LOS ANGELES LAKERS
Western Conference Finals Game 1 (5/16/23)
STARTERS
D’Angelo Russell • (very) quiet 1Q; fading midranger in corner (mid 2Q); slick inbounds feed to Reaves for an oop layup (late 2Q); forced TO on A. Gordon (start of 3Q); post J v. KCP (early 3Q); niiiice “spin-around” J (early 3Q); uptick in aggression to start second half; benched in favor of R. Hachimura in the 4th; OK night: 8 pts on 4/11 shooting (26 min.)
Dennis Schröder • good defensive intensity, not looking for offense (1Q); hesitant to shoot, given a ton of space; quiet night through three quarters; big corner triple (mid 4Q); unsuccessful charge attempt on J. Murray, recovered for a great contest (mid 4Q); helped well as Jokić attempted to split double team (late 4Q); decent outing, closed well - should play better moving forward; line: 6, 5 & 3 boards (32 minutes)
Austin Reaves • high-arc, corner “bailout” bank 3 (mid-1Q); 4 1Q dimes, played all 12 minutes; missed open escape 3 & pull-up 2 (mid 2Q); sneaky inbounds lob off feed from Russell (late 2Q); wide open midranger (mid 3Q); angle triple (mid 3Q); drew offensive foul on KCP (late 3Q); cross —> double-clutch pull —> drew foul (cut lead to 13, late 3Q); excellent lookahead feed to AD —> drew foul (late 3Q); hit angle triple off Rui feed (early 4Q) - gradually stepping up play throughout the game; hit 2 FTs to cut lead to 7 (late 4Q); capped 9-0! run with triple off LeBron feed; HUGE triple! (late 4Q); missed deep trey (late 4Q); came on very strong in second half, huge key to LAL’s success as the series rolls along; finished w/ 23 & 8 dimes! (42! minutes)
LeBron James • struggling to find offensive rhythm early (1Q); check-out: mid 1Q; strong driving lay on the angle (late 1Q); transition turnover (late 1Q); corner post-up on J. Murray (2 pts); chase down block! on Bruce Brown (late 1Q); turnaround J off glass (end of 1Q; finished quarter w/ 8, 4 & 2); driving lefty lay (early 2Q); rebounding very well; board, DIME to AD slam (mid 2Q); 11 1H pts; “ward off” lefty lay (early 3Q); reverse transition lay (mid 3Q); HYPER-aggressive post banker v. Murray +1 (early 4Q); rebound, quick feed to Schröder for trey (mid 4Q); drew foul on strong push to the hole after AD block, hit 1 FT, cut lead to 6 (late 4Q); lefty pass to Reaves for 3! (9-0 run, LAL down by 3; late 4Q); drew foul on breakout pass, hit 2 FTs (late 4Q, just over 1 minute left, LAL down 129-126); missed pull-up trey to tie game with over 35 seconds left; turnover in paint off difficult feed (15 seconds left); played very well overall: DD - 26, 12 & 9 dimes (almost 40 minutes)
Anthony Davis • NASTY block on A. Gordon (early 1Q); driving lay (early 1Q); hit 2 FTs; looking to score/challenge Jokić early; mirroring Jokic’s minutes; 3RD block, latest one: head up v. Jokic (early 2Q) - drew foul on next play; turnaround float v. Jokic (great 1v1, went right back at him after getting scored on; mid 2Q); slam off LBJ dime (mid 2Q); crossover, pull-up J (late 2Q, 16! pts); toughhh “charging” lay v. Jokić (late 2Q); soft hook shot via feed from LeBron (early 3Q); midrange J (26 pts, mid 3Q); aggressive jumper +1 v. Braun & Brown Jr. (late 3Q, 29! Pts); 31 points through 3 quarters; NICE feed to Rui for slam (early 4Q); 33! & 7 boards (early 4Q); CORNER triple!: 36 pts (mid 4Q); dominant outing, especially in the paint; HUGE denial of Jokic pass to A. Gordon —> LeBron drew foul in transition (late 4Q); incredible showing in defeat (would easily be TOP DOG of the Night had LAL won), finished w/ game-high 40! pts, 10 boards, 3 dimes, 3 steals & 2 blocks! (almost 42 minutes)
***
BENCH
Rui Hachimura • check-in: mid 1Q; duck-in dunk (mid 1Q); block on BBJ driving lay (start of 2Q); toughhh, “rip-thru”, contested midrange J (early 2Q); “line up,”bailout triple (early 2Q); block —> midrange J (mid 2Q); nice minutes in 1st half; coldddd baseline spin —> reverse lay (late 3Q); strong driving lay! (late 3Q); nice driving lay (early 4Q) - best sub for LAL by FAR; switched on Jokić, forced miss (early 4Q); cut, found room for dunk (17 pts, early 4Q); excellent defense on Jokic in the post & perimeter (late 4Q); Lakers’ best bench player, closed the game based on extremely steady play on both sides; X-Factor, dropped 17 pts in 28 minutes (off bench)
Lonnie Walker IV • check-in: mid 1Q; hit triple off breakdown feed (2Q); “skied” for board (early 2Q); contested corner triple (late 2Q); check-out: mid 4Q; 6 pts (2 triples) in 19 minutes off bench
Jarred Vanderbilt • check-in: late 1Q; aggressively fouled J. Murray before ball was inbounded (late 1Q); DELAY OF GAME on inbounds pass (early 2Q); struggling to find rhythm on either end, didn't make his normal impact in terms of energy and hustle; played 10 minutes (off bench)
Malik Beasley • DNP
Troy Brown Jr. • DNP
Wenyen Gabriel • DNP
Max Christie • DNP
Shaquille Harrison • DNP
Tristan Thompson • DNP
Mo Bamba • OUT
***
TEAM NOTES:
-struggling to get clean looks
-trailed 54-72 at the half
-down 101-86 late 3Q
-down 106-92 after 3
-cut lead to 8 (early 4Q)
-late push, got within 3 points: 129-126 (late 4Q)
-lost rebounding battle, 47-30
NUGGETS WIN SHOOTOUT, 132-126
LEAD SERIES 1-0
***
BARO NOTES:
-late 1Q lineup: Reaves-Walker IV-Rui-LeBron-AD
-fun 1v1 battle between AD & Jokić
-pace heavily in Denver’s favor
-Lakers positionally small, might need to abandon 3-guard look moving forward
-late 1Q lineup: Reaves-Walker IV-Rui-Vanderbilt-AD
-nice close to 3rd quarter
-early 4Q lineup: Reaves-Walker IV-Vanderbilt-Rui-LeBron
-mid 4Q lineup: Schröder-Reaves-Rui-LeBron-AD (ended up closing)
-HUGE night for AD, LAL’s best overall player
-LeBron attacking the rim very well, going RIGHT AT smaller matchups (namely, J. Murray)
-switching Rui on Jokić A LOT, having great success slowing him down
-free throw fest (mid 4Q)
-climbing back into the game at the line (mid 4Q)
-should take away a lot of confidence heading into Game 2, based on their second half (4th quarter) performance; minor adjustments (maybe to the starting five) could result in victory
-AD v. Jokić matchup is one for the ages
-should Rui start at some point in the series?
DENVER NUGGETS
Western Conference Finals Game 1 (5/16/23)
STARTERS
Jamal Murray • pull-up trip (early 1Q); toughhh coast-to-coast transition lay (mid 1Q); smooth corner fade (early 2Q); handoff trey up top (mid 2Q, 11 pts); stripped D. Russell’s layup attempt (mid 2Q); FEASTING in corner: 15 pts (late 2Q); toughhhh pull-up J! (end of 2Q); b2b triples to start 2H!; on unfavorable end v. LeBron post-ups; INSANE bailout J over LeBron (early 4Q); niiiice fakeout —> lay (mid 4Q); iso fallaway v. Walker IV! - unstoppable when his J is in rhythm (mid 4Q); drew foul, hit 2 FTs (mid 4Q); picked up 5th foul (mid 4Q); excellent lob pass to A. Gordon! (late 4Q); CLUTCH steal on LeBron in the paint (15 seconds left); tremendous night: 31!, 5 boards, 5 dimes & 3 steals (37 minutes)
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope • cut lay via Jokic feed (late 1Q); great movement without the ball; cut lay (early 3Q); niice driving runner v. Russell (mid 3Q); handoff, pull-up J to push lead to 20 (mid 3Q); BIG 3Q - hop triple off Jokic feed; rhythm trey!: 16 pts (late 3Q); hop triple off Jokic feed (again! • mid 4Q); clutch scoop lay! (late 4Q); missed open, elbow trey (late 4Q); excellent outing, provided timely scoring and tough D: 21!, 3 dimes & 3 steals in 36 minutes
Michael Porter Jr. • 5 early points, cashed triple (early 1Q); check back-in (early 2Q); transition two-hander! (mid 2Q); block on Reaves —> corner trey! (late 2Q) - active on both sides; SPLASH corner J (early 3Q); DIFFICULT coffin corner, step back triple (early 4Q); solid jump pass to wide open J. Green for corner trey (early 4Q); BLOCK on Rui midranger (mid 4Q); diving steal to KCP to Murray to A. Gordon for huge slam! (late 4Q); fully understanding how to play a role that contributes to winning - finished w/ 15, 10 boards & 2 blocks (34 minutes)
Aaron Gordon • forced LeBron into tough looks (early 1Q); missed wide open corner three, drove for a STRONG, leaning slam on the very next play (early 1Q); missed open trey (mid 1Q); threw ball away on fast break (late 1Q); aggressive driving lay v. Rui in transition (late 1Q, hit 2 FTs); dribbling TO to start 3Q; ran floor well in transition, drew foul (early 4Q); strong o-board, drew foul (mid 4Q); big o-board, drew foul (split FTs, late 4Q); clutch OOP! via feed from J. Murray (late 4Q); played solid D & hustled for boards in the second half; final line: 12, 3 & 3 dimes
Nikola Jokić • 3 early assists + putback in first 4 minutes; excellent activity on the glass; cashed straightaway J (mid 1Q); 10!! rebounds (before 4-minute mark, 1Q!); block on AD reverse (late 1Q); 8, 12 (career-high for a quarter) & 4! dimes (late 1Q); NASTY wrap pass to KCP for cut lay (late 1Q); check-out: late 1Q (8, 12 & 5 dimes); check back-in (early 2Q); turnover on failed lob pass to J. Green; strong driving, left lay on AD (mid 2Q); wide open, straightway triple (mid 2Q, 13 pts); SPIN —> slam on AD! (mid 2Q); 16! boards (mid 2Q); DESTROYING LAL on the glass (both ends; late 2Q); 19!, 17! & 6 dimes!! (late 2Q); toughhh back down J v. AD (early 3Q); toughhh driving lay (early 3Q); SPLASH bailout trey (mid 3Q); fadeaway J over AD (28, 19 & 12 dimes!!, late 3Q); BEAT 3Q BUZZER WITH RIDICULOUS, HIGH-ARC-STEP BACK; picked up 4th foul (mid 4Q); b2b turnovers on feeds to intended target, A. Gordon (late 4Q); drew foul on drive, hit 2 dagger FTs (26 seconds left, DEN up 131-126); absurd performance, TOP DOG of the Night: 31 pts, 24! boards & 14! dimes
***
BENCH
Bruce Brown Jr. • mid-1Q check-in; PnR driving lay (on his 1st play), drew foul (mid 1Q); driving lay (late 1Q); angle (splash) trey! (late 1Q); rebound —> transition lay!; rebound (off C. Braun strip), layup! (excellent pace to start; early 2Q); crossover, driving lay +1! (mid 2Q); 12! 1H points; NASTY TOMAHAWK JAM off the drive (late 3Q); huge night: 16, 4 boards & 2 dimes (24 minutes off bench)
Jeff Green • check in: late 1Q; missed J, got deflection, drew foul (early 2Q); drew offensive foul v. J. Vanderbilt (early 4Q); cashed wide open corner trey off MPJ feed (early 4Q) - previously passed up 2 open looks; 3 pts in 17 minutes (off bench)
Christian Braun • check in: late 1Q; stripped ball, led to two points by B. Brown Jr. (early 2Q); played with usual activity on defense, missed a couple of clean opportunities on the perimeter; played 12 minutes on the night
Zeke Nnaji • DNP
Reggie Jackson • DNP
Peyton Watson • DNP
Vlatko Cancar • DNP
DeAndre Jordan • DNP
Ish Smith • DNP
Thomas Bryant • DNP
***
TEAM NOTES:
-started off 4/6, 16-9 start
-30-14! start
-44-27 advantage! (early 2Q)
-61-47 lead
-15 1H dimes
-72-54! halftime lead
-40-20 rebounding edge thru 3 quarters
NUGGETS WIN SHOOTOUT, 132-126
LEAD SERIES 1-0
***
BARO NOTES:
-Nuggets with a much higher energy level early on
-Jokić EXTREMELY DOMINANT, best player on the floor
-offense firing on all cylinders
-early 4Q lineup: Murray-BBJ-Braun-Gordon-Green
-ball movement stagnant in early 4Q, offense not as fluid
-Jokić having some trouble going at Rui straight up - needs to back down and draw a double (late 4Q)
-role players (Brown Jr., KCP & MPJ) REALLY stepped up throughout the course of the game
-disjointed 4th quarter but came away with the W - RIDICULOUS Jokić performance mixed with incredible contributions from Murray, KCP & Brown Jr. (in particular)
-huge lead served them well…too much for LAL to (eventually) overcome; Jokić really set the tone offensively
-DEN remains undefeated at home in the 2023 postseason
***
Top DOG of the Night: Nikola JokiĆ
Star UNderDOGS of the Night:
Kentavious Caldwell-PopE & MPJ
(Game Notes) Takeaway: Both teams should be confident (& excited going into Game 2