Echoes of “who’s your daddy” chants still ring in my ear as I’m typing this. The Denver Nuggets created what looked like a replica of the WCF from the ‘22-23 season. Thanks to a stellar performance by Michael Porter Jr, an MVP-repeat performance by Nikola Jokic and a consistent and stallworth command by Jamal Murray, the Nuggets took and kept control of the 1st game of the NBA ‘23-’24 season. 

For each team, I have 2 things I took away from this game. Let’s dive a bit into them and see if we can check for future trends. 

  • Denver Nuggets – This team’s starting rotation is still a long train runnin’, but the bench wil take a few games to catch up to speed.
    • Starters staying hot – One great thing I love about setting expectations – keeping them – and these guys did not miss.  This team shot a red hot 61% in the 1st quarter and essentially cruised till about 5 minutes left in the 4th quarter. They rebounded, passed and pressed hard in that first 12 minutes, and it paid off!
    • Bench needs work – Late towards the end of the 3rd quarter and near the start of the 4th, the Lakers used a 13-0 run to get the game close. For that same period, Christian Braun, Reggie Jackson, Peyton Watson and Zeke Nnaji were on the floor, and responsible for 4 turnovers that turned into 7 points. If you’re trying to repeat as champs you can’t have that. 

It looks like the parade was the last time these guys partied, cause it was business from the jump (ball). Look to see if Coach Malone rotates his guys deeper to get more experience for another title run. 

  • Los Angeles Lakers – Can’t decide if this team is wet from the jump or dry like the Sahara. .
    • Sighs of Relief – The acquisition of Wood, Reddish and Taurean Prince showed a flash of hope. Prince had a team high 75% shooting and was the main reason the Lakers kept any offensive pace this game. Wood and Reddish will have to get more aggressive on the boards, but also showed some life late in this game. AD and Lebron both looked healthy, but something just seems off…
    • Offense and Defense looks like Morse Code – Follow me here – there were periods in which the Lakers defended well, turned defense into offense, and scored on consistent trips. However, the same thing seems to be repeating itself  as last season – the team gets itself into long scoring spells and they start with bad shot selection. It looks like “score-score-drought, score-long drought, score-score-drought.” For example, early in the game, Russel missed a 3-pointer (bad selection) and although the Lakers collected the rebound, AD came back with an 18ft fadeaway and missed. The very next play, Jokic scored and got the game within a point. It’s that sort of inconsistency that killed the Lakers’ leads in the WCF and killed the momentum today. Hamm has got to figure out a way to get these guys more efficient with the ball. 

It’s openly apparent that there are no set plays, that the team depends on scoring from just about anywhere and that Lebron is going to have to play as much as he did last season to get this team in the direction fans want it to go. Hamm, you might need a passing guard ASAP. Check to see if the Lakers’ rotations get shaken up in the 1st 10 games. 

Now, I could go on and on about this game, but I’d rather hear from you: your thoughts, views on the game or anything else you’d like to add. If you miss the chance here, don’t forget to catch a chance on “Off the Backboard” – a Space run by @RicoModernWorld! Stay tuned for more recaps and more from us at The Sports Affiliation!