The Lakers did a better job on Nikola Jokic of the Nuggets in Game 2 of their opening-round Western Conference showdown in Denver. They held him to a mere 27 points. Of course, he also had 10 assists and 20 rebounds, but at least the Lakers got the ball out of his hands and forced other Nuggets to beat them. Which they did, 101-99.
Jokic had 16 shot attempts after logging 23 in Game 1, when he scored 32 points. The strategy gave the Lakers a shot at a victory and a 20-point lead in the third quarter, but, ultimately, Jamal Murray’s clutch game-winner was the difference.
Even before the game, Lakers coach Darvin Ham said he was just not sure what to do about the Jokic conundrum. The Lakers entered the night with a nine-game losing streak to the Nuggets. They came out with the streak at 10.
Ham admitted when meeting with reporters ahead of tipoff, “It’s like, ‘S***, I don’t know what to do.’” But Jokic was not the only problem in Game 2. While the Lakers did enough to win the game on the defensive end, the offense stagnated, the Lakers allowed the refs to get to them, and ultimately they were left with the deflating loss.
Nikola Jokic a ‘Generational Player’
Now, for context, here’s Ham’s complete quote about Jokic, delivered at Ball Arena on Monday night.
“He’s become extremely efficient,” Ham said. “When he’s manning their offense, he knows how to kill you in a variety of different ways. So, you gotta put constant pressure on him, that doesn’t seem to bother him, either. Taller than everybody. Wingspan, skillset—it’s like, ‘S***, I don’t know what to do.’
“You just got to go out there and try to be as disciplined as possible, aggressive and consistent and have a next-play mentality. You can’t get disappointed, can’t get discouraged. Kid’s a hell of a—a generational type player. So you gotta keep swinging. Keep bobbing and weaving and swinging.”
Ham said out loud the part that most coaches won’t admit—that Jokic is a puzzle they do not know how to solve. He is an efficient scorer and terrific rebounder, so if you leave him in single coverage, he will take advantage of the mismatch.
Double-team him, though, and you will fall victim to, arguably, the best big-man passer in league history, surrounded by capable shot-makers. The Lakers, on Monday, chose to keep Jokic single-covered all through the second half, and they paid for it.
Lakers Should not Blame Refs for Game 2 Loss
Still, even with Jokic’s impressive triple-double, the Lakers were flailing after the game for excuses about the loss. There was more to it than the brilliance of Jokic or the clutch shot of Murray. The Lakers did the damage to themselves, played like a mentally fragile team that could not withstand a comeback attempt on the road.
After the game, there were repeated complaints by the Lakers about the performance of the referees, and some of their gripes were legitimate. A foul called on a drive by D’Angelo Russell, who was hit in the face late in the third quarter, was oddly overturned by the replay center. Another foul on a drive by LeBron James with 45 seconds to go went uncalled.
Ham said the Lakers could not use the officials as an excuse. But they did anyway.
“I like where we were at. I like the chance we gave ourselves. A few questionable calls that really dictated a lot of movements forward. So, it is what it is. We all saw it,” Russell said after the game.
Said James: “I don’t understand what’s going on in the replay center, to be honest. … [D’Angelo Russell] clearly gets hit in the face on the drive. What the f— do we have a replay center [for]?”
The Lakers did have some worthy complaints about the refs. But that’s hardly the only reason they are down, 0-2, at this point.
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