Once again, Nikola Jokic and Team Denver Nuggets clinched the victory over LeBron James and Co. The consecutive loss to the Nuggets has become such a norm for the Los Angeles Lakers that ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins made a bold claim about the fall of the King James. “Unless Jokic has an early retirement… Lebron will never win another title,” Perkins tweeted on Joker’s domination over LeBron in games. The 11-straight losses to the Nuggets this year have made the Nuggets’ center lose his mind over James and Co.

In a competitive space like the NBA, players expect the opponents to present fair competition to the team, giving them the field to grow. However, Blue and Purple’s poor performance made Jokic quite used to their style of play. Considering the repetitive fall of the Lakers against the Nuggets, Jokic said in a post-match presser, “It’s really hard to play against the same team[Lakers] over and over. You kind of get bored with the style of play.”

Though Jokic has a mentality that looks to grow at every opportunity, he is also cautious of any complacency. After expressing his concern about facing the same team, he shared how carelessness can be dangerous for his team. The Nuggets’ 7-footer hoped they “don’t get bored with success as things could go wrong really quick.” Despite all the organized and careful approaches, Jokic focuses keenly on winning the remaining playoff games. The Joker shared that his team has a “winning mentality” now, and he doesn’t want to get back to losing.

Considering Joker’s hunger for a clean sweep, can LeBron and Co. save themselves in the next game?

Can the Lakers Stop Nikola Jokic’s squad?

Notably, team effort is the one thing that can keep the Lakers in the series if they want to present competition to the Nuggets. The read-and-react strategy, the pillar point of Denver’s strategy, emerged from Joker’s efforts with team bonding. If the Lakers don’t learn to play as a team, they can’t stop the Nuggets from thrashing them.

To avoid further humiliation, the Lakers must identify the weak links in their team. Taking the Game 3 for reference, Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves, and LeBron James shouldered the points table for the team. Out of 105 points from the Lakers, the three players scored a combined 81 points for the team. With the decisive game in sight for the Lakers, the glued effort can bring them back into the series.

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A complete team play will not be sufficient for the Lakers in Game 4. After observing the Nuggets’ option for pick-and-roll gameplay with Gordon-Jokic and Murray-Jokic, the Lakers must formalize new strategies with their key players. Can Lakers coach Darvon Ham devise such a game plan to bring LeBron and Co. standing equal to Jokic again?