4 things the Nuggets must do to sweep the Lakers out of the playoffs again
By Ben Handler
2. Trust Aaron Gordon to guard LeBron
One area of the game that should not result in a mismatc is Aaron Gordon covering LeBron James on defense. LeBron creates a mismatch against almost every single player in the league, but Gordon isn’t really one of them. Gordon can do a really good job and mostly hold his own in that matchup, which is a huge advantage for the Nuggets.
Most teams need to send help at James, but the Nuggets have the luxury of leaving Gordon to handle that matchup and living with the results. Sure, LeBron will get his points and get the best of Gordon from time to time. But overall, this is a matchup the Nuggets should happily live with. Dare 40 year old LeBron to turn into a scorer and try to do it all himself.
Don’t overreact to his scoring, but instead make sure to stay home on other players and especially shooters. Make sure LeBron doesn’t get others going by not overhelping. This may go against instincts and won’t be easy to do, but the more they can leave Gordon to deal with James, the more they can take away the role players for the Lakers.
LeBron is amazing, but at this point in his career he simply cannot beat the Nuggets by himself. Denver should force him to try and do just that, and be happy to live with the results.