LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – In 2008, Rajon Rondo’s Celtics ousted LeBron James’ Cavaliers from the second round of the playoffs. A year later, Dwight Howard’s Magic kicked James’ Cavs to the curb in the conference finals. More than a decade later, it was that triumvirate that dictated a convincing Lakers win over the Nuggets in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.
With all due respect to Anthony Davis’ game-high 37 points, this is The Brow’s first conference finals. Those three have enough hoops mileage to crack several odometers.
Denver’s best counter? Paul Millsap, and his 116 playoff games. Across 14 seasons, Millsap’s been to the conference finals twice, once as a rookie and another time, in 2015, with Atlanta. You Know Who was waiting there to sweep him out of the playoffs.
For the majority of the Nuggets, including franchise cornerstones Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, last year’s second-round showing is all the experience they’ve got. And as compelling and inspiring as their historic run has been so far this postseason, the Lakers are a different animal with a different level of motivation.
No one doubted Los Angeles’ talent but their collective experience may have been overlooked. Certainly James wasn’t underestimated. His 9-1 conference finals record is the type of statistic that makes entire franchises shudder.
But what Rondo and Howard did to the Nuggets in Game 1 was sheer gamesmanship.
Rondo’s seven points and nine assists off the bench carved up Denver’s second unit and maintained the breakneck pace the Lakers prefer to play. Off turnovers, or even made shots, Rondo was always scanning the court looking for an advantage. He and James totaled 21 assists combined. The Nuggets, as a team, had 23.
The angles he found – via pocket passes, lobs and overhead dimes – took years to refine. One crushing alley-oop to Howard was launched more than 30 feet from the basket.
Howard played equally as big a role in dismantling Denver’s rhythm. If he wasn’t draped all over Jokic, goading him into cheap fouls, then he was eavesdropping on team huddles, pestering and prodding the Nuggets every chance he got. Now in his second stint with the Lakers, Howard’s more akin to The Flea than the Superman persona he relished the majority of his career. But even after so many seasons in the league, his muscles and his presence are too big to ignore.
“Dwight was really good,” Jokic said. “He kind of picked up their energy.”
For the Nuggets to have any chance in this series, they can’t fall for Howard’s wily tricks or let Rondo exploit them. Plus, the Nuggets have more pressing concerns in the star power of Los Angeles’ two first-team All-NBA players.
In the second quarter, when the whistles blew as regularly as Old Faithful, the Nuggets lost their composure. Fouls turned into frustration, and turnovers turned into techs. The Lakers’ 17-1 run over the first five minutes of the second quarter almost rendered the rest of the game meaningless. The Nuggets have shown too much mental fortitude to get undone by a tough whistle and a few playoff veterans.
If this postseason has taught us anything about the resiliency of Denver’s young core, it’s that one game does not make a series.
“We’re not going to overreact,” Murray said. “We just gotta be better.”
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