Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers dunks in Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference Finals against the Denver Nuggets at the AdventHealth Arena in Orlando, Florida, U.S., September 18, 2020. /VCG
The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Denver Nuggets 126-114 in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on Friday, leading 1-0 in the series.
Neither side seemed well-prepared for the contest. The Lakers often let Jamal Murray get away with open shots after he called a screen, while the Nuggets kept watching their big men being eaten alive by Anthony Davis one by one.
Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets posts up in Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers at the AdventHealth Arena in Orlando, Florida, U.S., September 18, 2020. /VCG
But that's only half the story.
The Lakers have enough big men to take on Nikola Jokic. JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard both proved they could limit Jokic when he posted up close to the paint. Nonetheless, when Jokic drove in from the 3-point line, it was harder for McGee and Howard to follow him. Davis always matched Jokic but he spent a lot of time alone on the court, which meant that when Davis had to defend Jokic somewhere away from the paint, the Lakers' rim was very vulnerable.
On the other side of the court, the Nuggets were even more comfortable defending Davis. Paul Millsap, Jerami Grant and even Jokic himself covered Davis but none managed to get the job done. Davis was either too big or too fast for them, not to mention that he had ample ways to make sure the ball falls in the net. That explained why he scored 37 points with such decent efficiency of 12-21 in field goals.
Jamal Murray #27 of the Denver Nuggets makes screen play with his teammate Nikola Jokic in Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers at the AdventHealth Arena in Orlando, Florida, U.S., September 18, 2020. /VCG
Jokic only got 21 points, six rebounds and two assists in Friday's game partly because of foul trouble and partly because the Lakers did not trap him enough to prevent him from finding open teammates. However, that did not mean the purple and gold's defense on Jokic was perfect. On the contrary, the Lakers allowed the rest of the Nuggets to cut through their defense so easy that it only took one extra pass for them to make easy basket.
The Lakers did not place enough defensive pressure on Murray either. None of their perimeter defenders – Danny Green, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Alex Caruso – could cover Murray alone, let alone when he called screen. Murray went 3-5 from downtown and had five assists. If the Lakers let him cook like that, he may soon make them pay like he did with the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 7.
Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers dunks in Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference Finals against the Denver Nuggets at the AdventHealth Arena in Orlando, Florida, U.S., September 18, 2020. /VCG
Nonetheless, the Nuggets were not to be praised for their own defense. They had no solution to the opponents' charging against the rim – Rajon Rondo delivered multiple brilliant alley-oops for Howard and LeBron James. The Lakers scored 54 points under the rim, without James turning on his full power.
Considering that the Lakers lost Game 1 in both previous series and the Nuggets came back from 3-1 trail twice, the result of this game meant very little. The head coaches of the two sides will definitely make more changes in the following games.