[LAL/DEN] Western Conference finals

Who wins?


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#31
Can't afford to miss all those free throws Nuggets.... maybe I'm spoiled by watching the Rockets, but seeing the Nugs' lackadaisical defense and silly attempts to rebound without boxing out makes me wish I'd picked Lakers in 5.
 
#35
nuggets meltdown JR smith oh so many turn overs.. and they missed a lot of FTS.. if they made their FTs they could have stolen this game
 
#38
On the bright side, the Lakers played about as well as I've seen them play all postseason (not really counting the two blowout games against the depleted Rockets) and barely beat a Nuggets team with Chauncey having an off night....

On the down side the Nuggets seem to be missing something on the composure / discipline (free throws, sloppy defensive execution, late game turnovers) side that'll make it very tough for them to win close games like this one.

How will the Nuggets bounce back from this?
 
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#39
On the bright side, the Lakers played about as well as I've seen them play all postseason
? They've had at least 4 better performances than this.

But this is a serious threat having seen the Nuggets at this point in the season. I think Gm2 is one of those "MWs" for LA, they actually need a buffer for the road this time around.
 
#41
? They've had at least 4 better performances than this.
Other than the two blowouts against an overmatched Rockets squad, not that I can recall... Pau looked energetic tonight, the Lakers rebounded hard, the role players hit threes and Kobe went for 40.

Can the Lakers play better? Far better... they just haven't yet and I'm not sure they have it in themselves to do so.

Something about this Nuggets team though... I just have a feeling they might not respond well to this loss.
 
#42
Other than the two blowouts against an overmatched Rockets squad, not that I can recall... Pau looked energetic tonight, the Lakers rebounded hard, the role players hit threes and Kobe went for 40.

Can the Lakers play better? Far better... they just haven't yet and I'm not sure they have it in themselves to do so.

Something about this Nuggets team though... I just have a feeling they might not respond well to this loss.
If we're not counting the blowouts, I would put Gm5-Uta and Gm2/3-Hou above this one, so I'll subtract one. But I'll concede that maybe the Nuggets being a tougher opponent made it look like not that great of a performance.

I don't think Denver would be spooked (if and) until they are down 3-1. They were able to test how the refs would respond to physical D, slapping at the ball, and a lot of contact on box outs. I doubt they feel they got shafted on that end, especially at Staples. They're going to keep up that style and they have to or they know they're gonna lose.
 
#43
why in the world is Anthony carter the imbounder on that ariza steal? He's re shortest guy on the court and Lamar blocked his vision and he never saw ariza. S***!
 
#44
why in the world is Anthony carter the imbounder on that ariza steal? He's re shortest guy on the court and Lamar blocked his vision and he never saw ariza. S***!
Carter's the guy who forgot to exercise his 4th yr option for guaranteed millions and became a FA for the league min.
 
A

AriesMar27

Guest
#45
bad free throw shooting cost the nuggets the game... if billups had made his first 3 freethrows the nuggets wouldve won by 1 point.... they screwed up by missing freethrows and commiting stupid fouls late in the game by martin and nene... bynum was made a non-factor as was pau for the most part. carmelo should have made the inbounds pass and carter shouldnt have been in the game. it was a good game and the nuggets shouldnt feel too bad about the outcome, they know that they can hang with the lakers, as long as they make their freethrows and dont make dumb touch fouls. the nuggets are a better overall team, they can beat the lakers. i expect them to win game 2 and put the pressure back on the lakers. the lakers played like the underdogs the entire game....
 
#46
why in the world is Anthony carter the imbounder on that ariza steal? He's re shortest guy on the court and Lamar blocked his vision and he never saw ariza. S***!
I didn't get to see the game but saw the highlights this morning and thought the same thing. Why was he even in the game that late anyways?

Also, many of the Kobe highlights I saw were of him being guarded by Carter and of course Kobe was easily scoring.

To those who saw the game - why did Carter have such a prominent role in the Nuggets gameplan??
 
#54
Nice job Nuggets bouncing back from a tough loss. Chauncey much better tonight... LA played pretty well once again, but the Nuggets managed to actually execute down the stretch!

Now just don't be content having split.. go home and win BOTH!
 

gunks

Hall of Famer
#55
Lakers are lucky they arnt down 0-2 right now.

I still think Kobe is going to the finals. But its going to be a rough road there just to get stomped by either Bron or Howard.
 
#56
NBA wants Lakers/Cavs.... it'd be oh so entertaining if the Laker half of that equation didn't end up making it though....

Maybe too much to ask for? Game 3 is must-win for the Nuggets. How will they handle the pressure?
 
#57
NBA wants Lakers/Cavs.... it'd be oh so entertaining if the Laker half of that equation didn't end up making it though....

Maybe too much to ask for? Game 3 is must-win for the Nuggets. How will they handle the pressure?
With a blow out. First WCF game in Denver in 24 years? Mile high?

Game 4 will be the contentious one.
 
#58
MELO really grew up this yr. He always had the talent and now he is finally putting it to good use. He is playing very hard and confident right now.

Melo is boxing out 2 guys and getting the offensive board quit a few times in both games. He's been the best player in the series so far.

As for the lakers, they are just not a dominating team. They have the most talent comparing to everyone else but they are just not realizing it.
 
#59
If the Nuggets big men can figure out how to box out correctly... maybe by watching some Houston Rockets game film, these games wouldn't even be close. Yeah, they're not as big as the Lakers front line, but it's so frustrating watching them not even bother to put a body on anyone.

They did do a better job in the second half.

Thoughts on Bynum's lack of playing time? Seems like he was doing OK out there... although at times he seems to drop back to inexplicable bouts of laziness, even though he managed to stay out of foul trouble.

Wonder if Phil just doesn't really trust him yet in crunch time?
 
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