The Nuggets are too deep to send double-teams at Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray each possession (although Murray's 30-point first half certainly strained the credulity of that choice). The Nuggets have gotten stronger, deeper and healthier this season, while the Lakers have expended so much energy trying to recreate the team they had in 2020, they seem to be running out of gas at exactly the wrong time.ĭenver is too good to lose a turnover battle 12-5, as the Lakers did Saturday, and expect to beat them.
But through three games, the background story of this rematch has been how differently each has spent the two seasons since that playoff clash. Led by LeBron James (second in 2020 MVP voting) and a defensive trio of Caldwell-Pope, Anthony Davis and Alex Caruso, the Lakers had been the best team in the conference when play stopped in mid-March.Īnd all of that showed during their championship run inside the NBA's Orlando Bubble, where they beat the Nuggets in a hard-fought, five-game conference finals.Īt the time, it felt like it would be the first of many playoff battles between the two teams.
"If we weren't with each other, we were in the group chat. "I feel like we were the only team that stayed together during that COVID time," Caldwell-Pope told ESPN after scoring 17 points for the Denver Nuggets in Saturday's 119-108 win against the Lakers, which gave his new team a commanding 3-0 lead over his old team in the Western Conference finals. But one important memory is how close he and his Los Angeles Lakers teammates stayed. That time in his life and our world still affects us. General ones, such as working out at private gyms to stay in shape as the NBA world tried to figure out a way to continue its season amid the COVID-19 pandemic. and playing video games with his teammates. LOS ANGELES - Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has memories of the summer of 2020. Lakers reminded of ill-fated 2021 trade as they trail Nuggets 3-0
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