The Nuggets Played LeBron | Lakers Nuggets Game 2 2024 NBA Playoffs 1st Round 

mismatching hunting is great but also dumb if it takes your best players out the action, Jokic and Murray will attack regardless of matchups to end the game, they didn't just swing the ball around because it was AD and LBJ guarding them.

I feel like AG is one of the biggest unsung heroes of the nuggets/probably the biggest glue guy. Dude does anything and everything you want him to do; and no matter what it is…he does it humbly and does it well

Lebron made AD stand in the corner, and gave him the ball at the 3point line when he got 1 shot off the entire 4th.

This is just amazing basketball. No crazy 3s just fundamentals

The lakers icing out AD in the fourth has had me going crazy for a couple days now

Lebron James overturning every Darvin Ham playcall for makeshift iso ball must be frustrating.

Jamal and Jokic the modern day Kobe and Shaq

If lakers can't hit wide open 3s in crunch time. They got no business in the playoffs

Coach Nick, holy crap, you are completely right. Mike Malone is smarter than I gave him credit for 🤯. Watching the game, I could feel the dynamic change greatly when the switch occurred, I just couldn't pinpoint in my head exactly why the Lakers couldn't really get themselves into an advantageous position to score. AD seemingly always out of place or covered, it was actually genius. I hope that with the line up adjustments in Game 3 they can game the Nuggets a bit more. With Vando and Christian Wood (hopefully) returning I'd like to see if they can provide a bit more versatility, as you remember for the Warriors, Javale McGee was the game changer, you couldn't leave him. They need to do something like that with Wood, where he's in the dunkers spot/3pt area ready off of a high PnR off the top between AD and LBJ.. or the alternate roll man to free up AD on the weak side because Rui has no business being a roll man. You'll never be able to leave the weak side to help. Keep D lo strong side corner and Denver has a big problem. Edit: now that I think of it, that fully unlocks Rui or Vando if they slide into the opposite slot for a cut for a dunk over tough defense or a ditch out 3. Lakers need depth and it shows. Been watching since 2011, thanks for all you do by the way.

Lebron had to ice AD because if AD continued to score more in the 4th Quarter he would have gotten credit for the win.

After all those missed shots it was Jamal Murray's job to make up for it in the end and he did, because that's what great players do

Denver switching Gordon to AD pretty much iced their offense, Lakers simply could not adjust to that

I totally agree. I was frustrated watching LeBron slow down every possession down after getting up by 15, instead of running more plays that actually got you the lead, like feeding ad and letting dlo initiate the offense. Bron is too emotionally attached to plays and is letting them dictate their losses. He needs to stop being a pusy and start trusting his teammates fr

Coach Nick thx for this video. Learned al lot!

Wait…so you’re telling me that all a team has to do is deny lebron a size matchup advantage and he completely breaks down and unable to adapt or simply score on someone when the matchup isn’t the most favorable. Yeahhhhh…. Totally the 🐐 lmaoo

Absolutely fantastic video Nick, great analysis

I like that you didn't put any music on Coach. Great video :)

Coach, remember when way back when you put out your first video without the iconic soundtrack and I called you out for it? You’re still at 850k subs. With your quality, you should be at 2m EASY. I get not wanting to be repetitive or feeling tacky by doing so BUT you’re f’n with the magic formula. It engages people. Bring it back. Stop fighting it.

Your Expertise with these Videos 🙏🏿

Great game breakdown! It started out looking like the Lakers were going to win in a blowout but Denver didn't give up and it ended up being a bit of a thriller.

great analysis coach Nick. So many ESPN & Tnt analysts including my favorite Tim Legler didn't recognize the personale switch on the Nug's part (I noticed that actually haha), which prevented the Lakers from going to AD or the AD/LBJ pick and roll

Lakers head coach Darvin Ham should implement Zipper Punch with Lebron James as the cutter.

Rui Hachimura shot 0 for 2 at 3-pointers, scoring 3 points total because Hachimura is a low volume 3-point shooter = 3.4 attempts per game with 1.4 made per game regardless what his 3-point shooting percentage says.

Where’s the music 😢😢😢

Lol sir we come here for the music play it please 😂

Another great video

Also offensive rebounding for the Lakers dissapeared for much of the second half...look at all those Denver defenders and no Lakers close to rebounding starting at 3:07

Great breakdown!

Great bkd. That’s why AD didn’t score in the 4th

I think the reason why the Nuggets are able to consistently beating the Lakers in close game is due to them smartly manage their stamina, which is also helped by their terrifying efficient offence. The scary part about the Warriors dynasty was not so much that their system created unstoppable offence, it's that their offence was terrifyingly efficient even if they miss. I think efficiency metrics we have, have yet to account for overall players workrate and exertion. Dribble and shoot would spend more overall stamina than, say, pass and shoot. We must also take into account the fact that unlike isoball in which shooters stand around while the most important player tyre themselves out, the Warriors combination of ball movement and decent shooting created a machine since their main pieces are not required to spend all their energy on holding onto the ball and create or score, as well as having to exert themselves all the time with dribbling or drive. Those movements are the reason why guards like Kyrie are frequently injured. They exert themselves. Back to the Nuggets, the scary part about the Nuggets is not just that their players have pretty good workrate with Jokic and AG having very good stamina for big guys, but also that because Jokic plays such a simple and effective style of basketball, their offence do not emphasise "opportunity efficient" as in making use of all their possessions, but effort efficient, getting the basket with as little stamina as possible, they are able to conserve stamina for crucial moments. By distributing the ball to a variety of players, the Nuggets can make sure their stars can chill until their numbers are called. Jokic himself can handle the scoring load while his teammate play less aggressively. This is my explanation for their "clutch" stat, why the Nuggets can play well in the 4th. They are just fresher because they are effort efficient. Bron is the master of this hence his longevity but that doesn't mean his team can always measure up. I also believe this was how the Heat can chase teams down the stretch in multiple close series last season. They always seem to have something left in the tank because they play such efficient offensive basketball. Limiting dribbling and create more movement to force your opponent to tire themselves out force out a "clutch" situation in which you outperform them in the 4th.

excellent analysis

Denver shot appallingly and had to resort to last minute heroics and still won - Lakers are cooked - no way Denver are playing this bad over 48 again in this series even when it is 8 on 5 in LA

great breakdown. coach always comes up big.

jamal murray is insane bro

Damn almost thought you worked for ESPN lol

I thought LeBalco was so smart but now it's Ham's fault again lol

Lebron should have driven to the basket in his last play. Better odds in making the basket and getting fouled plus using the clock.

I understand what you mean and you are right but this is more involved with the coaching. I was watching the game in confusion Wondering why AD was at the 3 point line. Ham didn't make the right adjustments so the offense lagged.

We have plan A, (pick and rol wth Lebron, Rusell and DLo with Davis) BUT OUTSIDE OF THAT. We then go a forced iso ball. THIS GAME 3 IF WE DONT COME PREPARED THATS IT.

Davis and Russell Pick and Roll is deadly they need to run this more and Lebron just need to lead the game when it Time

0:04: Poor AD😅

Coach am I wrong for thinking that LeBron should have just posted KCP up every time they matched up? He’s much smaller

Disagree with the last shot of lakers. Lebron should have milked the clock. Theres a 6 second time/shotclock difference there and given a wasted time to rebound and take a timeout it would leave the nuggets 3-4 seconds at best and not the 12 seconds where the nuggets got composure with more time to decide the game.

Lakers shooting 40 free throws in game 3, watch it !

Ah the good old Lebron system at full effect

First, for lbj "the chocker" even with BALCO he can do nothing. Second, Denver is the defending champs, stop changing the narritave in favour of the lakers.

Lebron's last made 3 pointer was a 26 ft shot, not 33 ft. As for the rest, you pretty much nailed it at the end with Darvin Ham having to reprogram LeBron. But since that's never gonna happen we'll continue to see Ham and LeBrons' teammates get blamed for the losses and LeBron taking all the credit in a win.

" Its on Darvin Ham"? We'll guess we're screwed then.

i miss the music😢

Lakers need to run more sets where they initiate with double ball screens to see what Denver is going to do and then either attack or get into a secondary. They need to be more judicious about over helping until the shot clock is lower. They need to rest LeBron in the 2nd and 3rd and let DLo and Reeves find a rhythm with AD. Someone needs to wake up Rui and remind him that he needs to try to be as aggressive as MPJ on offense

The change of matchups in second half play perfectly to the cards of Lal, they just did not respond to it. E.g.simply LBJ should post KPC and not to try play pick n roll against him. That was stupid and just oposit of hunting for mistmaches. All the blame is on coaching staff or players did not listen to them. Or in another words play to win, not to not loose.

That Porter 3 was the difference maker in that game imo. The Lakers did few mistakes there. As coach pointed, d-lo dive was unnecessary. But AD also had no reason to run after lebron when he dunked it or at least he could’ve went back to defense faster. Its pathetic that 39 year old lebron got back before AD after the dunk.

in 4Q Lakers offense became weirdly static nobody move except when they got balls that make easy def for nugget

No fighting for freedom music? 😢

What do you think about lebron not making an effort to stay with Murray on the last play ? There was definitely a gap for him to easily go through. He did the same thing in 2018 where he didn’t try to stay with kd on the final shot

Wait there's no music wtf

The Nuggets went from having one of the worst transition offense in the regular season to running the best transition offense in this playoffs so far. This team's ability to adjust their game on-the-go is so lethal. The Lakers played their best on this game, an almost perfect basketball, but it didn't even faze the Nuggets

2-Guard for the Lakers 1st Unit, Austin Reaves shot 1 for 5 at 3-pointers, 4 for 11 total (9 points scored total). I guess we should blame Coach Malone. Too Lebron centric

Wrong, it would've been plenty of time on the clock if Lebron had not jacked the 3 when he did. There was only 6 second differential between game clock and shot clock. But because he took the shot when he did Nuggets had some 15 seconds to get a good look at the game winnings shot..

Nikola THE REAL MVP Jokić is already in the G.O.A.T. debate!

If the Nuggets weren't shooting so horribly, this game wouldn't have even been close. Wait until they get to L.A., their shooting will be must better and the Lakers will be toast again. The only question left for L.A., is whether they will get swepted again.

A heartbreaker for sure

So how was block on DLO not a foul?

Surprised you didn’t talk about the controversial successful challenge on the Russel foul where he was smacked in the face. Lebron was not happy about it in the postgame interview

First fives of both the Nuggets and the Lakers seem to be at almost par -- where the Nuggets clearly dominate are in 2 areas: the bench and in coaching. Malone is clearly the better tactician and makes quick adjustments to both the offense and defense that are precise enough to produce wins. Denver will easily win this series.

FIRE DARVIN HAM

AD is made of glass, and Lebron is made of old age (at this point), they are still good but can't play well full game, they are not a 48 minutes team, so the Lakers tried best to score as much as possible and expect to defend in the later part of the game to steal a win, it is a very good strat prbly the best idea,and they almost got it, nothing done wrong, this is just what will happen when you fight a juggernaut team. Just see how many Jokic-Murray PNR Lakers forced out of nuggets, Malone don't usually run this unless he has to, it's their kill shot and they had to run many times just to win this game (if it's not the lakers I think they won't try this hard, nuggets really want to sweep them)

Lebron James's "mismatch hunting" forces his teammates to stand & watch because all ball movement stops. Coach Ham needs to interrupt with Horns Flex Offense featuring D'Angelo Russell as the ballhandler.

The Lakers got tired in the mile-high city and started shooting 3s, leading to losing. They need to be more aggressive in the paint. Jokic is just a brick wall, those floaters from AD/D-Lo will be lethal if they can hit them on a consistent basis. Lakers have a change to win the series but you can't let a game like this slip.

This game made me sick to my stomach, after that buzzer beater i was just in disbelief as a lakers fan.

Do dallas game 2

Old GOAT James

It’s criminal that Murray is not even an allstar

where is the classic background music? i miss it

Complacency thats the point of Lakers collapse. I can blame the coach, but it was the whole Lakers rosters complancency and no sense of urgency, lack of hustle in 2nd half. 😂

Do y’all think lbron will sit out 3rd game?

Lebron had Anthony Davis in the corner like he's Chris Bosh or Kevin Love. Lol. It would have been a big shot if he converted. Poor timing at that point in the game though.

I said the same thing, Lebron killed the offense when he took the ball in the second half, trying to hunt for mismatch instead of sticking to the AD pick and roll which was almost perfect and kept the offensive rhythm for the team. Who should be blamed for the loss though? Coach Ham, call a timeout and make the team stick to whatever was working. He is so bad as a coach.

Hey guys, guess who I am: DARVIN HAM is why I refuse to bring children into this world VS NUGGETS 😂 Love your analysis, coach Nick. I've been noticing that LeBron being gassed late in games has really cost the Lakers at times. He's amazing, but I wish he'd take his own human limits into account.

This is not a series for Austin reeves he is too short if he was couple of inches taller he gets that ball

they did not play Lebron, they played AD. AD was lakers and kept them in it all game long. sadly ball is not going back to him in the 4th

Clearly Ham was outcoached here, plain and simple.

Jokic is inevitable

LeFraud makes a couple good plays on defense and people act like he had a great defensive game . The reason why the Nuggets couldn't score was because they were missing open 3s and settling for too many 3s in the fastbreak instead of finishing in the paint . The amount of times LeFraud was walking back on defense is laughable but he gets all the credit for doing the bare minimum

They simply got outcoached

Lebron should low post Kcp more,it’s easy match up for him

LeBron system where everyone standing around hoping for a pass which at times it's a force shot, doesn't work that's why Bron need 3 superstars & bunch of good shooters with him for him to win.

I watched this whole game. LeBron gave up alot of backside cuts to Aaron Gordon. He mad multiple lazy plays on defense or straight up lack of defensive positional awareness. Your missing some footage obv

Thought despite the strategy lebron and the lakers still got good looks, I mean the Austin reaves isolation still creates an open three for rui just like a lebron ad pnr can.

So Malone was making adjustments throughout the game while the Lakers just had lebron making decisions

They should have 2 man or 3 man game it… LEBRON and Center weak side offense … lol 😂 oh well

Ham is clearly lebron’s puppet. He has no control with the team, he could have called a timeout but instead let lebron run that kind of offense which makes his teammates useless.

💛💜

100% disagree with Lebron taking that last shot. Too much time left on the clock with no shot clock. AD dominating inside you get him the ball after moving the D around some more. Nuggets can't win without scoring, they can't score without the ball. Deny them the ball as long as possible and play to your strengths. Lebron is not, has never been, and will never be, a teams strength at the end of a game. It's not shade, just facts. Either you want to win the game or you want Lebron to win the game. I choose win the game!. And, if anyone thinks for one minute that Ham can "re-program" Lebron they've clearly not been watching this dude for the last 20 years. Every coach who has tried to "re-program" Lebron has gotten himself fired.

Lebron is the coach not Darvin ham that’s why he can’t override the way he is playing also I thought you were gonna explain why it’s the replay team fault the lakers lost the game

Labron JOKED AGAIN 😂😂, do l see the brooms 🧹🧹🧹out Again???🤣🤣

great game by the lakers esp. ad, lebron and dlo but still a huge L... nuggets play poorly and down by 20pts until 10mins in the 4th and still W... question: can ad, lebron, dlo replicate their great performance and can the nuggets stop playing poorly and start playing like their usual nuggets game... which is simpler and easier adjustment? my opinion? i can see the broom

Lakers are all bark no bite. Talked a lot of smack about Denver for some reason rather than focusing on winning a championship. Jamal Murray heard all of the noise and media nonsense and let his play do the talking.

Lebron system is build for beating warriors, jokic system is build to beat Lebron

U c thay play alot better with out lalame