The Los Angeles Lakers were far from their best in the first half of Game 1 vs. the Denver Nuggets.
Nikola Jokic nearly had a triple-double by halftime and he was getting everything he wanted against Anthony Davis until Darvin Ham finally made some minor tweaks to get his team back into the game.
That’s why even though they couldn’t finish the job and seal their comeback, the Lakers’ coach feels quite confident about their chances as they get ready to take the court for Game 2 of the series.
“We feel comfortable where we’re at. No one ever wants to lose… but even still it’s the first to four.” Darvin Ham on the #Lakers momentum and his takeaways from Game 1. pic.twitter.com/JhoCY0BEoe
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) May 18, 2023
Per Ham, losing one game isn’t the end of the series by any means, and he’s fully confident in his team’s ability to even things up and take care of business.
Notably, the Nuggets shot over 50% from the floor and put up 132 points on the Lakers’ usually-solid defense, which should be a big reason for concern.
They attacked D’Angelo Russell all night long, and they have the offensive firepower and repertoire to put their defense in a tough spot, even if they go with Rui Hachimura and Anthony Davis double-teaming Jokic as they did in that second half.
The Lakers cannot outscore a team like the Nuggets on a nightly basis; they’re not built that way.
Defensive effort should be a point of emphasis as they hit the floor for Game 2, and they cannot afford to dig themselves into such a big hole so early in the game again.
They do have a chance; they proved it.
But they’ll have to be near perfect to contain arguably the best scorer on Earth right now.
NEXT: Skip Bayless Has A Strong Reaction To Lakers' Game 1 Loss
