After dropping three straight games, the Denver Nuggets look to rebound against a struggling Lakers team. Here are 3 things to watch.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.
The Denver Nuggets lost three in a row. Everything looks out of whack, they aren’t the playing the type of basketball they’ve played all year and it’s cost them.
Quite honestly, the sky is falling. Or at least that’s what twitter would have you believe.
A loss to the Spurs marked the Nuggets third straight defeat after winning the previous five. Before the Spurs it was the Pelicans, and before them the Jazz.
It’s been a medley of issues — some coach Michael Malone needs to figure out sooner rather than later with just 19 games remaining. Jokic has battled foul trouble, the second unit looks out of whack and the selflessness they’ve shown all season hasn’t been there.
“When we do play for each other, we’re a very good basketball team,” Malone said after the loss to the Spurs. “And we have to get back to doing that for closer to 48 minutes.”
But lucky for the Nuggets, they will run into one of the few teams struggling more than themselves Wednesday.
The Lakers have lost three straight — and five of their last six games. Going back to the beginning of 2019, they are just 9-18. Not the best marks, especially for a LeBron-led squad with preseason hopes of challenging the Warriors.
But, LeBron can’t be overlooked no matter how much his team is struggling. And the Nuggets have just split a pair with the 10th-seeded Lakers this season
Here are 3 things to watch as the Nuggets look to get back on track.
How will the Nuggets respond?
For a 42-21 team sitting second in a crowded Western Conference, the Nuggets have compounded a lot of losses.
16 of Denver’s 21 losses have come as part of multiple-game skids, meaning only five times have the Nuggets had a loss bookended by wins. Conversely the Nuggets have five winning streaks of five games or more.
The Nuggets find themselves mired in another rough patch after a heartbreaker against San Antonio.
“Three losses in a row,” Malone said after the loss. “There are no moral victories for us this time of the season.”
Last time the Nuggets dropped three in a row, they rattled off five straight — starting with a big win over the Heat on Feb. 11.
They got contributions from throughout the lineup — and it will likely take a similar effort against Los Angeles.
Will the Nuggets be ready out of the gate?
Though Denver missed a couple chances to win it at the buzzer in San Antonio, they were lucky to be in that position at all with how the game started.
“We lost the game in (the first) quarter in my opinion,” Malone said. “36-17. After that I thought our fight, our defense was much better. … We’ve gotta come out with a greater sense of urgency.”
After the first quarter the Nuggets outscored the Spurs 86-68 — including 34-19 in the fourth quarter.
“We need to play four quarters,” Jokic said. “I think we’re capable of doing that. We need to focus more, we need to have more energy, especially at the beginning of the game.”
If Denver is able to come out quick, they have a chance to put a struggling Lakers team away early.
Speaking of which…
What should we expect from the Lakers?
Honestly, I have no idea. The Lakers are just 1-5 since beating the Rockets on Feb. 21 and have slipped to 5.5 games out of the 8 seed in the West.
Playoff LeBron hasn’t looked like the playoff LeBron of years past — and James as a whole has looked a step slower than we’re used to.
But LeBron is far from the Lakers biggest issue on the court. The Lakers young core hasn’t played up to expectations and the veterans they signed haven’t fared any better.
Off the court, they were caught in all the Anthony Davis drama without actually getting anything out of it — besides negative press.
Just about everybody pegged this Los Angeles squad as a playoff team heading into the season — and they still have a chance. But with just 19 games left, they need to kick it into gear if they want any chance of playing past the beginning of April.