The Lakers are Prometheus, but instead of being tied to a rock, they're tied to play-in positioning and fighting to get into the postseason. And instead of eating his liver, the eagle takes his heart just when he thinks he'll survive long enough to see the Denver Nuggets win.
Monday's loss to the Nuggets may have been the cruelest. The Lakers led by as many as 20 points, but lost due to Denver's dominant performance in the fourth quarter. Jamal Murray scored the winning goal over Anthony Davis, clinching a 101-99 victory for the Nuggets.
Here are three big takeaways from the loss:
The battle of the boards has been lost.
Head coach Darvin Ham said the Lakers' offensive rebounding was the biggest area for improvement in Game 2, and the Lakers continued to improve over two quarters. But sadly, basketball was his fourth quarter game and the Lakers outrebounded him 24-16 in the second half.
Denver took those extra possessions and stormed back into the game, ultimately leading them to wrest victory from the jaws of defeat. Against a defending champion like Denver, we can't afford to make mistakes or lose. A lot of that happened in Games 3 and 4, which is why the Lakers are 0-2 in the series instead of 1-1.
A small mistake led to a big loss
Everyone will remember the pain of giving up a 20-point lead, but many small mistakes led to this result. Spencer Dinwiddie deteriorated in minutes, scoring zero points and posting the worst plus/minus on the team at 9 points. The 10 minutes he played were 10 minutes too long. It's Ham's fault for giving him that goal.
Anthony Davis was sensational with 32 points and 11 rebounds, but also committed five fouls. His fourth foul was a killer, forcing Ham to sit him late in the third. After that, Denver conceded more points and narrowed the gap to 10 points.
If Davis had stayed without picking up more fouls, the Lakers likely would have stayed away. Instead, the Nuggets had momentum, with Jokic and Murray getting hot and giving them a chance to be punchers.
It's clear who is the better team
Ten games and two playoff series later, the biggest lesson everyone should know is that the Denver Nuggets are clearly better than the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers can play well on defense, with their star players playing at an elite level and getting help from other role players. It doesn't matter.
The Nuggets will win. If Aaron Gordon scores 18 points on March 2nd, or Jokic's 32 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists in Game 1, or if Murray is an elite player in Game 2 at No. 4, that will happen. right.
Time is a flat circle for LA, the Lakers will try different things, other players will step up, new players will disappoint, but it doesn't matter. Either way, this is just another path to the same destination and a loss for the Nuggets.
Game 3 will be played Thursday in Los Angeles.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter. @ECreates88.
