Lakers-Nuggets Preview: Phil Jackson Crunches the Numbers

For many of us, the number-crunching season ended on Tuesday as the income tax deadline passed.

But for Lakers coach Phil Jackson the number-crunching began Tuesday night with the Lakers win over the Sacramento Kings, 124-101, which gaind the team the top seed in the Western Conference Playoffs.

Jackson took a serious look at the numbers as he prepared his team to face the eighth-seeded Denver Nuggets this Sunday in the first-round of the playoffs.

"Seventy percent of (the Nuggets') shots happen in the first half of the 24-second clock," Jackson told reporters in an extended media session. "So that tells you something right away.

"For us, if we just sit on that ball another two or three seconds, it changes the timing of how the game is played."

And that’s exactly what Jackson would like his Lakers to do – change the timing and control the flow of the game.

"We want to play our game, but we don't want to encourage (the Nuggets') pace," said Jackson, who believes that defense is key to controlling the flow.

"I've emphasized the fact to them that this is really a proving point for our defense. It could be high-scoring, (however) there's going to be a point in every game where we're going to have to play some intense defense and get ourselves in position where we can provide stops so that we can have a chance to win."

How high-scoring can it get? According to Jackson, "It's going to be a wide-open series. I don't think this is going to be a 90-point series in any stretch of the imagination. It's going to be 100-point games."

Taking a deeper look at the numbers, here are some interesting statistics to back up Jackson’s prediction.

Denver finished No. 2 in the NBA in points scored and points allowed — behind only Golden State in both categories.

The Nuggets averaged 110.7 points per game. The Lakers were fourth at 108.6 points. But the Nuggets allowed 107 points per game, while the Lakers allowed 101.3. So, the Lakers have a 7.3 to 3.7 winning differential. That was good enough for seven more regular season wins in the tight Western Conference.

The Nuggets play a wide-open, fast-paced offense that is particularly suited to Denver’s high altitude. Not used to the thin air, opponents often find the Nuggets difficult to keep up with. This accounts for the fact that the Nuggets led the NBA in games won by 30 points or more.

But the Nuggets also play a wide-open, go-for-broke defense, trying for steals to fuel their fast breaks. Just as often, they miss. This accounts for the fact that the Nuggets led the NBA in games lost by 30 points or more.

If the numbers are in any way an indication, this will be the highest-scoring of all the first-round match ups, and possibly the most intense.