The Lakers came out victorious again in their clash with the Thunder, showing a clear advantage with a 3-1 record. This rising new army seems helpless against the Lakers. Although the Thunder currently have 1204 offensive efficiency (third in the league) and 1125 in defensive efficiency (fourth in the league), but still struggled to get the desired results against the Lakers. The main reason behind this lies in the size difference between the two teams. The concept of body shape is not limited to height, but also involves factors such as strength, body width and thickness. The Thunder aren't short on average in height, but they're average in terms of strength, body width, and thickness. In particular, their forward positions are weaker than defenders and centre-forwards. This multi-guard lineup, such as Alexander, Jalen, Dort, and Giddey, is often forced to play a forward role in key moments, resulting in a height disadvantage in the forward position. In contrast, the Lakers are a team with multi-forward players at their core. They have a strong forward line, with good players such as James, Hachimura, Reddish, Prince, etc.
At the same time, there are also strong players such as thick eyebrows and Hayes in the center position. This size advantage was especially evident against the Thunder, especially in rebounding, interior offense, and secondary offense, where the Lakers had an absolute advantage. While the Thunder are the league with the highest three-point shooting percentage (39.).5%), but their disadvantage in size is still difficult to compensate. In contrast, the Lakers will have a harder time facing the Nuggets. The Nuggets' size advantage is also significant, with Jokic being a threat to the thick eyebrows on the interior and Murray having a size advantage on the guard. The Lakers suffered an eight-game losing streak against the Nuggets in the playoffs last season, which also underscored the importance of the size issue. Overall, size differences play a crucial role in the game of basketball. The Lakers' superiority against the Thunder and their disadvantage against the Nuggets speak volumes. In future games, the Lakers will need to continue to play to their size advantage while adjusting accordingly to the characteristics of their opponents to improve their chances of winning. The Lakers' lineup this season has been characterized by a majority guard, which has affected the team's performance against opponents with size advantages such as the Nuggets. While the Lakers have strengthened their forward line this season, reduced their size disadvantage and been able to put on a two-tower lineup, they still face a clear challenge against the Nuggets.
The Nuggets' Jokic is the biggest pain point for the Lakers, and the Lakers lack a guard who can punish Jokic by naming him for mismatch, so it is difficult to kill him effectively. Although the thick eyebrows are excellent when defending Jokic, they also consume a lot of physical energy, which is difficult to maintain for a long time. If the tactics of four or five misalignments are adopted, Hachimura will be used as cannon fodder to defend Jokic, and Brother Thick Eyebrows will make up for the defense, although it can liberate Brother Thick Eyebrows, it will also make Jokic enter a more crazy state. And if you use a two-tower strategy, having another center (such as TT, Hayes) defend Jokic will also be difficult to defend successfully, and it will also affect the offensive space. On the guard line, Van der Bilt is the only player for the Lakers who can effectively defend Murray, but the other three guards have struggled against Nuggets guards. Van der Biao also struggled to play for long periods of time due to injuries and other reasons, which made the Lakers' guard line even more stretched. The Lakers' usual three-guard and two-forward lineup last season has little chance of winning against the Nuggets, because according to the drawer principle, the Nuggets will inevitably find a player in Jokic, Gordon and Porter who can match the Lakers' guards, and the Lakers' three-guard offensive stability is also lacking, which is almost a must-lose situation. While the Lakers could try to match the size of the Nuggets with a five-forward, one-guard and four-forward lineup, this lineup would lead to a congestion of offensive space that would be detrimental to the team's overall performance. Therefore, the "two guards and three forwards" have become the best choice for the current Lakers, although the Nuggets still have a clear advantage in size, but this is also the most balanced lineup for the Lakers against the Nuggets.