Getty Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Los Angeles Lakers allowed the Denver Nuggets to score 132 points in Game 1 and Anthony Davis is willing to take the blame for that.
The big focus for the Lakers is slowing down Nikola Jokic, who put up a massive triple-double in the Nuggets’ victory, recording 34 points, 21 rebounds and 14 assists. Davis spent some time on Jokic but also shifted later in the game to be the primary defender on Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon, also roaming on the backline.
Davis feels like the solution to the Lakers’ Game 1 woes on the defensive end start and end with him.
“That’s why they pay me the big bucks,” Davis said on May 17. “I got to figure it out. That’s it. I got to figure it out and I got to help everybody. That’s my job on this team, to help everyone defensively, protect guys.”
The Lakers might have to shift their rotation to be able to hang with Denver’s size. They were outrebounded 22-6 in the first quarter. Lakers coach Darvin Ham harped on the Lakers being more active on the boards, which Davis agrees with.
“Michael Porter is 6-10. Aaron Gordon, 6-8 or something like that. Jokic is 6-11. Like, our guys are small,” Davis said. “So, if I go and contest a shot, then that’s when they try to out-rebound. It’s just about putting bodies on them.
“We had opportunities to get rebounds, where we were staring up at the ball instead of finding a body. That’s how they got a lot of offensive rebounds to start the game. So, it’s about us being physical. Shot goes up, put body on body and then go get the rebound.”
D’Angelo Russell May Get Moved From Lakers Starting Lineup
The Lakers have been good at making adjustments in the postseason. Against the Nuggets, that may mean moving D’Angelo Russell to a reserve role from the starting lineup and adding more size — potentially Rui Hachimura or Jarred Vanderbilt. Unlike earlier in the season, the Lakers have a stockpile of talent on their bench they can tap into.
“We have guys, a bunch of guys, that we can tap into and go to that can play consistent basketball, hold the water or take it up a notch,” Davis said. “And that brings a lot of comfort knowing that we have that kind of depth within our team. How we go about plugging different guys in, it’s a constant, ongoing process.
“But it’s great. From Rui to Vando to Lonnie [Walker IV], there are different guys we can plug in.”
The Nuggets appeared to be targeting Russell in Game 1, basically running him off the court in the second half.
“I felt we did a great job on D’Angelo Russell — so great that he wasn’t even in the game much in the second half,” Nuggets coach Mike Malone said in his postgame press conference.”
Nuggets guard Bruce Brown added, “he’s not the best defender, but he definitely tries.”
Lakers Ready to Mix Things Up Against Nikola Jokic, Nuggets
GettyLakers’ Anthony Davis guards Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic
Lakers coach Darvin Ham joked prior to Game 1 that the best way to slow down Jokic might be kidnapping him before he can get to the stadium. It’s probably even more on the table after his Game 1 performance, but realistically, the Lakers will need to simply mix things up throughout the game to keep the Nuggets and their star big man off-balance.
“You got to mix up pitches,” Davis said. “I got to just read the flow of the game and decide if Rui got him. Do I fully commit or just go box out Gordon or do I go and someone got my help on the backside?”
The Nuggets enter Game 2 as a 5.5-point favorite. The total for the matchup is set at 226, which the sides past in their first matchup.