The Lakers lost the first game to the Nuggets, but they may have found weapons along the way that could help them win the war. After being overwhelmed in the first half, the Angelenos rowed until the end to end up brushing the comeback in a match that they came to lose by up to 21 points, something that they achieved in large part due to the adjustments that Darvin Ham made from the bench. And many of them have to do with centimeters and Rui Hachimura.
Ham started with the starting lineup that closed out the series against the Warriors, with a trident in the backcourt made up of D’Angelo Russell, Dennis Schröder and Austin Reaves who soon showed their limitations. The size disadvantage to the Nuggets was more than evident, which materialized especially in the pairing of Reaves with Michael Porter Jr., who, more than 10 centimeters taller, was barely in the way of the defense of the sophomore. On the other side of the track, the physical advantage was also more than evident for the locals, making Denver look far superior with the starters on track.
The situation was different, however, with the arrival of substitutes. While Bruce Brown and Christian Braun reduced the size of the Nuggets, Rui Hachimura gave the visiting quintet height and muscle, and began to take advantage of it to show that his role in this series could be more than outstanding. If against Memphis the Japanese shone in Game 1 due to his ability to open the court, this time it was his physical power and his ability to take advantage of the missmatch in the inside game which made him enter the game, using said superiority to score inside.
Davis and the defense in aids
However, the big Los Angeles problem was still in defense. Anthony Davis has undoubtedly been the best defender so far in the playoffs, but in this duel he found himself in a very different situation than usual. La Ceja has shone as a defender in assists, normally pairing up with players with little offensive impact to be able to be more aware of the ball and close the basket than his man as such. His strength isn’t so much drying out his opponent one-on-one as it is preventing anyone who wants to score in the paint from getting it.
It was therefore a little strange that he started the tie defending the man on whom the entire Nuggets offense revolves. Nikola Jokic feasted in the first half, and not because Davis was doing a bad job but because he was doing a less than optimal job. Because it is that even if he had left the Serb at 12 points, the problem with him is not so much the points he scores as the ones he creates.
Perhaps it took Ham too long to understand this, but when he did he pulled the man who had already shown signs of being a major shock. Hachimura was tasked with guarding Jokic throughout the fourth quarter, allowing Davis to finally focus on doing what he does best. The pivot did not leave the paint and began to be the defensive beast that we have seen him be in the first two qualifiers. Suddenly, Nikola wasn’t scoring as easily because when she got rid of his defender and looked at the rim, he would appear. Suddenly, his teammates stopped looking for cuts towards the paint because, when the ball came to them, he appeared. Suddenly, the best defender of the postseason started doing what he does best.
What can Denver do?
In that sense, the Nuggets lacked waist. It was difficult for them to adapt to the new context of the game and it seemed that if they avoided the comeback it was because the advantage was wide, the adjustment came late, and they found a couple of miraculous three-pointers that gave them air at certain moments. But that they had begun to have problems was evident.
It was inevitable then to look at an Aaron Gordon who didn’t exactly help get Davis out of the paint. Rather the complete opposite. He hovered about seven feet from the rim, hoping that Jokic would somehow double the ball for him when AD came to the aid. But the times the center tried, the defense was too close and made that pass unfeasible even to the best passer we’ve ever seen.
A couple of minutes before, Jeff Green knew how to better materialize the option that Davis gave him, waiting his turn in the corner and, given La Ceja’s refusal to get away from the hoop, adding three relatively comfortable points. And yes, that’s a shot the Lakers are willing to live with and abusing it can backfire, but it’s the best way to remind Anthony that he has more to do than block drives. And if Green with his 27.3% 3-point accuracy rate in these playoffs could do it, Gordon (34.5%) should be able to too.
Malone therefore began by winning the battle of slates, but he will have to move things for Game 2 if he does not want the dynamic to be reversed. He will have to try to get Davis out of the paint, either with direct blocks like the Warriors or with an outside shot. He will have to readjust the rotation so that Hachimura doesn’t live in a missmatch constant against his smaller men, whom he has shown he has no intention of taking pity on. And he’s going to have to stop giving away trades off the block that allow LeBron to abuse Jamal Murray in the post. Otherwise, we could be on the way to 1-1.
(Cover photo: Harry How/Getty Images)
2023-05-17 11:00:00
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