Three areas where the Lakers need to improve
1- More pressure on Jokic
It sounds easy, however, the ‘Joker’ has an arsenal of resources that made life difficult for the Angelina defense. In Game 1, the two-time MVP did whatever he wanted in the paint, dominated the rebounds (21) and, as usual, finished with a triple-double (34 points, 21 boards and 14 assists); however, in the last quarter, Coach Ham sent him double coverage with Anthony Davis and Rui Hachimura, who somehow kept the Nuggets center with low scoring, although the damage was already done and the Lakers did not have enough time to come back.
For the second game, the initial pressure was given by placing Jarred Vanderbilt as a starter to accompany AD in the coverages over Jokic and it gave good results in the first three quarters, while from the bench Hachimura relieved one or the other and also contributed 21 points. The ‘bad’ thing was that this pressure was of little use when the rest of the Nuggets cast, especially Jamal Murray got sharpened and started getting fed by Jokic. The rest is history. But how likely or brazen would it be for Hachimura to start alongside AD and Vanderbilt, while Russell and LeBron play point guard?
The result could be a very physical team that at least might have a little better chance against a team that also plays physical.
2- Improve three-point shooting.
Talking about poor three-point percentage sounds repetitive when it comes to the Lakers, who until before the trade deadline suffered from being inaccurate from beyond the arc, an aspect they improved for the second half of the season, the play-in and the first round of these playoffs; however, in Game 2 against Denver the ‘from Saturn’ shooting got out of whack.
In Game 1, the Lakers went 45.8% effective in three-pointers, with 11-24 being Reaves the most accurate with 5-9, but for Game 2, the collapse was total as they finished with 26.7%, the Angelenos hit eight three-pointers out of 30, yes 30 attempts. James did not make any of his six attempts and once again, Reaves was the best, hitting 5 of 9. In this NBA, the team that does not have among its weapons a good three-point percentage, does not survive.
3- Ravenous start
In these playoffs, if there is a team that has asserted its home condition, it is the team from Los Angeles. The support of their fans and the hunger of their players, obviously led by the ‘King’, usually lead to overwhelming starts and if not, just ask the Warriors.
While a good start doesn’t guarantee victory, the Lakers are a team that gets into a rhythm and builds confidence as the clock ticks down; James warms up and abandons his ‘point guard’ role to start attacking the rim. If the Lakers can get a big lead in the first quarter, they could close the gap in a playoff race that looks very difficult for them right now.
