Lakers' second-half of adjustments positioned scare into nuggets in g1 loss

 

Denver -- lebron james marched off the courtroom after the lakers' 132-126 game 1 loss tuesday to the denver nuggets, closed his eyes, craned his head returned and set free an, "oh my god," after la almost stole the western conference finals opener. The lakers trailed by way of as many as 21, were outrebounded by 17 and allowed denver to score seventy two points through the damage -- the most l. A.'s defense has allowed in any 1/2 all postseason -- and yet had a chance to tie the score with a 3-pointer by way of james from the top of the key that overlooked with 45. 2 seconds ultimate inside the fourth.

The Nuggets showed they were the West's No. 1 seed for a reason, with two-time MVP Nikola Jokic authoring a brilliant night with 34 points, 21 rebounds, 14 assists and two blocks, and Jamal Murray scoring 31 on an efficient 12-for-20 clip.

But the Lakers also showed how they've been able to outmaneuver the Memphis Grizzlies and Golden State Warriors so far in these playoffs, with several adjustments by coach Darvin Ham paying off in the second half, which, along with a strong effort from Anthony Davis (40 points on 14-of-23 shooting, 10 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks), gave them a real shot.

Defensively, rui hachimura switched onto jokic, allowing davis to roam as the returned line of protection.

"you have to switch up matchups at times and you need to transfer up coverages," ham stated. "gave us a threat to get returned into the game."

on 55 denver possessions whilst davis become the final defender on jokic, the nuggets averaged 1. 45 factors per play and shot 66% from the sphere, according to research by means of espn stats & facts. There was a stark difference with hachimura because the very last defender on jokic: denver averaged just 0. 67 factors in line with play in 15 possessions and shot 20% from the sphere.

"i suppose it's going to be big for me this series because they're very massive, and we want the scale," said hachimura, who delivered 17 points on 8-for-eleven shooting past his shielding effect. "i think it will be a very good one."

hachimura said he changed into prepped by way of the lakers' training body of workers to expect the task on jokic at instances in the collection. He's big in his very own proper at 6-foot-8, 230 pounds, however he said so as to benefit leverage at the 6-11, 284-pound jokic, he attempted to plant his weight on jokic's knee to limit the large man's motion.

Offensively, l. A. Hunted murray while james initiated pick out-and-rolls, and the 20-12 months veteran become green, scoring 15 of his 26 factors and tallying six of his 9 assists after the wreck.

"it must be part of it and our plan of assault," ham stated of james controlling the motion in the 2d half of. "murray changed into in foul problem, and so he was the plain target we attempted to go at."

with the lakers trailing in a chain for the first time all postseason, several of the crew's leaders expressed self assurance approximately in which their team is.

"We'll be OK," Ham said. "Trust me."

Added James: "We'll be better. We know we didn't play up to our capabilities in the first half. ... But you know we'll be better in Game 2, that's for sure."

With the Nuggets also starting the 6-10 Michael Porter Jr. and the 6-8 Aaron Gordon alongside Jokic -- not to mention the 6-5 Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and 6-4 Murray in the backcourt -- a starting lineup adjustment for Game 2 to have Hachimura's size on the floor from the opening tip seems like an obvious play for Ham.

Introduced james: "we will be higher. We know we did not play up to our abilties within the first 1/2. ... But you realize we'll be better in sport 2, it really is for positive."

with the nuggets additionally beginning the 6-10 michael porter jr. And the 6-8 aaron gordon alongside jokic -- now not to say the 6-five kentavious caldwell-pope and 6-4 murray within the backcourt -- a beginning lineup adjustment for game 2 to have hachimura's size at the ground from the opening tip looks like an obvious play for ham.

What is no longer so apparent is whom out of l. A.'s starting backcourt from recreation 1 -- the 6-1 dennis schroder and the 6-4 d'angelo russell -- makes greater sense to come back off the bench.

Russell -- who shot just four-for-11 and played best nine mins in the 2nd half after registering a plus-minus of -23 in 17 first-1/2 minutes -- might obviously be below attention; however, a couple of crew sources advised espn that there's difficulty the group should "lose" the 27-yr-vintage factor shield if he perspectives the adjustment as a demotion after starting every different recreation this postseason. Schroder has already shown he may be secure as a substitute, as he failed to begin until recreation 6 towards golden state. Russell were given up extra pictures after the sport on the courtroom at the same time as nonetheless in uniform. For the first time all playoffs, the no. 7-seeded lakers get to sense just like the underdogs, and don't forget what it'll take to even up the collection rather than playing with the collection lead.

"within the postseason, it does not depend in case you reduce it to at least one or you're down 20, in case you lose, you lose," james stated. "they're 1-zero, and we ought to come again with desperation going into sport 2. We should play higher, we need to rebound better. ... We want to be higher in all sides of the sport."