Finals.
The Lakers while they have been impressed by how the Nuggets have played coming back from 3-1 deficits in their first two series this postseason, they feel if they play to their level, they can find a way to wear down the Nuggets like they did against the Trail Blazers and Rockets.
"We still have ceiling that we feel like we can get better. And it's our job not to put a cap on where we can go," James said. "So, we know as the series goes on, we start to get more comfortable with our opponent, with our schemes, with our system of what we want to do, and we hope to continue that in this series."
During the regular season though, the
Lakers won three of the four meetings, with two of those four tilts decided by
four points or fewer.
Murray and Jokic averaged a combined 52.2 points
per game against the Lakers on 50.8 percent from the field.
James and Davis combined to average 54.2
points on 56.9 percent from the field against the Nuggets during the regular
season.
During their regular season tilts, both the
Lakers and Nuggets scored well against each other averaging 113.3 and 115.3 points
on 49.6 and 49.1 percent shooting against each other.
The difference was in the rebounding where
the Lakers were a +6.5 (45.5-39.0).
The Nuggets during the seeding games of
the NBA’s restart played with no sense of urgency and focus defensively. It was
much of the case in the opening-round against the Jazz, until Game 7 where they
held the Jazz to 38.0 percent shooting, including 8 for 34 from three-point
range.
The Nuggets raised their defensive
intensity in the Semis against the Clippers in the second half of the final
three games of the series.
In the second halves of Games 5 and 6, the
Nuggets out scored the Clippers 131-84; outshot them 61 percent to 31 percent overall
and 57 percent to 28 percent from three-point range to tie the series 3-3.
The Nuggets second half defense is what
helped them close the door on the Clippers playoff run in the 104-89 win in
Game 7 on Tuesday, holding the Clippers to 33 points in the second half on 13
for 44 shooting (29.5 percent), including 6 for 22 from three-point range.
Leonard and George in Game 7 combined for
24 points on 10 for 38 from the field, including 4 for 18 from three-point
range, 10 rebounds, eight assists, and seven turnovers. They combined for just
five points on 2 for 18 shooting in the second half of Game 7.
What will make the difference is who will
play consistently at the defensive end in a series that is expected to be high
scoring? Which team’s role players can perform at a consistent level and who
can play their strengths the best?
For the Lakers, McGee and Dwight Howard will play a pivotal role in this series compared to the Semis because the Rockets played a small lineup. Things will be different as they will be tasked to try to slow down Jokic, along with Davis.
"He's a talented player. One of the best players in this league," Davis, who averaged 25.4 points and 12.4 rebounds, on 60.0 percent shooting in the Semis against the Rockets said about Jokic. "I just take pride in my defense in guarding him. He's a tough guy to guard offensively. He's able to shoot the ball. He can pass extremely well. He can shoot. He can go in the post. So, there's a lot of ways he can beat you."
While Rondo, Kuzma, Danny Green, Alex
Caruso, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Morris will be tasked to continue to make
perimeter shots and to outduel the supporting cast of the Nuggets in Michael
Porter, Jr., Jerami Grant, Gary Harris, Monte Morris, Paul Millsap, and Mason Plumlee.
This will mark the sixth all-time postseason
meeting between the Lakers and Nuggets, the Lakers have won the previous five matchups
in the playoffs. Aside from their meetings in the opening-round 1979, 1987, and
2008 which the Lakers won 2-1, 3-0, and 4-0 respectably, the other two tilts in
the Conference Finals in 1985 and in as mentioned in 2009 won by the Lakers in
five and six games respectably were a stepping stone to them winning the Larry
O’Brien trophy those seasons.
The 2019-20 version of the Denver Nuggets will
try to do something that the head coach Doug Moe led Nuggets of the 1980s and the
Carmelo Anthony led Nuggets of 2008 and 2009 could not do. Beat the Lakers in
the playoffs and keep them from another title.
They have shown that even when they are
down that they can comeback and win. But their challenger in the Lakers are on
a mission and LeBron James sees his best chance to win a fourth title and the
Lakers first in a decade.
History is on the Lakers and James side,
considering he has a 9-1 mark all-time in the Conference Finals, and has a 37-10
mark in this round of the playoffs.
At 35, James knows that this is his best
chance to win another title, and that if he wants to be mentioned in the same
sentence as all the Lakers greats that came before him, bringing the 17th
Larry O’Brien trophy back to Hollywood is the most important thing to get a
seat at that table next to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Earvin “Magic” Johnson,
Shaquille O’Neal and the late Kobe Bryant.
“It’s the reason I wanted to be a part of
this franchise, to take them back to a place that they were accustomed to
being-and that’s competing for a championship,” James said after the Game 5 win
versus the Rockets. “It’s an honor for me to wart the purple and gold, and for
us we try to continue that legacy.
“The opportunity to play for a championship, that’s what we’re all here for. That’s what we all signed up for.”
Information, statistics, and quotations
are courtesy of 91/2020 8:30 p.m. “Utah Jazz versus Denver Nuggets,” Game 7
First-Round on ABC, presented by Mountain Dew with Mark Jones, Mark Jackson,
and Cassidy Hubbarth; 9/1/2020 11 p.m. NBATV’s “Playoff Central Live,” brought
to you by AT&T 5G with Chris Miles; 9/10/2020 5:30 p.m. NBATV’s “Playoff
Central Live,” presented by State Farm with Matt Winer, Caron Butler, and Greg
Anthony; 9/13/2020 10:30 p.m. ESPN news crawl and “Sportscenter With Scott Van
Pelt,” from Washington, D.C.; 9/14/2020 1 a.m. ESPN news crawl and “Sportscenter”
with Kevin Connors and John Anderson; 9/16/2020 1 a.m. ESPN news crawl and “Sportscenter,”
from Los Angeles, CA with Neil Everett and Stan Verrett; 9/14/2020 1 a.m. NBATV’s
“Gametime,” with Kristen Ledlow, Jim Jackson, Grant Hill, and Sekou Smith; 9/15/2020
9 p.m. “Denver Nuggets versus Los Angeles Clippers,” Game 7 West Semis on ESPN,
presented by Wells Fargo with Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson, and
Rachel Nichols; 9/16/2020 www.nba.com story, “Series
Preview: Battle of Dynamic Duos Favors Lakers,” by Shaun Powell; 9/17/2020 9:30
a.m. NBATV’s “Gametime,” with Matt Winer, Isiah Thomas, and Caron Butler; 9/18/2020 8:30 a.m. NBATV's "Gametime," with Kristen Ledlow, Jim Jackson, and Kevin McHale; https://www.espn.com/nba/team/stats/_/name/den;
https://www.espn.com/nba/team/stats/_/name/lal;
https://www.espn.com/nba/player/gamelog/_/id/3206/rajon-rondo;
https://www.espn.com/nba/player/gamelog/_/id/3134907/kyle-kuzma;
https://www.espn.com/nba/player/gamelog/_/id/3936299/jamal-murray;
https://www.espn.com/nba/player/gamelog/_/id/6461/markieff-morris;
https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/2020-nba-western-conference-semifinals-Rockets-versus-Lakers.html;
and https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Denver_Nuggets_seasons.
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