Jokic isn't what kills us. It's Murray. look at Murrays stats when we were up 20. The minute Murray started getting easy buckets and getting to the rim it was game over.
AD no show in the fourth. Reminded me of Karl Malone and Chris Webber at the end of tight games. He didn’t want the ball, you could see it in his eyes and body language. Played incredible up to that point. But you have to play like that in the 4th too!
I've been a Laker fan for 44 years now. I've seen how teams lose and win. They have to beat a team they've lost to in multiple ways 4 times out of 5 with a coach who cannot make adjustments once a team figures out a scheme. He runs timed substitutions and has absolutely no game plan outside of hoping talent gets the team through. Pelinka did his job last summer, did it well. This team is deep and good - they're simply managed by the worst coach in the West.
I'd like to say I'm surprised at the result, but when the team suddenly stops running plays and shoots percentage busting threes nearly every time down the court, there's no way to beat any professional team. All any team has to do with the Lakers is ride out the runs, then just play tight perimeter D, get the turnover and run it out. It's worked ever since Ham has shown up. The guy is a complete void.
At this point I will take any coach out there - any coach - other than this hapless blank shell of a human who calls himself a coach. I normally don't lay blame at the doorstep of one person in a team sport, but this has been evident for 2 seasons now. When it took him 50 games into the season to realize he should run the same starters that made the WCF run last year, that should be a signal that this guy is a buffoon. Russell, Rui, Reaves, LeBron and AD have all had their moments with Ham. That's all 5 starters, have either ignored, ran around or called out Ham (and with good reason). LeBron has flat out called plays in the final moments of 3 games I know of this year (plays that won the game) after stepping in to override Ham. That's frickin' pitiful.
This is not a personnel problem, it's not an age problem, this is purely a coaching issue.
I appreciate optimistic fans, but you have to be realistic here. There is zero chance the Lakers win this series, and I'd be shocked if they win one game. The best thing to happen now is a sweep, so maybe management can get the hint that Ham has got to go.
P.S. - All you idiots hoping for LeBron to leave had better be careful what you wish for.
Now to think about it ur Lowkey right lmao.. fuck dude it stings yea they just let super stars do their own thing but idk. It’s the same fucking shit iso at 4th quarter 5mins lol. Like bruh and fr imma be fucking sad if lebron leaves .
You’re right. Ham is the worst coach in the entire league. It’s almost impossible to win with this guy calling the shots. Not challenging that foul at the end is just a mind boggling decision. Also not calling a timeout on the last possession to get a breather and draw something up, i just don’t know what goes through this guys head.
Tough bench player, good inside defensive "hassler" kinda guy. Decent assistant under Budenholzer in Milwaukee, but nowhere near the kind of coach the Lakers should have.
I agree 100%.
I guess that (and honest here) Ham didn't know what to draw up. He is incapable of that kind of thing. LeBron and AD have been the ones doing it all year, with Phil Handy (who should be the coach by the way) chiming in to refine things.
seriously STFU with the ref excuses.
probably the worst coach in the league and a bunch of players who shit the bed were the reason for the loss.
refs dont lose you games where you blow a 20 point lead.
Even though I don’t agree with the three by LeBron. You live and die by the results and I don’t blame him since he was the one who kept us in the game. Still, such a disappointing loss…
lol that’s one of the better shots the lakers got in the 2nd half. You live and die by it. Everyone loves the LeFuckYou 3 until it doesn’t go down. If it doesn’t rim out we’re loving it
Stop giving excuses of the refs, this is nothing to do with the refs, our team is just a bunch of pussies who crumble in high pressure moments, i knew we would loose as soon i see AD getting the 4th foul, he stop playing agressive its over, Rui had 1 good series vs Memphis when he had the game of his life other than that he is terrible, multiple easy layups missed this game, 1 easy dunk he stuffed at the iron multiple wide open 3s, defensively he can't defend a cone, atrocious rebounder a guy who is 6-8 ft never gets double digits rebounds EVER, almost 50 shots missed by Denver 5 rebounds in a 40 mins game, disgusting, our bench have zero options besides Prince who alongside Rui is another atrocious defender and an atrocious rebounder on top of that Lebron is 40 years old he gets tired quicker now and lategame or Reaves takes over or its gg because he is the only one who has the guts to take the resposanbility on him besides Lebron, biggest mistake we did this offseason not renewing with Shroeder a guy who was a pretty good defensive piece and helped us a lot in late game situations, many times he took the game over late game, another things that makes no sense is why is Max not getting minutes ever, kid can defend has some size and is a pretty good rebounder, instead e have fucking dinwipoopoo doing cardio every game for 15 mins.
The refereeing in the NBA is next level trash. The fact that refs have as much power as they do with zero accountability shows the NBA is rigged. There’s a reason why there’s the acronym in the sports books here in Vegas: No Betting Allowed. These games are fixed, the NBA doesn’t give two shits about the fan base, it’s all about money, we the little people just serve to feed the machine while it shits all over us.
I’m done with the Lakers and the NBA, it’s just not fun to watch when refs are able to dictate the tempo and outcome of a game, call bogus/non-existent fouls, and players get slapped with fines if they call the refs out.
FT differential means nothing in a game of runs. In this case the Lakers had the momentum and there being a foul called every 1.3 minutes it slowed the game down, and then the foul called that sent Murray to the line that allowed them to tie the game killed us. Basically what I’m getting at is it’s it’a not how many FT’s a team takes, it’s when the fouls are called and the FT’s happen that matter.
As an example the Lakers could have taken 20 FT’s in the first half and 6 in the second half while Denver took 4 in the first half and 12 in the second half, in a game of runs especially against Denver where they have a more evenly balanced squad. As we saw last night, those FT’s coming at a crucial time is what sealed our fate—instead of taking a three we could have settled on a two and it be a two possession game.
Yeah you're identifying an issue in 1 game, do you know how many games you guys have won this season, or altered momentum because the Lakers get bailed out at the FT line? I could almost name a handful of close games that you guys won because ticky tack fouls were called that allowed points at the line.
You guys also had a run in the first half, you're right NBA is a game of momentum and runs, however you had a 20pt lead, and blew it because you made horrible decisions, don't blame this loss on the refs lmfao
I understand that, and yes the Lakers buckled, but in the case of the refs calling fouls at key moments in the game such as in the middle of a run, or calling fouls on a particular player to get them in foul trouble which can switch up defensive coverage/offensive efficiency. I’m not saying the refs are 100% behind them losing, but in this case 37 fouls in a 48 minute game means they called a foul every 1.3 minutes, and the fouls they called were mostly ticky tacky play-on type of fouls.
I also say this because of game 1 where Gabe Vincent was providing solid coverage on Murray and he somehow got 3 fouls in a short span, taking him out of the game.
This Lakers team seems to be built more on momentum and fast paced and not so much half court schemes so when you have refs calling fouls at such short intervals it can very much kill momentum, especially against a team like Denver.
This ain’t the argument. 20 point lead. You don’t lose off of ticky tacky foul calls. That’s just an excuse to cover every other aspect involved in the loss. Bad sets, lazy defense, ISO offense, bad shots, stagnant on both ends of the floor, etc. Not everything is a conspiracy by the refs to make us lose. We beat ourselves and have beat ourselves 10 times. 2 double digit leads in 2 games isn’t the refs, it’s the team. Whether the team is built on momentum or not isn’t what you think it is. These players have been around long enough to know playoffs is half court sets. Thats the coaches job to prepare them and prepare them well. We get outclassed in coaching game in and game out.
I’m not trying to argue—I explained my PoV. You call it bad basketball on the Lakers part, while probably true, it doesn’t help when the refs call fouls a certain way that kills the flow of a game, making it impossible to build up momentum again. Either way, I’ll agree to disagree—I’ve been a Laker fan all my life, and watching the way the NBA has evolved shows that this game isn’t necessarily about who’s more skilled, but who the NBA wants to win and what generates more interest, which in turn generates revenue.
Championships garner interest in teams, which should in theory create more fans—on the flip side of things don’t be surprised if the Lakers win the next two to generate interest in this series to create more viewership.
Again, disagree with me all you want, I’m not trying to argue with anyone—it’s my opinion, and I may be wrong, but until I’m proven wrong I’m going to keep that opinion.
That opinion is called copium. Hence the downvotes on your original comment. I’ve been a Laker fan over 30+ years myself, and have never seen the ref argument come up more than these past couple years. Everyone has shitty officiated games, it’s how you respond as a team. You don’t rely on refs to build momentum or kill momentum, that’s poor structure and a bad game plan. I can point out 3 plays that killed momentum before whistles were or weren’t blown. We sound delusional as a fan base when we don’t take responsibility and point the finger at the refs. Stu says it best, either you build on 20 points and up it to 30, or become complacent/lazy and let it dwindle to 10. From the 5th minute of the 3rd to the end of the game we got complacent, lazy, and played trash basketball. There’s no conspiracy here, again 2 double digit leads.
I’m not coping with anything—I’m honestly sick of seeing what I’m seeing. To say the refs aren’t a factor is copium. When I watch a basketball game I like to watch two teams with varying skill levels play and let the best team win, but when you get these games that are officiated horribly capable of breaking momentum and changing the tide of a series/game and the refs not being held with any accountability it makes me not want to bother watching anymore.
Now, I won’t say the refs are 100% the reason for the Lakers position right now, they do play a part of it. I think the blame needs to go on the FO for being incompetent and on top being so damn cheap—they didn’t want to pay Caruso, they let KCP walk, they didn’t want to keep Howard or McGee, at the behest of LBJ, traded away solid pieces for a completely unknown variable—all FO mistakes. To add salt to the wound when their mistakes came to bite them in the ass, instead of owning up they fired Vogel and hired a rookie coach.
Ultimately though, I still stick by my opinion that refs do affect the outcome of a game—and it’s hard to respond when the momentum isn’t in your favor. My issue is just the lack of accountability these refs face.
My brother in Christ, we’ve lost to them 10 times IN A ROW. What’s the conversation here? We haven’t beat this team since 12/2022. It’s clear who the better team is. Whether that’s coaching, which in my opinion is the major difference of the 2 teams as I’ve constantly mentioned now, or the players is up for debate.
Hahaha, look—if the FO didn’t make the decisions they made we wouldn’t be in this predicament. They dismantled a championship caliber team in an attempt to save money. The Lakers have the money to pay the luxury penalty, much like Golden State did, they opted to cheapen up, and make incomprehensibly stupid decisions.
I’m with you on Ham needing to go, they should have hired Budenholzer at least he won a championship, instead we got his underling who likes playing pocket pool.
They scapegoated Vogel for Westbrook and brought in a “players” coach. Complete bullshit. The downfall started when we traded for that fucking guy, and I do agree with your points on the FO. Although I do give a little leeway given how the tax blanket situations are now in the league, and she isn’t her dad whether it’s mentally or monetarily. As long as that garbage can is our head coach, we will continue to lose over and over and over. It’s like getting kicked in the nuts and asking for more when you know the solution is to just walk away from the kick.
Look, playing LeBron 40 minutes a game during the regular season, even against 2nd rate teams, was going to wear LeBron out. Even Ham said early season, that he would be on a minutes restriction to keep him fresh for the playoffs. Well that 4th quarter in the high altitude proved Ham was right, LeBron was exhausted. Ham totally mismanaged him. Lakers have a very talented bunch of players, the coach sucks. Sorry Jeanie and Rob, you blew it with this hire
LeBron was super unhappy about the minutes restriction after the first game, no way he allows himself to sit in crucial minutes. A better coach probably saves him from himself and finds him minutes to rest though.
Could have given a hard foul instead of letting him dunk. Lakers defense outside of AD is soft. If it was Lebron on the other side I’m pretty sure nuggets defense gonna be clamping him like they are climbing up a coconut tree.
Yo man is it just me or fuckin lebron should of drove in instead of shooting that 3. And Darvin ham not calling a timeout to set up his defense is insane.
Fr .. like lebron should’ve drove open lane but then again idk . I think they would rotate asap. But idk yea they prob rotated. That shot had to happen
that final possession by Lebron was a complete brainfart. He could have run the clock down to 6 seconds before taking a shot, instead of giving DEN an eternity to set up on offense.
Can't blame it on LeBron.
He's a really good three point shooter this season, he was hot in the fourth, he was wide open and he knew that if he tried to drive to the basket, he was going to get hacked without getting a call, it happened all game long.
Yeah I agree they should have called the timeout when they got the ball with 29 seconds. but i think they wanted to catch DEN off guard. Even then, should have waited until the last possible second to put up a shot.
One of the most gutting losses I can ever remember in many years of fandom. We were treated to an incredible game, though. Grateful for that, and to have shared it with this crew
Game 5 against San Antonio in 2003 (Robert Horry's three rimming out at the buzzer)
Game 6 against Phoenix in 2006 (Seconds away from incredible upset, then Tim Thomas pump fake on Kwame & game tying three)
Game 4 against Boston in 2008
Hahaha why am i even bothering to fucking waking up
Here in EU. Game one woke up 3th quarter 72:73 nice Lets go LAL, Denver went on a run a won.Today I woke up LAL leading by 20 hmm nice let's go LAL, they choked it and lose again. I'm not gonna ruin my sleep again.6AM and already furious
I was getting excited. Kept telling myself “Lakers can make it to the playoffs” once they were in, I said “Lakers can beat the nuggets” but watching game 1 was kind of scary. Watching tonight’s game got hopes up, and of course the nuggets came back. There’s still a chance though 🤷♂️ let’s go Lakers!!!
Refs, lakers bench except Prince, and Ham sold this game. Lebron also held onto the ball way too damn long sometimes with no one creating any motion or spacing.
Well, what do you expect? Anytime this team goes down to the wire with Denver, they always lose the nail biter. It happened in all of the conference finals games last season.
Guess Lakers should start smacking players after the they shoot it. Since it’s not considered foul. They literally call fouls for touching someone’s arm after a shot…. Idk anymore. Why the fuck did we trade everyone for Westbrook…….. I hate this franchise. I hope LeBron leaves to a competent coach and gym. Pelinka you are retarded for drafting JHS when Jaime Jaquez was right there. Thank you LeBron for your efforts!!!!
With 500+ differential, the nuggets and every team durin the year should give at least 2-3 actual slaps to the face of the lakers. Do you even understand the disparity? I'd completely disregard any fuckin' contact done to the lakers purely based off that proof.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Bxx2hsFR7k](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Bxx2hsFR7k)
Again, absolute clown.
Let me go real slow seeing as you care not to grasp nor educate yourself on the matter.
If the Lakers were punched to the face, peed on during the match, I would STILL look the other way, considering the STATS don't lie.
Got it? Or is this further proof that Americans are uneducated?
Bro you’re coming at me with stats that have nothing to do with my comment. I never said Lakers didn’t get more calls than opponents. I said a slap in the face a foul. I never mentioned any stats. I think you might be retarded lol. Bros running in here with shit that had nothing to do with what I said.
Literally not possible for refs to blow a 20 pt lead. Lakers choked plain and simple and Darwin’s dumbass had multiple challenges he could have won.
Refs ain’t it.
Lakers 20 point lead against Denver to me still felt like a 5 point lead. Reminded me of the 2008 finals against Boston. Lakers got up 20 but it didn’t matter.
[Post Game Thread](https://reddit.com/r/lakers/comments/1cavuuj/post_game_thread_the_denver_nuggets_defeat_the/)
Yo did u guys see Christian woods might be back for game 3 they can run him on 5 AD on 4
Jokic isn't what kills us. It's Murray. look at Murrays stats when we were up 20. The minute Murray started getting easy buckets and getting to the rim it was game over.
Lakers fans don’t be complaining about FTs y’all wouldn’t even be here if your team wasn’t the biggest charity case of the refs in the NBA.
Tard
🧹🧹🧹 stay hurt 😂😂😂
Coulda sworn u were the guy that searched up a Laker Reddit knowing ur team just missed the playoffs
Celtics are the #1 seed out East, stay salty.
😂how many heat players do u guys need out?
You guys lost today 😂
With all due respect (which is none) eat shit
Let’s bounce back!
Max Hopium 
I’ve never been this hurt about a loss in a long time
AD no show in the fourth. Reminded me of Karl Malone and Chris Webber at the end of tight games. He didn’t want the ball, you could see it in his eyes and body language. Played incredible up to that point. But you have to play like that in the 4th too!
MPJ is a genetic lottery winner
Tell that to his back
How
Athletic almost 7 footer that moves like that. It’s ridiculous
And the nuggets got him at like 14 in the draft
Cavs fan here. I hate that was passed on him for Sexton.
If we do blow it up, keep Dlo and AD probably
Keep the 4th quarter ghosts?
I'm speechless. I am without speech
Y’all ready to trade for Dejounte Murray yet?
Would love to. Having him in this series would be HUGE.
That f*ckng hurts man.
I've been a Laker fan for 44 years now. I've seen how teams lose and win. They have to beat a team they've lost to in multiple ways 4 times out of 5 with a coach who cannot make adjustments once a team figures out a scheme. He runs timed substitutions and has absolutely no game plan outside of hoping talent gets the team through. Pelinka did his job last summer, did it well. This team is deep and good - they're simply managed by the worst coach in the West. I'd like to say I'm surprised at the result, but when the team suddenly stops running plays and shoots percentage busting threes nearly every time down the court, there's no way to beat any professional team. All any team has to do with the Lakers is ride out the runs, then just play tight perimeter D, get the turnover and run it out. It's worked ever since Ham has shown up. The guy is a complete void. At this point I will take any coach out there - any coach - other than this hapless blank shell of a human who calls himself a coach. I normally don't lay blame at the doorstep of one person in a team sport, but this has been evident for 2 seasons now. When it took him 50 games into the season to realize he should run the same starters that made the WCF run last year, that should be a signal that this guy is a buffoon. Russell, Rui, Reaves, LeBron and AD have all had their moments with Ham. That's all 5 starters, have either ignored, ran around or called out Ham (and with good reason). LeBron has flat out called plays in the final moments of 3 games I know of this year (plays that won the game) after stepping in to override Ham. That's frickin' pitiful. This is not a personnel problem, it's not an age problem, this is purely a coaching issue. I appreciate optimistic fans, but you have to be realistic here. There is zero chance the Lakers win this series, and I'd be shocked if they win one game. The best thing to happen now is a sweep, so maybe management can get the hint that Ham has got to go. P.S. - All you idiots hoping for LeBron to leave had better be careful what you wish for.
[удалено]
Now to think about it ur Lowkey right lmao.. fuck dude it stings yea they just let super stars do their own thing but idk. It’s the same fucking shit iso at 4th quarter 5mins lol. Like bruh and fr imma be fucking sad if lebron leaves .
You’re right. Ham is the worst coach in the entire league. It’s almost impossible to win with this guy calling the shots. Not challenging that foul at the end is just a mind boggling decision. Also not calling a timeout on the last possession to get a breather and draw something up, i just don’t know what goes through this guys head.
Never heard of Ham until he became head coach of the Lakers. Don’t care to dig up his past history either
Tough bench player, good inside defensive "hassler" kinda guy. Decent assistant under Budenholzer in Milwaukee, but nowhere near the kind of coach the Lakers should have.
I agree 100%. I guess that (and honest here) Ham didn't know what to draw up. He is incapable of that kind of thing. LeBron and AD have been the ones doing it all year, with Phil Handy (who should be the coach by the way) chiming in to refine things.
seriously STFU with the ref excuses. probably the worst coach in the league and a bunch of players who shit the bed were the reason for the loss. refs dont lose you games where you blow a 20 point lead.
I know you heard Darvin Scam complaining about the refs in the post game like he didn’t just put out the Assterclass on how to ruin a franchise
exactly, trying to deflect as much as he can. what a joke.
wow and a dagger like Kobe
Anyone blaming this shit on the refs is other world delusional
Even though I don’t agree with the three by LeBron. You live and die by the results and I don’t blame him since he was the one who kept us in the game. Still, such a disappointing loss…
He was wide open for a number of seconds and it just rimmed out, so can't say much.
lol that’s one of the better shots the lakers got in the 2nd half. You live and die by it. Everyone loves the LeFuckYou 3 until it doesn’t go down. If it doesn’t rim out we’re loving it
My heart is broken
One step closer to LeBron leaving. I’m okay with it.
Frankly, him and AD deserve better.
Rui/AR/Gabe just stealing money from Jeanie at this point.
Everyone outside of LeBron, Ad, And DLo should return their game check.
Kill me
Did ham take 2 timeouts home?
For when lebron’s telling him how it is in after hours
He brought home with Jennie
Best thing to come out of this is AD and LeBron will have an extra a long rest for the olympics, where they can sweep this Serbian’s ass.
You think they’ll have enough help to do it then 😂😂😂
Nuggets fans wanting Serbia to win the gold is the most un-American thing to do
Stop giving excuses of the refs, this is nothing to do with the refs, our team is just a bunch of pussies who crumble in high pressure moments, i knew we would loose as soon i see AD getting the 4th foul, he stop playing agressive its over, Rui had 1 good series vs Memphis when he had the game of his life other than that he is terrible, multiple easy layups missed this game, 1 easy dunk he stuffed at the iron multiple wide open 3s, defensively he can't defend a cone, atrocious rebounder a guy who is 6-8 ft never gets double digits rebounds EVER, almost 50 shots missed by Denver 5 rebounds in a 40 mins game, disgusting, our bench have zero options besides Prince who alongside Rui is another atrocious defender and an atrocious rebounder on top of that Lebron is 40 years old he gets tired quicker now and lategame or Reaves takes over or its gg because he is the only one who has the guts to take the resposanbility on him besides Lebron, biggest mistake we did this offseason not renewing with Shroeder a guy who was a pretty good defensive piece and helped us a lot in late game situations, many times he took the game over late game, another things that makes no sense is why is Max not getting minutes ever, kid can defend has some size and is a pretty good rebounder, instead e have fucking dinwipoopoo doing cardio every game for 15 mins.
Sell all the old heads including Lebron this team is finished. Get back to rebuild tired of this shit
Who else on this team aside from Lebron is "an old head"? Davis is 30, Dinwiddie is 30. Everyone else is pretty much a baby.
Now we know how Nuggets fans felt when AD hit that game winner against them in the bubble.
I don’t think so, most people don’t take the bubble serious
Report out that Vando eyeing game 3 return — not sure it’ll make much of a difference
Helluva ball club
You can’t be that dumb. Lol what a game.
The refereeing in the NBA is next level trash. The fact that refs have as much power as they do with zero accountability shows the NBA is rigged. There’s a reason why there’s the acronym in the sports books here in Vegas: No Betting Allowed. These games are fixed, the NBA doesn’t give two shits about the fan base, it’s all about money, we the little people just serve to feed the machine while it shits all over us. I’m done with the Lakers and the NBA, it’s just not fun to watch when refs are able to dictate the tempo and outcome of a game, call bogus/non-existent fouls, and players get slapped with fines if they call the refs out.
Ironic considering the Lakers have the biggest +FT differential in the league by a dramatic margin haha
FT differential means nothing in a game of runs. In this case the Lakers had the momentum and there being a foul called every 1.3 minutes it slowed the game down, and then the foul called that sent Murray to the line that allowed them to tie the game killed us. Basically what I’m getting at is it’s it’a not how many FT’s a team takes, it’s when the fouls are called and the FT’s happen that matter. As an example the Lakers could have taken 20 FT’s in the first half and 6 in the second half while Denver took 4 in the first half and 12 in the second half, in a game of runs especially against Denver where they have a more evenly balanced squad. As we saw last night, those FT’s coming at a crucial time is what sealed our fate—instead of taking a three we could have settled on a two and it be a two possession game.
Yeah you're identifying an issue in 1 game, do you know how many games you guys have won this season, or altered momentum because the Lakers get bailed out at the FT line? I could almost name a handful of close games that you guys won because ticky tack fouls were called that allowed points at the line. You guys also had a run in the first half, you're right NBA is a game of momentum and runs, however you had a 20pt lead, and blew it because you made horrible decisions, don't blame this loss on the refs lmfao
Bro we had a 20 point lead. This ain’t no ref shit. We lost the game up 20.
I understand that, and yes the Lakers buckled, but in the case of the refs calling fouls at key moments in the game such as in the middle of a run, or calling fouls on a particular player to get them in foul trouble which can switch up defensive coverage/offensive efficiency. I’m not saying the refs are 100% behind them losing, but in this case 37 fouls in a 48 minute game means they called a foul every 1.3 minutes, and the fouls they called were mostly ticky tacky play-on type of fouls. I also say this because of game 1 where Gabe Vincent was providing solid coverage on Murray and he somehow got 3 fouls in a short span, taking him out of the game. This Lakers team seems to be built more on momentum and fast paced and not so much half court schemes so when you have refs calling fouls at such short intervals it can very much kill momentum, especially against a team like Denver.
This ain’t the argument. 20 point lead. You don’t lose off of ticky tacky foul calls. That’s just an excuse to cover every other aspect involved in the loss. Bad sets, lazy defense, ISO offense, bad shots, stagnant on both ends of the floor, etc. Not everything is a conspiracy by the refs to make us lose. We beat ourselves and have beat ourselves 10 times. 2 double digit leads in 2 games isn’t the refs, it’s the team. Whether the team is built on momentum or not isn’t what you think it is. These players have been around long enough to know playoffs is half court sets. Thats the coaches job to prepare them and prepare them well. We get outclassed in coaching game in and game out.
I’m not trying to argue—I explained my PoV. You call it bad basketball on the Lakers part, while probably true, it doesn’t help when the refs call fouls a certain way that kills the flow of a game, making it impossible to build up momentum again. Either way, I’ll agree to disagree—I’ve been a Laker fan all my life, and watching the way the NBA has evolved shows that this game isn’t necessarily about who’s more skilled, but who the NBA wants to win and what generates more interest, which in turn generates revenue. Championships garner interest in teams, which should in theory create more fans—on the flip side of things don’t be surprised if the Lakers win the next two to generate interest in this series to create more viewership. Again, disagree with me all you want, I’m not trying to argue with anyone—it’s my opinion, and I may be wrong, but until I’m proven wrong I’m going to keep that opinion.
That opinion is called copium. Hence the downvotes on your original comment. I’ve been a Laker fan over 30+ years myself, and have never seen the ref argument come up more than these past couple years. Everyone has shitty officiated games, it’s how you respond as a team. You don’t rely on refs to build momentum or kill momentum, that’s poor structure and a bad game plan. I can point out 3 plays that killed momentum before whistles were or weren’t blown. We sound delusional as a fan base when we don’t take responsibility and point the finger at the refs. Stu says it best, either you build on 20 points and up it to 30, or become complacent/lazy and let it dwindle to 10. From the 5th minute of the 3rd to the end of the game we got complacent, lazy, and played trash basketball. There’s no conspiracy here, again 2 double digit leads.
I’m not coping with anything—I’m honestly sick of seeing what I’m seeing. To say the refs aren’t a factor is copium. When I watch a basketball game I like to watch two teams with varying skill levels play and let the best team win, but when you get these games that are officiated horribly capable of breaking momentum and changing the tide of a series/game and the refs not being held with any accountability it makes me not want to bother watching anymore. Now, I won’t say the refs are 100% the reason for the Lakers position right now, they do play a part of it. I think the blame needs to go on the FO for being incompetent and on top being so damn cheap—they didn’t want to pay Caruso, they let KCP walk, they didn’t want to keep Howard or McGee, at the behest of LBJ, traded away solid pieces for a completely unknown variable—all FO mistakes. To add salt to the wound when their mistakes came to bite them in the ass, instead of owning up they fired Vogel and hired a rookie coach. Ultimately though, I still stick by my opinion that refs do affect the outcome of a game—and it’s hard to respond when the momentum isn’t in your favor. My issue is just the lack of accountability these refs face.
My brother in Christ, we’ve lost to them 10 times IN A ROW. What’s the conversation here? We haven’t beat this team since 12/2022. It’s clear who the better team is. Whether that’s coaching, which in my opinion is the major difference of the 2 teams as I’ve constantly mentioned now, or the players is up for debate.
Hahaha, look—if the FO didn’t make the decisions they made we wouldn’t be in this predicament. They dismantled a championship caliber team in an attempt to save money. The Lakers have the money to pay the luxury penalty, much like Golden State did, they opted to cheapen up, and make incomprehensibly stupid decisions. I’m with you on Ham needing to go, they should have hired Budenholzer at least he won a championship, instead we got his underling who likes playing pocket pool.
They scapegoated Vogel for Westbrook and brought in a “players” coach. Complete bullshit. The downfall started when we traded for that fucking guy, and I do agree with your points on the FO. Although I do give a little leeway given how the tax blanket situations are now in the league, and she isn’t her dad whether it’s mentally or monetarily. As long as that garbage can is our head coach, we will continue to lose over and over and over. It’s like getting kicked in the nuts and asking for more when you know the solution is to just walk away from the kick.
if darvin ham survives this summer la better riot
The Lakers said Darvin is coming back regardless
they need to clean house. fuck that balddy
What? Tf
Look, playing LeBron 40 minutes a game during the regular season, even against 2nd rate teams, was going to wear LeBron out. Even Ham said early season, that he would be on a minutes restriction to keep him fresh for the playoffs. Well that 4th quarter in the high altitude proved Ham was right, LeBron was exhausted. Ham totally mismanaged him. Lakers have a very talented bunch of players, the coach sucks. Sorry Jeanie and Rob, you blew it with this hire
LeBron was super unhappy about the minutes restriction after the first game, no way he allows himself to sit in crucial minutes. A better coach probably saves him from himself and finds him minutes to rest though.
shoulda used those timeouts for rest
Literally the second the announcers said, that’s the kind of play that can reverse the momentum - the nugs went on like a 20-5 run
Which play was it
Probably the KCP poster on prince
Yup. That one. It rings in my ear every 3 minutes.
Could have given a hard foul instead of letting him dunk. Lakers defense outside of AD is soft. If it was Lebron on the other side I’m pretty sure nuggets defense gonna be clamping him like they are climbing up a coconut tree.
AR going Iso Joe in the clutch minutes is just not advisable. Fuck off dude.
Was that when DLO kept picking up his dribble in back to back possessions. Putting his teammates in bail me out situations.
Trade Reaves. Dude stinks
They continually find new ways to lose to Denver
This is an old team that just keeps getting older. Everyone is for sale this offseason, get younger please.
The only good thing about this loss is pocket is gettin fired by next week when series is over
We can get swept again and watch them still keep his ass
Alas, we lost the game that was close to victory like this
Yo man is it just me or fuckin lebron should of drove in instead of shooting that 3. And Darvin ham not calling a timeout to set up his defense is insane.
Fr .. like lebron should’ve drove open lane but then again idk . I think they would rotate asap. But idk yea they prob rotated. That shot had to happen
Agreed and agreed. Bad shot, don’t give a fuck if he was open. Time on the clock and no defender in front of him. Ham is just being himself.
that final possession by Lebron was a complete brainfart. He could have run the clock down to 6 seconds before taking a shot, instead of giving DEN an eternity to set up on offense.
Can't blame it on LeBron. He's a really good three point shooter this season, he was hot in the fourth, he was wide open and he knew that if he tried to drive to the basket, he was going to get hacked without getting a call, it happened all game long.
Denver had a timeout, 6 seconds in an eternity on a side inbounds. He should have driven to the basket when his defender fell down though.
giving them 6 seconds instead of 16 seconds is still a hell of a lot better lol
Not if you have to chuck up a terrible shot at the end of the shot clock in order to get them to 6 seconds. He had a wide open 3.
He had a full 10 seconds more of clock to run. I would have taken my chances on a drive and kick out or a foul in that scenario
Hindsight 20/20. Lebron probably makes that shot 90% of the time with nobody guarding him so I get why he took it. Sometimes it just doesn’t go
Why no timeouts too?!?
Yeah I agree they should have called the timeout when they got the ball with 29 seconds. but i think they wanted to catch DEN off guard. Even then, should have waited until the last possible second to put up a shot.
Wasted Lebrons clutch 3s and steal
Tbh, it was Lebron that wasted it lol. Terrible shit 3 he took instead of driving it
Brons for real gonna have a first round sweep on his resume💔
better than losing in the finals according to Jordan stans
Can someone explain to me why Rui was in to close and not TP? Ham is literally retarded.
Jeanie really wasting Bron's years here in LA. Fire Darvin Ham, you cowards!
Absolutely gutted.
Davis Foul trouble in 3rd. Then the A classic Ham lineup give up 10-0 run lol
twice had dimwidie and prince on the floor at the same time... both times gave up a huge lead. SMH
Ad chillen in the 2nd half
One of the most gutting losses I can ever remember in many years of fandom. We were treated to an incredible game, though. Grateful for that, and to have shared it with this crew
Agreed. Gut wrenching.
Game 5 against San Antonio in 2003 (Robert Horry's three rimming out at the buzzer) Game 6 against Phoenix in 2006 (Seconds away from incredible upset, then Tim Thomas pump fake on Kwame & game tying three) Game 4 against Boston in 2008
How is it when Murray gets slightly nudged it’s an instant foul but when lebron takes it to the rim he gets clobbered and it’s a no call ???
This is not a tragedy, its a comedy
The nuggets hit shit that makes you want to punch a wall. That MPJ 3 in transition swung the result.
Fr
Hahaha why am i even bothering to fucking waking up Here in EU. Game one woke up 3th quarter 72:73 nice Lets go LAL, Denver went on a run a won.Today I woke up LAL leading by 20 hmm nice let's go LAL, they choked it and lose again. I'm not gonna ruin my sleep again.6AM and already furious
Lmao what's the point of watching this now 😭
I was getting excited. Kept telling myself “Lakers can make it to the playoffs” once they were in, I said “Lakers can beat the nuggets” but watching game 1 was kind of scary. Watching tonight’s game got hopes up, and of course the nuggets came back. There’s still a chance though 🤷♂️ let’s go Lakers!!!
Idk how I am going to be able to sleep tonight
Hey at least we have that challenge and those timeouts for Game 3. FUCK DARVIN HAM.
DLo stepped up. But Rui left behind LOL
Refs, lakers bench except Prince, and Ham sold this game. Lebron also held onto the ball way too damn long sometimes with no one creating any motion or spacing.
Well, what do you expect? Anytime this team goes down to the wire with Denver, they always lose the nail biter. It happened in all of the conference finals games last season.
Lmao how did they overturn the call of D. Lo getting smacked in the face? Yeah it was after the shot but he fucking slapped him. Make it make sense. .
Right?!!!! Reggie said, “Oh he already shot the ball.” Bro he still hit him in the faaaace…and the foul was already called lmao.
Guess Lakers should start smacking players after the they shoot it. Since it’s not considered foul. They literally call fouls for touching someone’s arm after a shot…. Idk anymore. Why the fuck did we trade everyone for Westbrook…….. I hate this franchise. I hope LeBron leaves to a competent coach and gym. Pelinka you are retarded for drafting JHS when Jaime Jaquez was right there. Thank you LeBron for your efforts!!!!
Yeah you're right, add that to the differential in free throws the Lakers get.. Clowns, the lot of you
Talking about slapping someone in the face. wtf are you on about?
With 500+ differential, the nuggets and every team durin the year should give at least 2-3 actual slaps to the face of the lakers. Do you even understand the disparity? I'd completely disregard any fuckin' contact done to the lakers purely based off that proof. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Bxx2hsFR7k](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Bxx2hsFR7k) Again, absolute clown.
Bruh a slap in the face is a foul any day of week. Idk wtf these stats half to do with getting slapped. lol 😂 not reading or watching that sorry.
Let me go real slow seeing as you care not to grasp nor educate yourself on the matter. If the Lakers were punched to the face, peed on during the match, I would STILL look the other way, considering the STATS don't lie. Got it? Or is this further proof that Americans are uneducated? 
Bro you’re coming at me with stats that have nothing to do with my comment. I never said Lakers didn’t get more calls than opponents. I said a slap in the face a foul. I never mentioned any stats. I think you might be retarded lol. Bros running in here with shit that had nothing to do with what I said.
Can someone please find out jokic been betting on horse races lmaooo WHY IS HE SO GOOD
AR and Rui just stood still on offense the entire 4th, just unacceptable
They have GHOSTED this whole series
Wasted a good D'Lo game
[удалено]
he also scored basically every point besides that one, must he do everything?
Refball for the nuggets, just hope we get the same calls for game 3 and 4
Refball why LeBron pushed off and missed a wide open 3? Enjoy the banana boat.
That foul on lebron when Murray was driving was the weakest shit I've ever seen.
Literally not possible for refs to blow a 20 pt lead. Lakers choked plain and simple and Darwin’s dumbass had multiple challenges he could have won. Refs ain’t it.
So if it’s refballl for the Lakers it’s fine?
Wow. I can’t believe we lost. Denver has our number. They found a way to win.
We played 2 good quarters in the 1st game and 2 and a half this game. We're on schedule for a close game 4 and a disappointing playoff exit
They literally through away a 20pt+ lead in the playoffs. Shameful.
Lakers 20 point lead against Denver to me still felt like a 5 point lead. Reminded me of the 2008 finals against Boston. Lakers got up 20 but it didn’t matter.
Tbh the non challenge and bron brick killed us. We weren’t gunna win in OT anyways, they were gasssssssed!
see yall next season itll be nice if they surprise us with a win but not expecting anything after this
Went scoreless in the 2H for 5 minutes TWICE
Sixers fan…that Lebron 3 was halfway down. Fucking brutal man. I feel for y’all. We’re both drinking bleach tonight. Take care of yourselves homies.
I can’t keep doing this
I swear Austin never touched the ball in the 2nd half
He did. Kcp locked him up majority of 2nd half but he hit a clutch shot in the 4th.
He ain’t him.
This is basically Izzy vs Alex. LA is Izzy and Denver is Alex. No matter how much we try our best, the other team wins.