Bench D’Angelo Russell and 2 more tweaks Lakers must make vs Nuggets

3. Lakers need to slow the game down, play in the half-court

Game 1 of this series was a shootout and the Lakers were able to play well enough to make it close. It was a barn-burner that was not the typical style of play that Lakers fans have become use to seeing.

Game 2 then started to look more like Lakers basketball. The Lake Show was able to slow the game down and get it in the half-court, where they legitimately are the best team remaining in the NBA Playoffs. As a result, LA led by as much as 11.

But then once the game started to slip from the Lakers they started to play right into the Nuggets’ style of play. The pace of the game suddenly picked up, with the Lakers rushing possessions and getting caught in transition on both ends of the floor.

If the Lakers keep playing like this then they might not make it back to Denver.

The Lakers’ only chance of coming back in this series is forcing the Nuggets to play their style of basketball. Thankfully, that is easier to do when you are a half-court team like LA rather than being a team that is trying to get out there and run.

Los Angeles just has to resist the temptation of picking up the pace and the first two tweaks listed will help do that. With more dedicated offense for the role players, the game will slow down (especially if LeBron stops doing his walk-up pull-up three with 16 seconds left on the shot clock).

Russell also has a tendency to needlessly speed the game up, turning the dial up to 10 while the rest of his team is still on six.

The Lakers have to make this a slog like it was in the first half of Game 2. As soon as that stops they are playing into Denver’s hands and by then, the series is as good as over.