They are saying {that a} playoff sequence doesn’t start till the primary adjustment is made.

The postseason is sort of a big recreation of chess, with tactical methods being levied each methods all through the course of a best-of-seven struggle. The ultimate 4 groups standing all have a great quantity of versatility on offense and protection; they will win a recreation in quite a lot of methods. That ought to make for some improbable ways and tips, particularly geared toward taking away the unimaginable star energy that each group boasts.

Throw out the common season matchups between the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers. They don’t and gained’t imply a lot. Since their battles throughout the 2022-23 season, the Lakers have fully revamped this roster into the juggernaut that has them within the Western Convention Finals. Surrounding LeBron James and Anthony Davis are extra specialty shooters, different large wings with various impacts, and a coach who has discovered find out how to unlock all their superpowers on the fly.

This Nuggets group isn’t any slouch on protection, both. Regardless of being league-average all through the common season, the group has been buoyed by Nikola Jokic and his semi-aggressive ball display protection. Each groups have aces up their sleeves to make the most of and may do a good quantity of cross-matching within the frontcourt, making this an extremely enjoyable sequence for X’s and O’s nerds like myself.

Denver Nuggets: Put Aaron Gordon on Anthony Davis

The Lakers’ offense actually revolves round their two star gamers in LeBron James and Anthony Davis. LeBron is robust, good, and versatile sufficient to get his in several methods. Davis, nonetheless, wants somewhat extra planning to get the ball in house, and Darvin Ham has steadily utilized ball screens to greatest seize AD’s athleticism.

The Nuggets have been enjoying Nikola Jokic larger in opposition to ball screens, letting him come out with mushy exhibits earlier than recovering to the paint. The Nuggets have a ton of good, skilled rotation defenders on their roster and cover-up ball motion designed to capitalize on the tagging that goes into taking away the Davis’ roll.

If Denver desires to keep away from rotation altogether, they will go along with a seldom-used technique that labored in small doses throughout the Phoenix Suns sequence: let Aaron Gordon guard Anthony Davis and put Jokic off-ball, probably onto one among Jarred Vanderbilt or Rui Hachimura.

Return to Sport 2 of the Suns sequence and also you’ll see Nuggets coach Michael Malone do that late, placing Jokic on Josh Okogie. The switching labored as a result of Jokic, staying near the rim as a helper, would scram onto the rolling DeAndre Ayton and free his teammate from a bodily mismatch:

The Suns did modify and used Jokic’s man to set these excessive picks. If that is Hachimura, Vanderbilt, or perhaps a man like Troy Brown Jr., the Nuggets probably don’t worry him on the quick roll. Whereas the hazard could be seen from what occurs in that Suns Sport 2 if a brief curler will get momentum to the rim, Denver does produce other methods to make this work and blanket Jokic from switches or stop wide-open rim assaults.

The Nuggets protection deserves a hell of much more credit score than it will get. Jokic has been strong, Malone has been artistic, and the remainder of the gamers on the roster know their function. We’ve seen Anthony Davis be capable of take over video games together with his sturdy isolation play and pick-and-roll ending prowess. Maybe letting Aaron Gordon take that duty retains Denver’s offensive engine somewhat brisker for late-game manufacturing.

Los Angeles Lakers: Let AD roam

Whereas the Lakers-Nuggets video games from earlier within the season aren’t indicative of a lot, Darvin Ham can take inspiration from seeing how different groups have performed the two-time MVP successfully. Let’s be clear from the outset: there isn’t a option to cease Jokic, simply to gradual him down or select how and if different gamers are going to beat you.

Again throughout the common season, the Nuggets had an NBA Saturday showdown with the Philadelphia 76ers. Philly selected to place PJ Tucker onto Jokic, saving Joel Embiid for roaming obligations down low. Embiid would guard both Aaron Gordon or Bruce Brown. Elbow and top-of-the-key touches for Jokic have been extra interrupted, because the size and quickness mixture of Tucker threw off his plans. Jokic completed the sport with seven turnovers.

What we additionally noticed throughout the Western Convention Semifinals was the influence that Anthony Davis can have whereas stationed nearer to the rim. He’s a sensational rim protector from the weak facet and a terrific deterrent of photographs on the hoop.

Davis likes to play in Drop protection, the place he could be extra of a roamer close to the ring simply scooping up no matter goes his approach. That may be a troublesome technique in opposition to the Nuggets although, the place Jamal Murray is a superb scorer and Jokic can carve groups up on pocket passes or quick rolls.

If the Lakers can’t discover success with AD in Drop protection, they’ll want to contemplate shifting him off-ball. They did this in opposition to the Golden State Warriors, as Davis would toggle between guarding Kevon Looney, Gary Payton II, or Andrew Wiggins as a substitute of Draymond Inexperienced. That resulted in both extra time on the rim or fewer alternatives the place Inexperienced was setting the display, thus taking away Golden State’s greatest quick roll playmaker.

The thought right here could be the identical. If the Nuggets needed to contain AD in ball screens and pull him away from the rim dangerous sufficient, they’d do it with somebody who isn’t Jokic — a win for the Lakers. In the event that they don’t they usually hold rolling with Jokic in excessive ball screens, AD is able to go close to the rim.

Denver is best geared up to counter such a protection than the Warriors. There are fewer non-shooter on their roster, Jokic is smarter at isolating close to the elbows. However the correct technique could possibly be a mixture of dashing the Joker up with extra athleticism on-ball and discovering artistic methods to let Davis keep as a helper as a lot as attainable.

The place issues get so fascinating on this sequence is the lineup building. If Vanderbilt is on the ground in order that the Lakers can use this cross-matching technique, it additionally permits Denver to do the identical on the opposite finish, placing Jokic on Vanderbilt and Gordon on Davis like we mentioned above. Ham will finally have the ultimate say in whether or not the cross-matching sequences profit the Lakers or hinder their offense an excessive amount of. With out Vanderbilt on the ground, it is going to be fairly troublesome to successfully cross-match on Jokic and hold Davis nearer to the ring.