Entering the Western Conference finals, LeBron James and Anthony Davis were 26–11 as a tandem in the playoffs. Headed back to Los Angeles after two games in Denver, LeBron and AD together are now 26–13—and that’s in large part because their two-man game is being bested by Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray’s.
Once again, there is plenty to unpack after the Nuggets’ 108–103 win over the Lakers on Thursday, a victory that gave Denver a 2–0 lead in the series and put it only two wins away from the Finals. Los Angeles switched its starting lineup to include Jarred Vanderbilt. Rui Hachimura continued to be a postseason difference-maker. Bruce Brown balled out. Tristan Thompson played for 12 seconds.
And yet arguably the biggest factor in this series so far is the Nuggets have gotten much better play from their two stars than the Lakers have. And at no time was this more obvious than in the fourth quarter of Game 2, when Murray scored 23 points on his own—nearly doubling the combined total of James and Davis, who tallied 12 in the final period.
Jack Dempsey/AP
When healthy, James and Davis have generally been solid in the playoffs. They pulled off two upsets this postseason, with both flashing varying degrees of dominance along the way. In 2020, when LeBron and AD played the Nuggets in the conference finals at the height of their powers, they combined for 58.2 points, 16.6 rebounds and 11.6 assists per game.
Through two games in this series, Jokić and Murray are averaging 62.5 points, 26.5 rebounds and 18.0 assists. Jokić had a meager game by his standards Thursday and still recorded a triple double, racking up 23, 17 and 12. Murray, after struggling for three quarters, turned into a new state of matter in the last 12 minutes, ultimately finishing with 37 points after hitting eight of his last 11 shots.
Meanwhile, both James and Davis struggled. LeBron, looking like he switched his pregame powder toss for olive oil, let three attempts at the rim during the game seemingly slip out of his fingertips. In the fourth, he settled for three iffy threes and clanked all of them. James finished with 22 points while missing all six of his shots from beyond the arc. Davis converted on only four of 15 shots from the field to get to his 18 points, despite being single covered by Jokić for most of the night. On the other end of the floor, his inability to slow down the Joker one-on-one forced the Lakers to alter their defensive coverages significantly.
Now, it’s not a knock on Davis that he can’t shut down Jokić by himself. No one can. But the Lakers can’t have their best players be so thoroughly outplayed by Denver’s. And it’s especially difficult on a night when Hachimura and Austin Reaves combined for 43 points. Whether it’s age, altitude or fatigue, Los Angeles can’t afford inconsistency from James and Davis. The Lakers were able to survive their ups and downs in earlier series against less talented teams. That won’t fly against the Nuggets.
In fact, the longer these playoffs continue, the more Denver seems to be separating itself from the pack. All those waiting for Jokić to be exposed defensively will have to continue waiting. After a shootout in Game 1, Denver won Game 2 in the mud. While the Lakers tried to target Joker with a relentless diet of Bron-AD pick-and-rolls, the Nuggets had a suffocating 100.0 defensive efficiency with the two-time MVP on the floor.
At their best, James and Davis are supposed to be top-10 talents. Everything flows down from them. And when all else fails, they can lift the team up themselves. We saw that throughout their 2020 championship run, and intermittently since when injuries weren’t getting in the way. Against the Warriors, we saw Davis take over large stretches of the action defensively, while James picked his spots to control the game in the half court.
This Nuggets team is unlike any challenge the Lakers have faced, though, including the one they got from Denver three years ago. In the intervening period, Jamal and Joker have eclipsed the play of James and Davis, and their steady improvement is bearing fruit in this series. If Los Angeles is going to come back, it has to start with its best two players making more of an impact. The Lakers traded for Davis four years ago to pair two top-10 talents in the league. Right now it’s Jokić and Murray who’ve lived up to that billing, and it’s bringing them closer and closer to the Finals.
