It was a valiant effort for the Los Angeles Lakers this weekend, but in the end, it wasn’t enough to earn a win and break the streak against the defending champions. After the final buzzer, LeBron spoke candidly to the media and explained what would be required for the Purple and Gold to make this a long series.
“I’ve never played on a championship team that didn’t pay attention to detail. There’s no if, ands or buts about it,” said James. “You have to.”
As a 4x champion, LeBron James has first-hand knowledge of what it takes to win 16 playoff games. Among other things, attention to detail is required and it’s what truly separates the contenders from pretenders. After 20 years in the NBA, LeBron knows that taking care of all the little things on the court is really the first step to building a championship team.
With the Miami Heat, it took a “big three” with LeBron in his prime to go back-to-back and it took just about everything they had. This season, with the Lakers, it’s taking everything from him, Anthony Davis, and the backcourt of Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell. This year, the margin for error has never been so narrow and the Lakers will have to play nearly perfect basketball just even to have a chance against some of these elite teams in the West.
Unfortunately, after drawing Dever in the first round, the chances are even more stacked against the Lakers and history says they will struggle to keep up with Denver’s arsenal of veterans and shooters. So while Michael Malone and the Nuggets are certainly not scared of the Lake Show (especially after winning 9 straight games against them), they will make sure to give them their best every single game and the Lakers must do the same if they want to keep their season alive.
The Signs Do Not Look Good For The Lakers
Both Anthony Davis and Darvin Ham were publicly confident about their chances in the West and many fans are still clinging to hope that the Lakers can figure out a recipe that works before it’s too late. In Game 1, despite 59 combined points from the duo, it wasn’t enough to get the win and it remains to be seen how the Lakers will answer for the next matchup on Monday.
The good news for the Lakers is that the game was relatively close they could have won it with one more late-game run. The bad news is, the matchup is trending in the same way it did last season. Despite being sent home in a clean 4-game sweep, all of the games were very competitive and the Lakers had a chance to win until the very end.
Back then, the Lakers didn’t have enough to close the deal and contain the Joker when it mattered most. This year, with Jokic on the cusp of his third MVP, he’s proving equally as challenging to stop and it’s a signal that nothing has really changed since the last time they met.
With some time left to go before the next game, the Lakers will need to consider every option to try and match up better against the Nuggets. If they get swept again, by the same team in back-to-back years, it will not be a good look for them and it will count as a blemish on LeBron James’ otherwise illustrious resume. For now, it’s still early enough for the Lakers to respond and stop the bleeding before things get out of hand. As always, the key to victory will be with defense, star-power, and attention to detail on both ends of the court.
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