The Los Angeles Lakers begin their playoff journey on Saturday against the Denver Nuggets. In the rematch of last season’s Western Conference Finals, the Lakers will have revenge on their minds as they try to dethrone the reigning champs.
The Nuggets are the favorites to start the series. Lakers head coach Darvin Ham needs to push the right buttons to give his team a fighting chance against the Western Conference favorites. Ham gets significant criticism from Lakers fans, some unfair, some warranted. However, the pressure will be on him to make this a competitive series, and here are three things he needs to do.
At the conclusion of the video, Schefter did say, “I still believe Jayden Daniels is the favourite to go No. 2.” That’s still my opinion.
When you combine this with a post and a like from Daniels’ agent on X (previously known as Twitter), though, it feels more and more like the Heisman champion really wants to play in Washington.
It’s almost the conclusion of silly season; we have six days left to find out where players like Daniels, Drake Maye, and the other dominoes land. Will the Commanders end up with Maye or some other gunslinger, or will Daniels remain in Washington despite what appears to be his own wishes?
1. Equip Nikola Jokic with Anthony Davis in terms of minutes
It goes without saying that Anthony Davis will not be covering Nikola Jokic the entire time. That wasn’t a successful strategy when the Lakers tried it in the previous season’s series. Following Game 1, AD played rim protector and backline defence while Rui Hachimura and LeBron James spent a lot of time guarding the Joker.
That’s probably going to carry over into this series as well. However, Davis must be on the court when the two-time MVP is, even if he is not defending Jokic.
When it comes to attacking mismatches and breaking down defences, Jokic is the greatest player in the NBA. Jokic will look for cutters like Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun, and Peyton Watson near the basket for easy finishes if Davis is not present as a help defender. In addition, he will most likely outperform James and Hachimura on drives to the hoop and post-ups. AD must be present to assist and interfere with his shot near the rim.
Davis has shown that he is capable of being the finest post-season defender in the NBA during his time with the Lakers. Even if he wasn’t as good against the Nuggets the previous season, the Lakers need him to play as much as possible in order to stand a chance against Denver.
