Lakers’ LeBron James pinpoints reasons for blown opportunities vs. Nuggets

For the second consecutive season, the Los Angeles Lakers’ championship hopes were dashed by none other than the Denver Nuggets.

Regardless of how hard LeBron James and company tried, the Nuggets seemed to have every answer.

Now, all that’s left for the Lakers to do is reflect upon how they couldn’t seem to overcome the Nuggets and how they could then be better moving forward.

That is exactly what James did in the most recent episode of his podcast with JJ Redick, “Mind the Game”. The King explained what he thought went wrong for the Lakers as they let a few winnable games slip from their fingertips.

“Obviously, going against the defending champions in the first round was always going to be a difficult challenge. We knew that coming into it. F**k, we had so many opportunities man. To lose in five, two of them being game-winners by Jamal (Murray)… his greatness …. I believe we made too many errors in some of the games,” James said.

“F*ck, we had so many opportunities man… I believe we made too many errors in some of the games… The better team won, for sure. Give credit where credit is due.” LeBron James on the Lakers’ first-round loss to the Nuggets. (via @mindthegamepod)

Now, playing the what-if game is dangerous slippery slope. But LeBron James couldn’t help but think that if a few plays had gone their way, especially in Game 2 where they blew a 20-point lead and lost at the buzzer to a Jamal Murray fadeaway, the Lakers could have put up more of a fight.

“Having so many opportunities in other games, you just feel like, s**t, if one play here, one play there, could have made a hell of a difference. But when you’re playing against a team like that, you have zero room for error,” James added.

In the end, LeBron James felt like the Lakers had a chance to send the Nuggets home early, although he credits them for coming back from multiple double-digit deficits in multiple games by being the better team.

“Emotionally, I felt like we was right there. Obviously, in every game, to be able to steal a game. But at the same time, we weren’t. S**t hurts,” James said. “F**k man, a couple plays here, a couple plays there. We could’ve won the series. But the better team won. The better team won, for sure. Give credit where credit is due.”

Lakers can’t sustain their leads

The Nuggets outscored the Lakers by a total of 39 points in the second half of games, and in all of the Nuggets’ wins in the series, a familiar story was present: Los Angeles couldn’t seem to hold on to their leads. Just to hammer home how many golden opportunities the Lakers had to get more than one win in the series against Denver, their time of lead throughout the first four games of the series was over triple than the Nuggets’.

Nuggets have a 3-1 lead, but Lakers have been up in every game this series 😮 (h/t @WorldWideWob)

It was perplexing to see the Lakers get away from what worked in the first half; credit must go to the Nuggets for mounting one comeback after another, but they shot themselves on the foot on multiple occasions. They stopped running organized offense when they were in the lead, perhaps due to fatigue, and an effect of this is that the Lakers couldn’t get the ball to Anthony Davis consistently.

The team’s lack of scoring success in the halfcourt allowed the Nuggets to push the pace, and they got easier baskets as a result. A feedback loop ensued, and thus, the Lakers choked away their leads on a consistent basis.

“I’d see some crazy a** stat about like the minutes that we were leading in the series compared to losing in the series. But we both know that’s a bit of fool’s gold because most playoff games come down to one or two, three or four possessions. If you’re not able to capitalize off those possessions or make plays during those possessions then that’s how you lose games,” James added.

There’s no need for the Lakers to overreact and overhaul their team completely after losing to the Nuggets. Perhaps better coaching and some better wing depth could help them get over the hump. Alas, a new roster-building trend appears to be upon us, and it’s not quite clear if the Lakers’ offseason trade targets would help them emerge as one of the best teams in a stacked Western Conference.

Timberwolves and Thunder create a new meta

Small-ball became the wave following the Golden State Warriors’ dominance in the mid-2010s. But the Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder are showing that skilled size is the way to go, making it even more difficult for the Lakers to try and keep up.

Switchable wings who can make plays off the bounce will be at a premium in the trade market, as the Timberwolves show that athleticism and size could help cover a ton of ground in a pace-and-space-centric NBA. The Thunder also have huge ballhandlers and a versatile center, and they have good to solid defenders at every position. This is the kind of roster the Lakers should aim to build as they try to maximize the remaining years of LeBron James’ career.