Coming into the first round of the postseason, the Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James earned themselves a matchup with the defending champion Denver Nuggets. It was a rematch of last year’s Western Conference Finals when the Lakers were swept.
While the Lakers were still not favored to beat Denver, a much closer matchup was expected this time around. Unfortunately, L.A. shot themselves in the foot too many times and lost in five games despite leading for 69% of the series.
However, Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic were not as dominant as last year. This time it was Michael Porter Jr. who made the difference. When reflecting on this first-round series on his Mind The Game podcast with JJ Redick, James shared high praise for Porter and the work he did against the Lakers:
“Michael Porter’s the one who kicked our ass. He kicked our ass. Do you remember when we talked about having luck to win a championship? Denver is a case for that. There’s no way, coming out of high school, before the back surgery, that Michael Porter would even be in Denver. The guy was a projected No. 1 pick in the draft. Because of the back, teams get alarmed and whatever the case may be because of that and he slid in the draft and he slid right to the perfect position and perfect spot. They waited on him, didn’t rush him, whatever the case may be. Then he got in and he was still a little injured with the drop foot or whatever the case may be and now he’s in the perfect situation. He’s in the perfect situation with two guys where you have to keep not only your eyes on him if you’re guarding him as a primary defender, but then another set of eyes. So there’s gonna be somebody on that floor that you’re gonna forget about and he makes you pay. Like you said, 6’10”, he shoots at the top of his jump shot, his elbow is right in your face to so you can’t close the gap because if you hit his elbow, that’s three free throws. He’s a big-time player.”
to keep not only your eyes on him if you’re guarding him as a primary defender, but then another set of eyes. So there’s gonna be somebody on that floor that you’re gonna forget about and he makes you pay. Like you said, 6’10”, he shoots at the top of his jump shot, his elbow is right in your face to so you can’t close the gap because if you hit his elbow, that’s three free throws. He’s a big-time player.”
Getting Porter in the 2018 NBA Draft proved to be one of the best selections for the Nuggets as he has developed into a star while being able to stay healthy the last few years. He seems to enjoy playing the Lakers, in particular, which James pointed out:
“”Michael Porter Jr. is a f—— laser. I don’t know if it’s because he sees the Lakers or gold, or whatever, I feel like versus us, that motherf—– don’t miss. There was a game where he literally did not miss.”
In the five postseason games against the Lakers this year, Porter averaged 22.8 points and 8.4 rebounds while shooting 48.8% from 3-point range.
It was another somber end to a Lakers season, but the Nuggets and Porter deserve a lot of credit for it. Hopefully this offseason, necessary personnel changes will be made in L.A. to better defend players like Porter.
LeBron James in favor of fouling late when ahead by 3 points
Now removed from the postseason, LeBron James has been watching the other series going on, which have featured many close contests. He shared his sentiment of fouling when ahead up three points, something that has been controversial over the past few years.
