Skills Science: Deconstructing three elite plays from the Lakers win over the Nuggets

The Lakers returned from their seven-game road trip — during which the team went a very respectable 5-2 — and went straight back into the fire, facing a Denver Nuggets team that had been playing quite well after a slow start. However, after shaking off the malaise of slow first half, the Lakers flipped the switch in the second half and cruised to a dominating, 114-93 victory.

Every Lakers game right now is filled with an assortment of superb plays, and this victory was no exception. In the following video — using my background in sports science, movement, and coaching — I dissected three elite plays and skills the Lakers displayed through the lens of biomechanics, movement patterns, basketball technique and the “mental side” of the game.

Let’s take a closer look at the film:

My goal is to produce these “Skills Science” segments after the majority of games this season (and ideally after each game — hey, a man can dream, can’t he?) and hopefully they provide a little more detail about the technical aspects of movement, skills and the game of basketball itself.

In the meantime, what were some elite skills, plays and details that stood out to you? Let me know in the comments below this post.

Dr. Rajpal Brar has a doctorate in physical therapy from Northern Arizona University, and runs his own sports medicine and performance business, 3CB Performance, in West LA and Valencia, CA. He also works at a hospital — giving him experience with patients in the immediate healthcare setting and neurological patients (post stroke, post brain injury) — and has been practicing for 1.5 years. Brar is additionally training at UCLA’s mindful awareness research center (MARC), and analyzes the Lakers from a medical perspective for Silver Screen and Roll and Laker Film Room. You can follow him on Twitter at @3cbPerformance.