Loading...
Loading...

Hello, Lakers Nation. Welcome in to the LakersNation.com podcast. My name is Trevor Lane and it's game day Lakers Nuggets 7 p.m. Pacific time tonight come hang out
I'll be live doing the play by play breaking everything down 7 p.m. Right here on the Lakers Nation.com YouTube channel
It's like a party. This is a big one big game for the Lakers tonight
Today on the show I'm going to get into the injury report
How does it look for the Lakers as well as the Nuggets will take a peek at the standing see where things stand
What is on the table right now for this game tonight? What's at stake plus we'll get into the keys to victory for the Lakers
So let's dive right in and we'll start with the injury update here for the Lakers
Maxi Cleba is questionable
That's it. That's the only injury right now. He's still dealing with that back
So it is to kept them out of last game. He was available last game against the Pelicans
But Maxi did not wind up playing he is questionable for tonight's game and they may need him
They may need him tonight. I mean, they're going to need as many players as they can get to throw at Nicola Yokech
So this injury for Maxi questionable is something we do need to keep an eye on because the Lakers center depth could be tested
Tonight now for the Denver Nuggets who have dealt with a number of injuries of the course of the season
They're going to be without Aaron Gordon and the Lakers may be catching a little bit of luck here because it sounds like Aaron Gordon
Is going to be back sooner rather than later for the Nuggets
Maybe even their next game. So Aaron Gordon will still be out though for this one tonight against the Lakers
Cam Johnson currently listed as questionable while Spencer Jones who is really impressed
With the nuggets. He's on now a full contract earning his way onto one Spencer Jones is out as well and
Peyton Watson who could wind up being a Lakers target in free agency
He is also out for the Denver Nuggets
So the last time the Lakers Nuggets played it was a Lakers win the nuggets were missing a number of players including Nicola Yokech
Now the Lakers are facing a short-handed Nuggets side once again
Nonetheless, Denver is still a very very dangerous team and a team that has proven that it is capable of winning games
Even when they're missing key pieces of their rotation. So right now even though they're missing Peyton Watson even though they're missing
Aaron Gordon may be Cam Johnson Spencer Jones out the Denver Nuggets last I looked a four and a half point favorite
For this game again. This is a road game in Denver for the Lakers
That naturally is going to tilt things a little bit towards Denver
But even with those injuries the nuggets are still seen as the favorite in this game the Lakers
They're gonna have their work cut out. I mean they're always going to whenever you're playing Nicola Yokech
But they've got their work cut out for them in Denver in order to get the win in this one
So what's on the line for this game? So I said it's a big game
Why is it such a big game for your Los Angeles Lakers? Well, we do take a peek at the standings right now
The Western Conference playoff race you can see very much in flux and well this one is gonna matter a lot
So the Lakers are playing the nuggets three times this year and the last time they played the Lakers did get the win
That was back near the end of January so
The Lakers are up one out and what that means is that the season series is on the line with the two sides only playing three times this year
They do play again in a little over a week
But right now the season series would be on the line if the Lakers were to win this they would go up to oh in a three game
Series for the season and the tiebreaker could very well matter right now the Lakers are the six seed
But they're only a half a game back of the Denver Nugget so
If the Lakers were to win this game they would flip flop places the Lakers would move back into the fifth seed
Denver would fall down to six so in the near term. That's what's at stake right now. It's it's fifth place
But longer term the standings of the Western Conference. They're so compressed as expected
You've got the Lakers just a game and a half back of the Houston Rockets game and a half back of the Minnesota Timberwolves
Half a game back at the Denver Nuggets and only two games up on the Phoenix Sun
So right now you have Houston, Minnesota, Denver, the Lakers and the Suns all essentially competing for the three through seven spots in the West
So a win over Denver tonight would be big
Not just for moving the Lakers into the five seed right now also getting the tiebreaker over Denver
And of course maybe ultimately moving up to the three seed of course
Ultimately when we get to the playoffs
We know that just being the three seed or the seven seed or whatever
Is not everything as we saw last year the Lakers were the three seed and wound up losing in the first round
A lot of it's going to be matchup based and that's just that's what happens when you get a league with increase in parity
A lot of it can come down to who do you draw how do you match up with that team in round one
But nonetheless for the time being with you know nearly 20 games left here in the season
Right now you just want to win as many games as you possibly can if you're the Lakers just win as many games as you can
And once we get a little closer once we get a couple weeks out of the the end of the regular season
Then maybe the Lakers can try to manipulate things a little bit to get a certain matchup or try to get to a certain seed
Right now when as many games as you possibly can get as high as you can in the standings now remember
This is really the beginning of a very difficult stretch for the Lakers schedule-wise
See they've got the game tonight against Denver
But then Indiana tomorrow second night of a back-to-back against the Pacers that's back in LA
So you got a hop on a plane in the play. I know the Pacers are a tanking team
But nonetheless second night of a back-to-back after playing the Nuggets tonight
You know could be a little bit tricky
In just over a week they do play Denver again and between now and then you've got Indiana
New York on Sunday that's gonna be a big one and it's an early game 12 30 pacific time game
Then you've got Minnesota
Chicago which is essentially a tanking team not one of the better teams
But they can always you know be a threat any given night look
We saw the pelicans give the Lakers a little bit of trouble just a couple of nights ago
Then Denver again then Houston then Houston
Then Miami second night of a back-to-back in Miami yikes
That's a long flight to Houston to Miami and then you've got you got to play the heat
Then Orlando then at Detroit and then at Indiana. So look there's in the next couple of weeks here
The Lakers have some big time games for a team that has struggled to beat
The best teams in the NBA. I've said it before. I don't think they've had a true statement win
Since the last time they beat Minnesota, which was the end of October
That was when the season was just starting
so
This is an opportunity for the Lakers
It's a very daunting portion of their schedule
But it's also an opportunity to maybe pick up some of the statement wins that they've been lacking
So far on the season and that really begins tonight
This very important stretch that it's likely going to determine are the Lakers
Maybe the three seed could they fall as low as maybe even being in the play in and keep in mind when we're looking at the Lakers
And the Nuggets specifically we start looking more at the strength of schedule remaining and the Denver Nuggets do have the most difficult remaining strength of schedule in the NBA
Meanwhile, the Lakers have the ninth most difficult strength of schedule
It doesn't mean the Lakers have an easy schedule in fact you look at the Lakers schedule on tankathon and they list the top
Five opponents that a team has left. I'm sorry top six opponents that a team has left and Denver doesn't even make the list
I have Denver as a legitimate contender and they don't even make the list of the top
Opponents the Lakers have remaining because they've got games against they have two games against okc
They've got Detroit. I've got another gaming gets the nicks. They've got Houston, Minnesota, Cleveland
All of those teams ranking ahead of the Nuggets
So the Nuggets don't even make it onto the list of the top six teams the Lakers have remaining
It is not an easy finish to the schedule the Lakers are going to have to be playing their best basketball and continue to improve and grow
And they really want to hit their their stride ahead of the playoffs
But it's if they're hoping for the three seed
It's not going to be easy getting there the western conference is going to be a gauntlet from here on out
So there's a lot on the line both in the near term as well as the long term in this game for the Lakers
It is right now battling for the fifth seed
Also battling for the tiebreaker over the Denver Nuggets
Given how close things are right now in the standings the tiebreakers could very well wind up mattering
And then longer term we're also just talking about stacking as many wins as you possibly can in order to ideally
continue to move up and and progress in a very very difficult very challenging western conference
And of course as we get closer to the playoffs we'll start getting more into
What's the best path for the Lakers who's the best first round opponent all that sort of stuff for right now
You win as many games as you can and then we'll sort through everything
At a later date because of how close things are all right
So the Lakers again big big game tonight 7 p.m. Pacific time
What are the Lakers going to need to do in order to beat a very good very talented
Nuggets side i'm going to get into that next i'll be right back in one minute
A thoughtfully built wardrobe comes down to pieces that mix well and last so that's where quince shines
Premium fabrics consider designs and everyday essentials that feel effortless to wear and dependable even as the seasons change
Quince has the everyday essentials that i love with quality that lasts lightweight cashmere sweaters short sleeve mongoli and cashmere poloves
Linnam bottoms and shorts tease in 100% pima cotton like the one that i'm wearing right now literally the most comfortable t-shirt
That i own these are the versatile pieces that make a wardrobe actually work
Season to season quince works directly with the top factories and cuts out the middleman
You're not paying for brand markup or fancy retail stores just quality clothing
Their clothing is rated between 4.5 and 5 stars by thousands of people wearing it every day
And the only partner with factories that meet rigorous standards for craftsmanship and ethical production
My quince shirts have become an absolute go-to i wear them way more than i even thought that i would they look good
They feel expensive and they're actually affordable
So stop over complicating your wardrobe. You don't need a closet full of options
You need a few pieces that really work right now go to quince.com slash commentary for free shipping and
365 day returns
That's a full year to build your wardrobe and love it and you will now available in Canada too
Don't keep settling for clothes that don't last go to q-i-n-c-e.com slash commentary for free shipping and
365 day returns quince.com slash commentary
All right, so one of the lakers need to do in order to get the win tonight over the denver nuggets
You know, there's a lot of challenges stylistically with denver when we look at this team
One of the really the lakers in order to be at their best and jg reddick has talked a little bit about this in order for them to hit their ceiling
They are looking to be a top 10 offense and a top 15 defense
So they want to be an above average defense
Well, I think recognizing that they're not going to be a top five
Even they're not going to be one of the best defenses in the NBA. I don't think they have the personnel for that
But they also understand that they're ceiling on the offensive end is higher than they're ceiling defensively
And so they want to be a top 10 offensive team the challenge with denver is that they are also essentially those things in terms of
If they're going to be at their best, they're going to be in elite offense and they're going to try to be
Better than average defensively and if we look at denver right now
They are number one in the NBA in offensive rating
Obviously that's going to paint the picture of the entire season for denver and denver is dealt with with a number of injuries and things of that nature
So you know what version of the nuggets are you getting in any given moment that's
That is obviously something that that matters, but nonetheless on the season
They are number one on the NBA in offensive rating now. They do have losses recently
They've lost a number of games. They lost a golden state the golden state warriors to the lakers
dismantled
Just a few days ago. They lost to okay see they went to over time to do it. That's you know
No shame in that
Lost him in a soda as well recently had a loss to the clippers by a point
So the nuggets are not they lost to the calves the nuggets are
When they're at their best. They are a very very good team
But they also are not have not been playing their best basketball lately
But I do have some stylistic concerns for the lakers against the nuggets simply because
The nuggets are very similar to the lakers
But I think the nuggets when they're at their best are a little bit better at the same things essentially that the lakers are good at
You know the the nuggets are a low volume three-point shooting team
But they're a higher it just as the lakers are but they are a higher percentage three-point shooting team
Then the lakers are so that's that in and of itself. You look at the nuggets offense across the board
They're in the top 10 at every state and we get the rim on threes the you know percentage wise
It's when you get into the frequency of their shooting. They're not as high frequency of a
three-point shooting team or even a team getting shots at the rim
And that's one thing that kind of holds the Denver Nuggets back
But that was going to look fairly similar to what the lakers chart would look like as well
Where the lakers generate and score a very high percentage of their mid-range shots the nuggets are more efficient though from three
And in their attacks at the rim so
That's that's a little bit of a concern
I think there's a chance that this is a very very close game
Because you've got two teams that are going to lean very heavily into their offense and it could come down to
Who just makes fewer mistakes in this one tonight? And I think before I even get into the three keys here. It's also important to note that
Denver will be up for this game, right
We saw the pelicans last game got up to play against the lakers
Very clear just looking at their injury report. They were playing everybody in that game
That's kind of funny. They've already declared like a few players like the jonte Murray out for this next game that they've got
But nonetheless the teams get up to play the lakers that will especially be true for Denver
They hate the lakers in Denver
So you know the crowd is going to be boisterous. It's going to be loud and the lakers are going to be ready for that
Now in terms of strategically
I think one of the things the lakers are going to need to be ready to do is send a lot of help for
Nicola yogicch. I mean we know how good he is
I think he's the best basketball player in the world right now you look at this
He's a plus 17.8 on the season when he's out there on the court for the Denver
I mean this team is there's so much better when he's on the floor
They're in the hundredth percentile in offense
And then they're in the 80th percentile defensively when yogicch is out there on the floor now
They did bring in Jonas Valentino's kind of interesting last game. They actually started both Jonas and
Yokech I don't know that they'll do that strategy in this game against the lakers
I wouldn't expect it
But just throwing it out there the double big lineup was something that the the Denver Nuggets turned to their last game
But the big thing for the lakers is and sometimes this winds up not working out
And we've seen that in the past with lakers and nuggets matchups the lakers
I believe over the last they've played the laker the nuggets four times since
Trading for Luca one of those games luka didn't play in but the lakers are three and oh in the games that luka has played
against Denver
Luca has done very well against the nuggets
That said
The lakers big job here is going to be
Not shutting down nickel yokech but making other guys beat them and
That hasn't always gone well for the lakers in the past the recent history the lakers have done pretty well
Against the Denver Nuggets
But when we think about the playoff series in the past and we think about what's happened with this team in Denver
And there was that period of time where the lakers just felt
Incapable of beating this team because
Every night
It seemed like
Some nuggets role player just hit shot after shot after shot after shot
It was it was like magnet ball or something they it was remarkable the way they would beat the lakers
Would feel like every time the lakers would hang in there you'd get to about midway through the fourth quarter
and then you'd get a run of
Seven possessions or so and the nuggets would score on like five or six of those seven possessions and the lakers would score on one or two of those
Possessions and that's that's it. That was the game games over at that point
And it just felt like whether it was
Catavius called Wapu or Christian Brown or whoever these guys were just hitting
Shots and they had somebody else stepping up and hitting big shots all the time against the lakers nonetheless
Even with that kind of PTSD still built in there
um the lakers
I think need to make other guys beat them non yokech players beat them and Jamal Murray
Tends to go crazy whenever he plays against the lakers
You also you obviously don't want to funnel shots to him because he can get hot in a big way, but
Yokech can be so hyper efficient scoring the basketball
um
You want to make him
Distribute you want to make those shots go elsewhere ideally you don't want them going to Jamal Murray
But if you can make a julien's brother take shots if you can make Christian Brown who's very capable of knocking down shots
But yokech is so efficient that you're going to be better off trying to get those shots elsewhere
Now yokech is still going to get
His points, right? I mean he's going to do that. He's not having as good of a season
As as he's had in some seasons past when we've seen him just be the clear, you know runaway
MVP
But nonetheless, I think you want to try to prevent yokech from really getting going and getting
Into a rhythm
When we dig into his stats a little bit on the season
He's at 29 points per game right now 12.6 rebounds 10.3
I mean, it's just absolutely ridiculous the numbers that he put the video game numbers
That he puts up and he's even shooting 40 percent from three
Makes it very very difficult to deal with denver
I mentioned the nuggets are very good at a lot of the things that the lakers are also good at
They're also a high volume free throw shooting team this season
But they make a higher so just like the lakers are but they make a higher percentage of their free throws than the lakers do
So again, that that's a challenge, but yokech if you let him get going and you let him go for 35 or something like that and do it in
In a hyper efficient way
That's that's very tough. I you are better off with
Jamal Murray going for 35, but taking more shots to do it because he's having to take more difficult shots more shots outside the paint
That is the preferred option here for the lakers. So you're going to have to send help on nickley ochers defensively deandre
Aton. I'll talk more about him in a minute. He's going to have a big task. I already talked about maxi cleva
He's probably going to get some reps if he is a go deal with that back issue
We've also seen the lakers go small jackson haze
I thought I've been singing his praises. I thought he was fantastic. That's last gaming is the pelicans
This is a very difficult matchup for jackson haze simply because of the size and physicality of yokech
He's being certainly faster between the two, but he's given up a lot of weight a lot of size a lot of strength to yokech
It's a very tough matchup for him
I think you need to make the argument that putting Lebron
On yokech or putting Ruihatchamura on yokech who actually have a little bit more muscle on them then
The jackson haze does may even be the preferred option just to lean on yokech a little bit
But the bottom line is that no one player is going to bother yokech enough to really stop him
You're going to have to send help and you're going to have to mix it up
JJ reddick is going to have to throw some curveballs at yokech because he's so smart
He understands the game such a high level that if you send the same defense multiple times in a row
He's going to pick it apart. He's going to identify the counters for that
So the lakers are going to have to mix things up a lot. They're going to have to be very
A vigilant about where yokech is getting his catches
And sending help in order to force the pass out and then the
The weak side players are going to have to scramble they're going to have to be in scramble mode
We're going to have to see the lakers defense
Not just
Strategically operating at a high level, but effort-wise they're you they're going to be situations where
They've got three guys defending four and they're going to have to scramble and recover and help
And do everything they can if they can indeed get the ball out of the hands of nickley yokech
So it's a very tall task and it's one that there is not going to be one solution for throughout the entire game
They can just go to I think it's going to take throwing a lot of different looks at yokech
Doubling from different angles sending help in different areas the timing of it all of that
There's going to be a lot of intricacy that's going to be built into how the lakers are going to have to defend nickley yokech tonight
and we'll see if they can
If they can accomplish that
the second point
Pain to great, you know, it's a simple thing, but the Denver Nuggets not so great protecting the rim
They are really good stopping shots from getting to the rim to begin with when you do get shots against them at the bucket
They they're not great there
We look at their rim protection numbers they they're 27th in the NBA and opponents feel goal percentage at the rim
So if you can get to the rim against this club
You've got a pretty good shot a score of the basketball however, they're fifth in the NBA in rim
Tempts at the rim allowed so
Denver while you can score on them if you can get to the bucket and get into the pain
They don't give up a lot of those attempts their perimeter defense does a pretty good job
So for the lakers it's going to be about getting those paint touches
It's going to be about getting into the teeth of the Denver defense not allowing their perimeter defenders to keep you on the outside
And I think that's going to require a lot of off ball activity from the lakers
I want to see a lot of pin down screens back screens all kinds of the stack actions and things like that that they're running
The lakers are not going to be able to just stagnate on the offensive end and simply run the high pick and roll
I think they're going to have to throw just like what they're going to have to do defensively
I think they're going to have to throw a lot of curveballs at the Denver Nuggets thing
And I have to throw different looks at them terms of how they're running things offensively
Of course Luca is going to need to have a really big game
He's going to need to be a superstar back Luca can say one of the easy
Things to watch and there's a lot of different areas this game to watch but
Bottom line when the dust settles does Luca have a better game than Yokech like that that is going to matter a lot
In the ultimate outcome of this game
But I do think that
offensively
Keeping the focus on getting paint touches is going to be important and that doesn't mean not shooting the three
It just means getting a paint touch and a kick out before you are taking that three you want to be able to
Get into the heart of the defense first then make your decisions from there after you force the defense to react
Once the defense collapses then you're kicking out to an open shooter
Ideally, it's a loop canard a really hot tremoros someone like that Denver is disciplined as they are
It probably won't be and it's going to take Marcus smart the Jake the Ravens players like that are going to have to knock down
The shots that they get but it's all got to start from paint touches you need to see the lakers
Getting into this defense getting touches in the pain and then going from there
If they can get shots at the rim off of that fantastic take those
But they're going to have to get a paint touch read how the defense reacts and then respond appropriately from there
Guys are going to have to step up and hit shots as I said Denver's defense is disciplined
I'm not expecting loop canard to get seven threes in this game tonight
You want to get as many form as you can
But there's also going to be an element of this where the other guys that aren't always accurate three-point shooters
You're going to need them to knock down some shots tonight
Marcus smart's going to need to do it
But rabie is going to need to do it. There's going to be some guys who are going to get looks
And are just going to be able to knock down though need to be able to knock down those shots
And that includes the brunt
Who had a couple of games shooting well from three was one for five last game against the pells
He's going to need to have the three ball working in this one for the lakers to get a win
All right, I've got a final key to victory here for the lakers plus the X factor for the game
And I'm going to get to that
It one minute be right back taking care of your finances is so important
Rocket money is a personal finance app that helps find and cancel your unwanted subscriptions
monitors your spending and helps lower your bills so you can grow your savings
One of the things I love about rocket money is that you have the ability to track your subscriptions
And even cancel them within the app with just a few taps
It's super easy to do in my situation
I didn't realize that I accidentally had two separate subscriptions to a certain four-letter sports networks premium service
And rocket money was able to help sniff that out
Notice that I was paying twice for the same thing and ultimately help me save money
Plus the rocket money apple consolidate all of your accounts into one financial picture for you
So checking savings loans investments etc. I put them all in one place these days
It's really easy to have a lot of different accounts sometimes with different banks or different entities
And rocket money is going to put it all right in front of you that way you know where you're really at
Which is obviously incredibly important
And I'll tell you one financial strategy. It's been very helpful for me for savings
And that is the Senate and forget it approach automated savings
You just tell it how often and how much you want to save and the system will go ahead and take care of that for you
And so what that brings you is consistency
Let rocket money help you reach your financial goals faster join rocket money.com slash Lakers
That's rocket money.com slash Lakers rocket money.com slash Lakers
All right my last key to victory
When the turnover battle sounds simple. Doesn't it?
Well as I said the Denver Nuggets have been very very good when it comes to turning the basketball
Over in fact they have the third best turnover percentage in the NBA
Meanwhile your Los Angeles Lakers. Well, they have not been as good at the turnover battle now
They had been doing very very well. We had seen improvement there in fact
They're 22nd in the NBA and turnover percentage. So you may hear that and think oh well
Good luck doing that when you're talking about the third best offense when it comes to turning the basketball over
And the 22nd best offense when it comes to turning the basketball over and the Lakers are coming off of a
Disasterously high turnover game against the pelicans. They had
21 turnovers against the pedals none of that
Sounds optimistic about the Lakers ability to do what I'm saying here
And win the turnover battle, but I do have some good news
And the good news is that the Lakers even after
This rough outing against the pedals that saw them turn the ball over 21 times the Lakers
Since the all star break now that's a small sample size into seven games
But since the all star break the Lakers actually ranked second in the NBA
In turnover percentage. They've actually done a much better job not turning the ball over again last game
Not did not check that box. They turned the ball over a ton
But the Denver Nuggets are a team that very much takes care of the basketball the Lakers need to match them there
The other thing about Denver is that they're not a very high turnover forcing team
They are very low when it comes to steals the Lakers generate a lot more steals than the Nuggets do
So if the Lakers are not sloppy with the basketball offensively Denver is not the kind of team
They play solid contained defense, but they're not going to force a bunch of turnovers on their opponents
That's not the way that they have defended there are other teams that
Go the opposite route the Detroit Pistons for example foul at an incredibly high rate
They are they pick up the most fouls in the NBA
But they also force the most turnovers in the NBA get the most steals in the league and they use that to get out of run
And they think that balance the balances things out
When you factor in all of the foul calls that go against them Denver
It is a bit more conservative defensively. So
Denver's not going to force you to turn the ball over a ton
They're not going to get out of position a lot defensively
But there is a path for the Lakers to be a low turnover team against Denver
Now the key is can the Lakers also turn over to the Nuggets go in the other way
And based on the year-long stats
You would say that's
Unlikely the Denver Nuggets 15th in the NBA in turnover percentage since the all-star break though
So they have gotten a little bit sloppier with the basketball over the last week plus couple weeks
The Lakers meanwhile
Done a much better job hanging on to the basketball
So we're always keeping an eye on those margin areas
3.0 percentage free throw attempts and percentage
Turnovers offensive rebounds those are the you know the important stats that we keep an eye on in the margins
That often go a long way towards determining whether or not you win a game
But in this one while all those stats are important
I'm going to be keeping a really close eye on the turnover percentage
The Nuggets are just too clinical offensively
if you give them
Plus seven shots or something like that feel goal attempts over what the Lakers get
Because the Lakers find themselves at a turnover deficit at the end of the night and
They maybe give up a couple extra offensive rebounds or something
That would be a very very difficult mountain to climb
And because the Nuggets are so efficient scoring the basketball an extra seven feel goal attempts
Could be disastrous could be nearly insurmountable because they're so good at scoring the balls
So the turnovers are going to be critical and I want to see the Lakers
I'm not saying they have to be great if they can't I'm not saying they have to win it by like
Five turnovers or something like that be five turnovers better than the Nuggets
It doesn't have to be this big discrepancy
But you want to keep yourself in it and the way the Lakers can really get themselves out of a game
Is when they turn the ball over a lot the opponent generates a bunch of extra feel goal attempts
And the math it just doesn't math at that point it gets very difficult for the Lakers to stay in a game
So the turnover column going to be very very important
How sharp is this team what they cannot afford to do in tonight's game is
Hand the ball to Denver they can't do we can't see any of these
Oops, I dribble the ball off my foot type moments in this game
You do not have the margin for error for that against Denver the Lakers have to be sharp
Turnovers are unavoidable
You're not going to just have zero turnovers in a game. You're going to have some you just want to make sure
The Nuggets are actually having to work for those turnovers and you are limiting those turnovers as much as you possibly can
Um, if this game is going to go poorly
The way it snowballs is if the Lakers have a high turnover game
Whereas if the Lakers are going to win this game
The way they're going to do it in addition to the shot making and the defense and everything that gets wrapped up in a win
But
It's going to be key that they are
Right there neck and neck with the Nuggets in turnovers ideally maybe even win the turnover battle
If they're going to get the win in this one
All right, my ex-factor
For this game, I you know, I hate to go back to the well here and go with the same player
But second game in a row. I'm going to say deandre and and
I think it's it's inescapable that it's deandre and for this game because this is
This is the kind of matchup that you've got deandre and for um
We saw Jackson Hayes in the playoffs last year
Didn't the Lakers really struggled with the size of the Minnesota Timberwolves and even post-trade deadline last year when the Lakers made the Luca trade trading away Anthony Davis
Their lack of size was an issue at times. It's the point where JG Reddick just leaned into playing small ball and
Essentially trusted five players put those five players on the floor and that was it and it didn't include Jackson Hayes
So getting deandre and was about having another option and a bigger more physical
Sturdy or option at the center spot. He will still be at a
a strength and size deficit when compared to yogic when compared to valentina's
But we've also seen deandre and turned in good performances against the Minnesota Timberwolves earlier on in the year
He's also had stinkers against
Say the Houston Rockets on Christmas Day
So what version of deandre and the Lakers get do they get a DA who steps up through the challenge of
Dealing with Nikola Yokich in this game and has one of his better performances or do we see a deandre and who
Like on Christmas Day has two rebounds and is just
A ghost out there on the floor
That is going to be critical for the Lakers tonight. They need a solid performance out of deandre and not just because in general
They need to get more consistent and more solid performances out of them
And I thought he was fine. He got outplayed by Jackson Hayes against the Pelicans
But that was more Jackson Hayes was awesome that game
DA I thought was fine
Against the pal had a few
The unforced mistakes that I was just talking about dropping the ball out of bounds things of that nature
But overall the course of the game. I thought he was fine
They need tonight's game to be one of deandreans best games
It may not even show up in the box score if it is
But he's got to box out on the glass
He's got to be that primary initial defender on Nicola Yokich
He's got to be forcing him into tough shots whenever he can whenever he can
He's got to be communicating on the back line
Deandreate is absolutely critical in this game
In fact, if DA does not have a good game
It's going to be very difficult for the Lakers to win this one
I think that's how important deandreate is going to be for the Lakers tonight. So
DA this is a look spotlight is on Lakers Nuggets playoff positioning and stake
Come on deandreate and they the Lakers need a big outing out of him tonight
All right Lakers nation give me your thoughts in the comments down below
Don't forget game time 7 p.m. Pacific time be live right here on the Lakers nation.com YouTube channel
Do it a little play by play breaking down the game as it happens. Tell that everybody see him and stay safe
Lakers Nation Podcast
