The Lakers become the negative textbook, the Nuggets compress and rotate to bury bitter fruits, should two substitutes really be used more?

We all know that in the playoffs, each team will reduce the number of rotations to varying degrees, because the fault tolerance rate is much lower, and blindly using substitutes may have a negative effect. But if it is too extreme and too few players are used, it will also cause the physical fitness to light up and collapse in the second half.

The Lakers became the negative textbook. In the first round of the playoffs, the Lakers had never changed players in the second half, so the five tigers played in full. Unexpectedly, the Nuggets, who eliminated the Lakers twice in the playoffs, did not learn this lesson, and even compressed rotation and planted bitter fruit. In this game, the Nuggets had six players mainly rotated, and the seventh place Payton Waters only played 9 minutes. The outside world said that it would be like the Nuggets to rotate 6.5 players. As the playing time is full and the Nuggets players' state and efficiency plummeted, no one has performed particularly well. Starting forward Michael Porter was injured, but he still played for 34 minutes. So Michael Porter made 1 of 7 shots, only scored 3 points and 9 rebounds. He was originally good at shooting various irons on the outside, and all three-pointers and 5 shots missed. This performance was not as good as resting off the court.

Substitute sixth man Russell Westbrook also played for 27 minutes, but he made 2 of 12 shots inefficiently, only scored 6 points and 3 rebounds, and left the court due to 6 fouls. Originally, Russell Westbrook is only suitable for playing for about ten minutes, unless it is in a very good condition, and add a little more playing time. But the Nuggets seem to still regard him as an MVP-level player, so Russell Westbrook will only expose his own problems, affecting his personal reputation, but will not be able to bring such great help to the team.

Now the Thunder and the Nuggets have tied 2-2. Obviously, there is no secret between the two sides. The Nuggets' lineup depth is far less than that of the Thunder, so they definitely need some changes, especially the two substitutes should be used more. First of all, center Jordan Jordan. In fact, in the first round, he played against his old club, the Clippers, Jordan Jordan also entered the main rotation lineup. Although the data is inconspicuous, he can compete for rebounds and effectively protect the frame, which is the key to allowing Nikola Jokic to rest for a few minutes after the game. The latter is already exhausted in this round of the series. Instead of letting Nikola Jokic get enough time, it is better to change to other inside substitutes to try it out.

The other player is shooter Julian Strauser. In fact, if Michael Porter cannot shoot, the Nuggets' offensive space is very crowded, and the pitcher needs support at this time. The Nuggets are not without choice, but a sharpshooter like Julian Strauser has been completely abandoned. It can only be said that the Nuggets coaching staff is too conservative.