The Western Conference Finals opened on Tuesday with the Los Angeles Lakers looking to continue their magic carpet ride deep into the heart of the battle for the NBA championship.
To do so, they will have to overcome two-time league MVP Nikola Jokic and a deep and potent Denver Nuggets team in this series.
Early on, it looked like the Lakers were simply outmatched. They got beat badly on the boards with their small lineup, as Nikola Jokic got 10 rebounds in just the first eight minutes of the game, as well as in transition. The rebounding margin was an eye-popping 20-3 late in the first quarter, and the Nuggets extended it to 36-13 at halftime to give themselves a 72-54 halftime lead.
Los Angeles was able to trim its deficit to 11 before Jokic hit a 3-pointer to end the third quarter, and it kept pecking away afterward, coming to within three points with just over a minute left to play. But it was too little, too late, as Denver held on for a 132-126 win.
Jokic was the big thorn in the Lakers’ side with 34 points on 12-of-17 shooting, 21 rebounds and 14 assists, but it was a balanced attack for Denver that did them in. Jamal Murray killed them with 31 points on hot outside shooting, especially on hand-offs off screens, while former Laker Kentavious Caldwell-Pope tossed in 21 points.
The Lakers are hoping the momentum they found in the fourth quarter will carry over into what will be a very important Game 2 for them.
Anthony Davis: B-plus/A-minus
Davis got off to a slow start offensively and on the boards, but he did make an effort defensively, blocking two shots in the first half. He scored 18 points by halftime, but he had just two rebounds by then.
In the second half, he looked more like his usual dominant self all around, and at times it seemed as if he (and the Lakers overall) was scoring almost at will. He finished with 40 points on 14-of-23 shooting while making all 11 of his free throws and adding 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals.
The fact that Davis played hard on both ends of the floor (except on the boards in the first half) shows how dominant and incredible a player Jokic is. The Nuggets’ hub had his way with Davis, who has been outstanding defensively throughout the playoffs, but quite a few of his points also came when Davis was screened off or couldn’t rotate into the paint to stop Jokic on drives to the hoop.
LeBron James: A-minus
James tried to keep the Lakers in the game early with eight points, four rebounds and two assists in the first quarter. He also made a nice effort to run back in transition and block a Bruce Brown layup attempt while knocking the ball out of bounds off him late in the period. Offensively, he looked to attack the paint, either by backing down his defender or penetrating to the hoop.
He was outstanding overall, looking much like his vintage self with 26 points on 9-of-16 shooting and 8-of-11 from the free throw line, 12 rebounds and nine assists. However, he went 0-of-4 from 3-point range, and he missed a 3-point attempt with 45.2 seconds left with L.A. down by three. It was questionable or even bad shot selection, as there was plenty of time left on the shot clock, and that shot was one reason James’ team fell short.
Dennis Schroder: C-plus/B-minus
Schroder was again in the starting lineup, as Lakers head coach Darvin Ham chose to go small in the beginning of the first and third quarters. The German native didn’t make a big dent in the outcome of the game, but he did hit both of his 3-point attempts while dishing off five assists and making an effort defensively to shadow Denver’s ball-handling guards.
D'Angelo Russell: D
Russell was ice cold in the first half, shooting just 1-of-6 from the field. He started to get things going offensively afterward, making three of his next five shots, but he didn’t play at all in the fourth quarter.
He has been up and down throughout the playoffs, and although he has had some very nice games at times, he will need to be more consistent offensively if the Lakers are to go all the way.
Austin Reaves: A
Reaves continues to be quite a revelation for Los Angeles. Despite a poor first half, he had an excellent outing, scoring 23 points and going 5-of-9 from downtown while dishing off eight assists. Down the stretch, as his team made a serious run, he hit three 3-pointers to make the Nuggets and their home crowd a bit nervous.
Rui Hachimura: A
Hachimura made a major impact in this game. He came off the bench to score 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting in 28 minutes, and he took advantage of often being guarded by a smaller defender.
But perhaps his most important contribution came on the other end. Defensively, he guarded Jokic in the fourth quarter, and he was able to slow him down a bit despite giving up three inches and over 50 pounds. Jokic wasn’t able to go to work off the dribble as much when covered by Hachimura, and the former MVP ended up giving up the ball more often than he did previously. In fact, he didn’t hit a single shot in the final quarter.
If one were to nitpick, Hachimura had no rebounds in Game 1, and that simply won’t cut it, especially considering the lopsided rebounding differential.
Jarred Vanderbilt: D
Vanderbilt came off the bench for the second straight game, and he didn’t get onto the court until late in the first quarter. He made a negligible impact on the game on both ends of the floor, as he went scoreless and only contributed one assist, one steal and one rebound in 10 minutes.
For the Lakers to win this series, Vanderbilt has to get back to being the defensive dynamo he was earlier in the playoffs and during the last several weeks of the regular season, even if he’s contributing very little offensively. They also need some rebounding from him, even if he isn’t evoking memories of Dennis Rodman in that category.
Lonnie Walker IV; B-minus
The return of Walker to the Lakers’ rotation has been an inspirational story. Now it’s time for him to consistently produce the way he did over the first two months or so of the regular season.
On Tuesday, he went 2-of-4 from beyond the arc, but overall he was just 2-of-6 from the field. He ended up with six points, two rebounds and two steals in 20 minutes.
