Denver Nuggets vs LA Lakers: 10 Takeaways from This Rematch

3 of 11

Oct 7, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Yi Jianlian (11) defends against Denver Nuggets forward Jarnell Stokes (12) during the second half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports /

Take Your Time

The Nuggets need to stop playing hot potato.

It is clear that this team wants to share the ball, and this is a welcome notion. But zipping the ball around faster than your teammates can keep up with is not a good idea. While sometimes a good thing, against the Lakers it helped lead to a 20 turnovers.

With two bigs that can operate in the low-post, the Nuggets have need to look to grind the ball inside more often. This has been success in the past for Denver, and with Nurkic nicely developing, slowing the pace down could be a good thing.

These quick passes might be able to beat defenders if executed well, but the Nuggets don’t seem quite there yet. Most of their turnovers are coming relativley unforced.

The Nuggets are simply throwing the ball away, and need to slow down and focus on smarter passing instead of faster passing. Further practice with these smarter passes will eventually give way to the sort of efficient quick-passing that they seem to be chasing.

Home/Nuggets News