The Los Angeles Lakers were late to show up to their Game 1 matchup vs. the Denver Nuggets.
Mike Malone’s team easily handled them for three quarters, and their rivals didn’t put up a lot of resistance at all.
That’s why Skip Bayless called out Anthony Davis for allowing Nikola Jokic to grab over 20 rebounds and let the Nuggets out-rebound them by 17 boards.
Bayless believes that Davis should make the most of his strength and athleticism to keep Jokic away from the glass, and even though he praised him for his offensive showing, he criticized him for how much he let Jokic dominate him.
.@RealSkipBayless breaks down the Lakers Game 1 loss to the Nuggets:
“They got humiliated for three quarters. LeBron shot too many threes, they couldn’t close and AD didn’t rise above Jokić on the boards.” pic.twitter.com/WM6gWQU5Nr
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) May 17, 2023
Moreover, Bayless praised Darvin Ham for rolling with Rui Hachimura late in the game, citing that he allowed him to double Jokic and make life more difficult for him, and lauding Hachimura’s attitude and for knowing how to use his body.
Notably, that key adjustment brought the Lakers back into the game, up to the point where they were down by just one possession after trailing by 21 points at one point in the game.
The Nuggets have enough bodies to counter that, and they should still have a big edge on the boards with Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr. picking up the slack if Jokic isn’t lurking around the paint.
This series could be an interesting chess match between two coaches that have proven to be quite good at making in-game adjustments, so it wouldn’t be shocking to see it go to seven games.
NEXT:
Austin Reaves Reacts To Lakers Game 1 Loss To Nuggets
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