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A Lakers Blog. Thoughts, reflections, and the odd rant on the Los Angeles Lakers and the NBA (even the Clippers).

Preview & Chat: The Denver Nuggets

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Denver Nuggets vs Los Angeles Lakers

Tue Feb 10, 10:30 PM EST – TNT

Line: LAL -1.0, O/U: 201.5

Staples Center – Los Angeles, CA

Recent Matchups

Ranks

  • 104.1 ORTG (21)
  • 107.9 DRTG (23)
  • 95.9 Pace (3)
  • 75.5 DRB% (8)
  • 0.516 TS% (23)

Latest Results

Leaders

  • Ty Lawson 16.6 ppg
  • Kenneth Faried 8.8 rpg
  • Ty Lawson 9.9 apg
  • Jusuf Nurkic 1.3 bpg
  • Ty Lawson 1.3 spg

Ranks

  • 103.9 ORTG (22)
  • 111.1 DRTG (29)
  • 94.3 Pace (10)
  • 75 DRB% (14)
  • 0.514 TS% (27)

Latest Results

Leaders

  • Kobe Bryant 22.3 ppg
  • Jordan Hill 8 rpg
  • Kobe Bryant 5.6 apg
  • Ed Davis 1.2 bpg
  • Ronnie Price 1.5 spg

As was mentioned in the comments the other day, Lakers vs. Nuggets might be the worst match up of two teams on a Tuesday night TNT game ever. Expect to hear Charles Barkley complain yet again about having to sit through another Lakers game while all the “Inside the NBA” guys try to talk him off the ledge and find ways to make this game seem appealing. Honestly, I don’t know what can really be said about this specific match up to get you excited.

The Nuggets have lost six games in a row and 13 of their last 14. The Lakers, meanwhile, have lost four games in a row and…13 of their last 14 games. It will be hard to find two teams playing worse combined basketball than these guys and they will show off their respective games to a national TV audience in the late game. Welp.

In saying all that, I would not be surprised if the badness of both these teams cancels each other out and produces some good basketball moments. After all, both teams have some intriguing players that, when they get going, can captivate. Denver’s Ty Lawson is in the top half of the league’s point guards and forwards Kenneth Faried, Wilson Chandler (long a Laker killer), Danilo Gallinari, and Arron Afflalo can all impact a game. On the Lakers’ side, Jordan Clarkson (who has been playing well), Wayne Ellington, and Nick Young along with big men Ed Davis, Ryan Kelly, and Carlos Boozer all have the ability to do damage in their own ways. These guys from both sides will get many chances tonight to put their stamp on the game and lead their team to a win.

However, if you read that paragraph again, it’s still all a bit sad. Six years ago these teams were battling in the playoffs in the Western Conference Finals.  Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony headlined a match up of two teams who looked like they could contend for the next half decade easily. And now Kobe is on the sideline with his 3rd straight season ending injury and Carmelo is talking about shutting it down after the All-Star game for a Knicks’ team worse than both the Lakers and the Nuggets. How quickly things can change.

Where you can watch: 7:30pm start time on TNT. Also listen on ESPN Radio 710AM.


Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Trip says

    Response to a comment from the previous thread.

    teamn: Yes, the CBA changed the playing field significantly. But, our FO shouldn’t get a pass for that. The CBA didn’t twist the FO’s arm to trade four picks for a 38 year old PG with known back issues. The new CBA didn’t force the FO to hire ill-fitting coaches that would squander the last productive years of Kobe’s career. The new CBA didn’t foster an environment that soured the organizations’ relationships with two future Hall of Fame bigs — who left substantial money on the table to get away from Laker Nation. The CBA didn’t insist that the FO sign a 35 year old Kobe, fresh off a major injury, to a team paralyzing contract extension.

    The new CBA did, however, make young controllable players and draft picks far and away the most valuable commodity in the game. The Lakers either couldn’t figure that out or chose to ignore its implications. Keep in mind that this is the same CBA that enabled Boston and Utah to collect 19 and 14 picks respectively over the next 4 drafts to go with their current young and talented cores.

  2. George Best says

    The minute the nba vetoed a trade for cp3, it’s credibility was gone. I remember being in a fantasy baseball dynasty league where the commissioner wanted to start vetoing trades because other owners complained one owner was making lopsided deals with owners who were smart but just not smart enough. Needless to say that commissioner wasn’t around much longer.

    No matter what you say about deals for Howard or anything else that hasn’t worked out, the front office isn’t the problem and we just have to rely on Mitch to rebuild it once Kobe retires.

  3. Oldtimer says

    Let’s tell like it is, there is an agreement between two teams to trade their players and Stern halted while Lakers management didn’t do anything. Second, the CBA was drafted by the small markets teams, the players disagreed yet the Lakers and other big markets did not intervene to protect their own interest. Incompetence did not end there, it is just the beginning banking on Nash/Howard to be coached by the so-called defensive-minded Coach, Mike Brown. No consultation, no brainstorming from the basketball intelligentia in LA among legends, coaches and others. Jim Buss owned it, therefore he should also accept the mess, to MBrown to Dantoni to this roster plus the bad luck. Nobody to be blamed but the people hiring and firing with google horse vision. Magic Johnson was right, Lakers will suffer the flight fan base if no tangible progress happen out of this tanking.

    To those Buss lovers in this blog, be realistic ask the other Laker fans you know, your friends, your neighbors and they will tell you like it is. We are all Laker fans but we will never be fanatic to the Buss Family. At this time, many have turned off their Laker interest, next they will cancel their TWC laker subscription and it will roll just like what happened to the Dodger McCorts. You guys should know this city, we don’t kowtow to any sports honchos and take this place as a hostage like those politicians in the MidWest pleading to their national teams to stay. Los Angelinos didn’t bow to what Georgia Frontierre wanted on her Rams 25 years ago, nor yield to Al Davis threats in moving the Raiders if the historical Coliseum was not wrecked to his specification. They are all gone now and may they all rest in peace but LA is still the place. This is the center of entertainment and creativity, if you can’t produce and put your act together, Los Angeles will never give you a second chance..

  4. LKK says

    I don’t pay much attention to the Nuggets, but on paper their roster doesn’t look bad. I don’t know if their issues are injury related, or if it’s a chemistry or coaching issue. Despite their struggles, they have had a profound impact on the league by trading Mozgov to Cleveland. That trade had me shaking my head. Of course it may take a while to determine the true “winner” of the trade, but there’s no denying that Mozgov filled a big need for Cleveland.

  13. pat oslon says

    Apparently the Nuggets are in full tank mode. The players are just going through the motions. Sadly we aren’t much better.

  14. Anonymous says

    Here is a shocker. Kelly is 1 For 7 and has more minutes then Davis and the biggest minus/plus number. Funny. Yet the D league player ofvthe year is with Lakers D-league team.

  16. Ko says

    Can you imagine the daily phone calls between Phil and Jeannie?

    So how did you do tonight?
    We lost. We stink.

    How about you.
    We lost. We stink worse.

    Oh well. Let’s go count how much money were making and go to sleep.

    Ok night loser.
    Night biggest loser.

  19. Reggie Hammond says

    Nice pull up airball from Wes…and scott taking clarkson out for Lin to commit another turnover on cue to seal the game

  21. teamn says

    Chearn (from previous thread),

    I would hope for the latter, given the NBA business model, but perhaps that is naive. Assume for a moment that is the case, my point was that even with knowledge, there were some unknown unknowns, particularly how players would react and adjust their decisions accordingly.

    Trip, and others, have made great points about what assets are valuable now and I completely agree the FO does not seem, on the surface, to have grasped that point. But, if the FO has a plan and it is geared more towards the free agent market, then that aspect seems to have had more twists and uncertainty than the draft route.

    I’m sure I’m not being very clear here — I believe Darius had a much better post a few weeks ago on the nuances of re-building a team in the new CBA environment. And I am definitely not excusing the FO for the multitude of mistakes. I’m just not sure that given everything that has happened, to include in my mind choice #1 to try and win one more championship with the old roster, the FO has had one plan all along. I think things have shifted over time, with many mistakes made in player personnel and coaching choices. That constantly shifting decision path has led to where the Lakers are today.

  22. BigCitySid says

    -@ Trip, well said, 100% in agreement.

    -@ Oldtimer, the biggest issue I have w/ the CP3 veto by the Commish being used as an excuse by Laker fans is that the FO knew the NBA was calling the shots for New Orleans pending it’s sale. Team simply was worth more w/ CP3 than w/o.

    -Love the way Minny & Philly are improving…Lakers on their way to becoming a bottom three feeder…which increases their chances of the #1 pick.

  23. Joel says

    Nice job Trip – agreed.
    __

    I think what is interesting to look back at the Lakers roster after the Paul trade was vetoed. We still had Kobe, Pau, Bynum and Lamar. Not a bad nucleus. Fast forward a year and you have the Howard trade, which was brilliant.

    The moves that killed the Lakers was the hiring of Mike Brown and the trade for Nash. While I truly believe the Lakers appreciated Phil’s success on the floor I think they undervalued what he brought to the locker room. The Kobe/Howard relationship went south primarily because a leader of Phil’s level was not there to encourage Dwight to act his age and push Kobe to play nice. Brown was fired in Cleveland for not managing Lebron. He was in over his head with Kobe let alone the dynamics an immature Dwight brought to the team.

    There are stories that Mitch was pushing for Rick Adelman as Phil’s replacement. While not having Phil’s gravitas I think Rick was confident is who he was as a coach and would have been able to play the older/wiser uncle to the rambunctious nephews of Kobe/Howard. So in my mind Brown over Adelman was a huge mistake.

    Mistake #2 was the Nash trade. As Trip points out the new CBA had made draft picks and youth highly desirable. Yes, Nash was worth a gamble, but certainly not at that price. If it was a take it or leave it deal then the Lakers should have walked away.

    Mistake #3 was bringing in MDA instead of Phil. Jim and Jeanie’s personal relationship got in the way of this one. I get that Dr. Buss and Jim were wary of Phil’s interest in Jeanie. Was it sincere or just a way to position himself to take over the team and if it was sincere why was there no wedding? Jim should have been able to make a business decision to bring Phil back.

    I often find the FOs rationalization for their relationship with Kobe as love/hate. The FO did not engage with Kobe in advance of the Mike Brown hire. This always struck me as odd because Kobe was still Kobe at the time and if the Lakers were to win anything Kobe would need to be on the same page as the coach. My understanding is that Jim made an executive decision to hire Brown as he did later with choosing MDA (although he pinned that one on his dad).

    Now fast forward a few years and Kobe is coming off a major injury/surgery and the Lakers now decide that Kobe is integral to winning and deserves a massive contract extension. So Jim ignored Kobe when Kobe was still in a position to bring championships to the Lakers. Yet, Jim wrapped himself in the Kobe blanket when Kobe was virtually assured of not being able to deliver a championship — only doing so to provide himself cover when he knew the team would struggle.

    I get that the Buss kids are not going away. I just wish they would grow up.

  24. Calvin Chang says

    Not sure what you guys are complaining about. Byron is clearly not trying to win. Clarkson himself said so a couple of weeks ago. Byron told him not to worry about wins and losses, just go with the process. Nobody said it would be pleasant, but at this point the best thing is to make sure they get a great draft pick. Inadvertent wins at this point may cost the Lakers their pick. Nuggets ran one play in the last 4 minutes – high pick and roll with Ty Lawson over and over. If Byron was trying to win, he would have made adjustments. He did not- which simply proves he’s not trying to win.

  26. Calvin Chang says

    No matter how good of a 1 on 1 defender you are – if a 260 lb big guy and the opposing PG knows how to time the high screen and roll, you will get screened out of position. I’ve seen it happen against Curry, Beverley, CP3, etc. To combat that, you have to blitz the PG by making your big guy show hard, and have your secondary defenders ready to switch to protect the rim if the PG manages to squeeze past the blitz. Or you throw in a zone. Byron did neither to combat Ty Lawson’s high PNR. He’s not making adjustments because he is not trying to win.

  27. Robert says

    Calvin I personally think he is trying to win within the context of playing with an inferior roster. However, if Byron is not trying to win, it means WE are not trying to win. Byron would not make such decisions, so if your premise is true, you should focus on the general riding around in the back of the jeep as opposed to the guy driving it.

  28. Vasheed says

    I’m enjoying seeing the rooks Black & Clarkson get on the court. I think Black looks like an affordable option for next year as a back up big. It is a position the Lakers have way too many redundancies for but, Black being available on a team friendly option makes him the guy I want coming back next year. Clarkson looks like he could be a diamond in the rough. I hope the remainder of the season is enough to chisel off the rough edges.

  29. Calvin Chang says

    Robert – ok, let me correct myself. The Lakers FO is not trying to win, and Byron is now clearly aware of the goal to keep the draft pick this summer. I always avoid saying WE because it’s just sports, business and entertainment. I don’t own any Lakers stake. I’m just a fan who likes to play, coach, and watch good basketball for entertainment. Like Jim Dolan, Jim Buss can easily tell me “Just go root for the Clips. We don’t need you as a fan”.

  30. bryan S. says

    Calvin: You hit a triple. Great posts.

    Vasheed: Clarkson is the only reason I’m tuning in. Black is going to have to really put the work in on the offensive end as his skills are rudimentary. But I really like his rebounding and defensive awareness. Quicker afoot than he might appear.

  31. Chearn says

    I often find the FOs rationalization for their relationship with Kobe as love/hate. Heck of a post @Joel.

  33. George says

    I read the article on Magic. Now, I’m not privy to what kind of a relationship Magic has with the organization. I would surmise that he and Jim don’t have lunch together on weekends. But I do suspect that Magic is tight enough with some folks (Mitch?) to have enough insight to justify the accusations he is making towards Jim.

    My take away is that Mitch is being marginalized in the decision making process. The implication is that Jim is certainly the final decision maker and reading between the lines it appears that Jim does not solicit much discussion and dialogue with Mitch.

    As a long time Lakers fan this is concerning. While Dr. Buss certainly had the final say on major decisions he always seemed open to the input and advice of Jerry West, Bill Sharman, Mitch etc. Dr. Buss never went ‘bunker mentality’ and shut everyone off. If what Magic says is true why hasn’t Jeanie intervened?

    Can someone else comment on the Magic article and give me their impressions? I’m beginning to think there isn’t a rational mind left in the Buss family.

  34. Todd says

    George: I’m beginning to think there isn’t a rational mind left in the Buss family.
    —
    That thought has crossed my mind as well…

  35. T. Rogers says

    Magic is in broken record territory. He says the same thing over and over. However, I sometimes get the feeling that Magic is speaking for others who either can’t or won’t speak up.

  36. rr says

    Can someone else comment on the Magic article and give me their impressions?

    —

    It sounded to me like Magic is pal-sy with Jeanie and may be doing this as a deal/ploy with/for her:

    >>>Johnson reiterated that he is close with Buss’ sister Jeanie.”Dr. [Jerry] Buss raised Jeanie and I up together,” Johnson said. “When Jeanie went to USC business school, he was bringing us along together. Jim was not part of the Lakers. He never really saw our championship years. Jim was doing his own thing.

    “He came back later on, and Dr. Buss knew he wanted the kids to decide later on to run the basketball side because Jeanie was definitely going to run the business side. I like Jim as a person. But at the same time, a great CEO or person who is in a powerful position will surround himself or put together a team to help them achieve their goals and dreams. Jim has not done that.”<<<<

    I said about two years ago that the message of the Jim Buss FO has often been, "I got this" in that the FO under Buss has made decisions that go against the tide. Shaw might not have worked out (he is not doing well in Denver) but he was the safe, popular choice when Phil left. Supposedly Kobe and Pau both wanted Shaw. Buss hired Brown. The safe, popular thing to do would have been to let Phil turn the job down publicly if he didn't want it (within a reasonable time frame). Buss hired MDA.

    Kobe's extension, Young's contract, and Scott's deal have been sold as populist moves, but I don't think they actually were. I think if you polled a representative sample of the fanbase at the time these decisions were announced, they would have been more unpopular than popular.
    As noted here many times, the Lakers have over the last 10 years or so cut ties/had ties cut with both franchise soldiers and legends. Jim has continued that, and it seems like the Kobe/Young/Scott deals may have been intended to take that the other direction. If so, that was bad management.

    As to the overall impact/issue:

    1. It doesn't really matter what Magic says unless he really is a proxy for Jeanie. Sure, it is much different than some anonymous guy like me saying stuff, but Magic has no authority over or role with the Lakers. He is a Dodger guy and a media guy now.
    2. People who bag on Magic for saying these things are overreacting. Jim Buss will be criticized as long as the team is terrible, and that would be true of anybody in his position. People who are fed up with FO criticism are just going to have to deal with it. The last two Jim Buss teams have been the two worst in Lakers history. If you want people to say start saying nice things about Jim, then hope that some of his big decisions actually start working. Complaining won't stop anyone from criticizing a guy who runs a 13-39 team that has no elite, young, healthy talent on it.

    I think Magic is wrong, however, in emphasizing this coming summer, other than the obvious need to nail the pick. The summers of 2016 and 2017 will tell the tale on the Jim Buss FO.

  37. Robert says

    Calvin: Give yourself more credit. The Lakers are yours. They are definitely mine. You and I will be fans for longer than Jim will be in charge of basketball ops.
    T Rogers: Yes – Magic is a broken record. He has said the same thing about once every six months or so for the past couple of years. Nothing has improved during any of the 6 month intervals (gotten worse actually), hence the broken record.
    Magic Interview: I loved it at the end when they were busting on Jim for not even attending games (watching them on TV from around the corner), and they closed with “this is ridiculous”. – Indeed.

  38. Anonymous says

    If you read between the lines of what Magic said, he is saying that Jim has not surrounded himself with winners and talent, both on the court and in the FO. He is advocating not only for Jim’s departure, but also for Mitch’s departure, and likely everyone else on that side of the equation. That makes perfect sense if you there is a unanimous agreement among the Buss kids. Otherwise, what you are arguing for is a sale of the team – since that’s the only way that type of change would come if there’s discord among the Buss kids. I for one do not like Magic’s plan because, apart from switching his position many times over the past decade, I do not believe he has the business acumen to run an NBA team. Yes, the guy is a great business mind – made lost of money and made himself rich. Good for him. But there is a reason why NOT A SINGLE NBA TEAM has ever tried to bring him in as a consultant, FO role or owner: the guy simply does not understand the complexities of an NBA front office.

  39. Todd says

    rr: I think Magic is wrong, however, in emphasizing this coming summer, other than the obvious need to nail the pick. The summers of 2016 and 2017 will tell the tale on the Jim Buss FO.
    _

    I agree – I cringed when I read that. The last thing we need Jim and FO to do is spend our cap space like a teenager with a credit card at the local mall. That, would be a sure fire way to crush our chances through the rest of the decade.

    The damage is done and to fix this the right way will take time. Jim is going to have to have thick skin, a lot patience and strength to make good decisions.

  40. Robert says

    Ano: Magic’s brief stint as a coach was not successful and in my opinion he would not make a good GM. He would be a perfect occasional consultant, spokesman, and a guy the coach or GM could call with issues. In other words, what he was previously. The fact that he (and most of the other legends have little involvement with the team is not a good thing and shows the overall chaotic state of the franchise.