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NBA playoffs: The genius of Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic, and what the Lakers are doing about it

The Denver Nuggets can rally from the depths in an NBA playoff series because Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic methodically problem-solve opposing defenses. Your preferred coverage of the Murray-Jokic pick-and-roll might set them on their heels for the first half of Game 1, but they soon adjust. They poke and prod, downloading information, searching for holes.

By Game 2, they begin exploiting those holes. By Game 3, they might have forced a change in your coverage. They see that change. It signals they are inflicting pain. It emboldens them, even if it means they have to problem-solve anew.