The Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers are two teams that just can’t seem to avoid each other in the playoffs. The two teams have faced off three times in the last five years, with the Nuggets currently having the upper hand. They’re a team Lakers fans have gotten all too familiar with, including the legendary James Worthy.
Nuggets on SI attended the Harold & Carole Pump Foundation Gala where James Worthy gave an exclusive interview on the Lakers’ history with the Nuggets. When Worthy was asked on how to stop Nikola Jokic, he gave a very simple answer – you don’t. The focus isn’t on stopping Jokic, it’s on stopping the team.
“I don’t think that you put it in that perspective that we need to stop Jokic,” Worthy said. “He’s a phenomenal player and you need to focus on the whole team, including him. I think our best year was 2020 where we had JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard. You could come in and play a little more physical with him, you try to slow him down, take away some of his comfort zones, and get him in foul trouble.”
In Worthy’s eyes, the players that need the most attention are guys like Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon. When those players have it going on the Nuggets, there’s no chance of winning.
“The guys you have to worry about are Aaron Gordon, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Jamal Murray, they are a team,” Worthy said. “They’ve been together for a long time, they’ve been through trials and tribulations, they waited on Murray after he had that serious injury. So, when you develop that kind of chemistry when guys have been together, it finally came together.”
While James Worthy admits there is no stopping Nikola Jokic, he also is very aware of the fact that you can’t make it easy for the Denver Nuggets either. One of the biggest downfalls the Lakers had last season was allowing too many offensive rebounds against Denver.
“So, you don’t stop Jokic, you focus on the whole team and try to take away some of the comfort shots, don’t make it easy, can’t turn the ball over, things like that, can’t give up offensive rebounds,” Worthy said. “They’re going to do what they do, not that many people can stop them.”
With the way things look, the Los Angeles Lakers haven’t made any real improvements to avoid losing to the Denver Nuggets in the playoffs again. While it’s way too early to say, there’s always a chance that these two teams meet in the playoffs for the fourth time in six years.
