Initial thoughts from the Nuggets’ Game 4 loss to the Lakers at Crypto.com Arena in the Western Conference playoffs.
1. Late to arrive: The Nuggets’ equipment bus arrived late to Crypto.com Arena on Saturday, forcing the team to warm up in slides before a potential close-out game. And just like Games 1-3, the Nuggets themselves were slightly late to the party as well, going down by double digits for the fourth straight game as Anthony Davis (17 points, 11 rebounds) put up a double-double by halftime and Denver turned the ball over eight times. Heck, coach Michael Malone even had a bad challenge. Who knows what it is about these two teams that it must always begin this way? But this is the rhythm we’ve come to know in this matchup. Of course, it hadn’t been a problem for the Nuggets before Saturday. There’s always a first time for everything.
2. Jamal’s struggles: At what point is it time to start worrying about Jamal Murray? Epic Game 2 buzzer-beater aside, this has been a difficult series shooting the ball for the Nuggets’ star point guard, who entered Game 4 shooting 37.7% from the field (26 of 69). After LeBron went Karch Kiraly on a Jamal drive early in the third quarter — King James’ second big swat of Murray this series — he was 5 of 14 from the floor with four turnovers. He finished 9 of 23 (0 for 4 from 3) with 22 points. Some might remember that Murray sat out seven straight games toward the end of the regular season while nursing multiple leg injuries. He was seen clutching the back of his leg Saturday night. So is this rust? Or is his health an issue? For the sake of the Nuggets’ championship hopes, it better be the former.
3. Gentleman’s sweep it is: Play with fire often enough, and you’re going to get burned. Or, in the case of the Nuggets, play with fire for four straight games … and you get burned once. Simply put, it’s hard to beat a team 12 times in a row, especially when you make a habit of spotting that team a double-digit lead. As brilliant as Nikola Jokic (33 points, 14 rebounds, 14 assists) was, again, Denver’s collective struggles from 3 (9 of 30 on Saturday, 27.6% for the series) have become a troubling problem, and the Lakers now have the tiniest bit of hope. The good news for the Nuggets? They’ve still got three more tries to close this out, and it’s just about a lock they’ll do so with a gentleman’s sweep on Monday at Ball Arena. The bad news? The Nuggets have some real issues to sort out. Or the second round could be trouble.
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