One of the more notable games of this NBA regular season was the most recent meeting between the Lakers and Nuggets in Denver shortly after the trade deadline. Coming into the matchup, the Nuggets had owned LA over recent years, winning 13 of 14 and knocking them out of the playoffs in back-to-back years.
But this was a different Lakers beast after swapping Anthony Davis for Luka Doncic. The Luka/LeBron Lakers overwhelmed the Nuggets, blitzing Nikola Jokic and the Denver offense, completely stifling their typical explosiveness, leading to a blowout win for LA.
Much was made of JJ Redick’s brilliant gameplan and his team’s execution, and the much-anticipated rematch is Friday night. There’s a case to be made that the Lakers simply caught the Nuggets off guard. Given a chance to adjust and adapt, the Nuggets’ offense should look a lot better this time around against a Lakers team that has been struggling recently.
Yet, that anticipation may be largely for naught as both teams are littered with injury concerns, and the Lakers are coming off a loss in Milwaukee on Thursday night.
LeBron day-to-day, Luka iffy for Friday night
The Nuggets may miss both of the Lakers’ star duo on Friday, however. LeBron injured his groin last Saturday in a loss to the Celtics and hasn’t played since. It was originally reported that he would miss “at least” a week or two. James seems to be doing well and was recently upgraded to “day-to-day”, but he’s an extreme long shot to play against the Nuggets.
Doncic, on the other hand, has been playing better and getting well-acclimated to his new situation in LA. But he’s still getting fully into shape after missing a chunk of time with an injury and playing heavy minutes on Thursday night in a big loss to the Bucks.
When asked after the game if he’d play against Denver in the back-to-back on Friday, Luka said, “We’ll see. We’ll see on that one”. Reading between the lines, it seems like it would be a bit of a force for the Lakers to trot Luka back out there or rush LeBron back. They already proved their point the last time they played the Nuggets, and have lofty postseason ambitions. The shrewd move would be resting their superstars, so that’s likely what they’ll do.
Jokic and Murray probable, Gordon questionable
Jokic and Murray have been listed on the injury report the past couple of games, but have managed to play. They are both listed as probable for Friday night, along with Christian Braun and Zeke Nnaji. Everyone is dealing with some issues, but it seems like these players should be available for Friday night.
Aaron Gordon’s status is much more in doubt. He hurt his calf last Sunday and hasn’t played since. He was upgraded to questionable though, which means a return is on the horizon. They may choose to hold him out, especially if the Lakers are missing their stars.
But either way, it’s great news that Gordon appears close to returning as the Nuggets just aren’t the same team without him on the court.