The Denver Nuggets managed to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1, even though the Lakers did manage to figure some things out towards the end of the game. The Nuggets however executed their plan to perfection and one of the aspects of that plan was targeting the Lakers’ weak links on defense.
After the game, Bruce Brown admitted that the team’s plan was to continuously hunt point guard D’Angelo Russell on the defensive end, with Brown noting that the Nuggets wanted to make things “tough” on Russell because he is “not the best defender”.
“He’s not the best defender, so we wanted to make it tough on him”
Bruce Brown said the game plan was to attack D’Angelo Russell on every possession
“He’s not the best defender, so we wanted to make it tough on him” 😬
(Via @Tjonesonthenba ) pic.twitter.com/P0qGjqdhlk
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) May 17, 2023
There is no doubt that attacking poor defenders has been a successful strategy both in these playoffs and in playoffs past. It will be interesting to see how the Lakers counter that strategy, and since D’Angelo Russell is one of their best offensive players, they need to find a way to keep him on the court.
D’Angelo Russell has averaged 15.1 PPG, 3.0 RPG, and 4.8 APG for the Los Angeles Lakers in the playoffs, and he was crucial for them during the series against the Warriors. Hopefully, he figures things out defensively and he has the size and speed to be decent on-ball on that end.
The Los Angeles Lakers Are Afraid Of Losing D’Angelo Russell If He Gets Benched
Previously, it was reported that the Lakers are afraid of potentially benching D’Angelo Russell, as that could result in them “losing” the point guard. That would definitely be unfortunate, as the team needs everyone to be locked in right now to potentially beat the Denver Nuggets.
“Multiple team sources told ESPN that there is concern the team could “lose” the 27-year-old point guard if he views the adjustment as a demotion after starting every other game this postseason. Schroder has already shown he can be comfortable as a substitute, as he didn’t start until Game 6 against Golden State.”
Benching D’Angelo Russell could definitely be a good move for the Los Angeles Lakers, but at the same time, his offense has been crucial for the team through the playoffs. It will be interesting to see what the Los Angeles Lakers decide to do regarding this situation, but one wrong move could mean losing the series against the Nuggets.
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