Opening Night has always been a tough one for the Los Angeles Lakers and their trend of losing the first game of the regular season continued as they fell to the Denver Nuggets.
The first six minutes of the game was frenetic with both teams trading baskets, but once the game slowed down it was the Nuggets who were able to wrestle control for the remainder of the evening. The night played out exactly like the Western Conference Finals did as any time Los Angeles threatened to come back Denver had an answer.
Anthony Davis looked great in the first half as he racked up 17 points and played excellent defense. However, he was a no-show in the second half as he failed to register a point.
After the game, Darvin Ham emphasized that he wants to see Davis aggressive at all times and that he and the coaching staff would review the film to see where they could make tweaks, via NBA.com:
“Just try to move him around and attack and play downhill. Had some unfortunate misses, had it going there for a while, kept us close. But just want him to be all-out aggressive. Whether it’s pick-and-roll, him catching the ball in trail position, him direct post up. Just want him to be aggressive. We’ll go back and look at the film and see if there’s anything that we like and then go from there.”
Davis explained that he saw more double teams in the second half, so he wanted to make the right play and kick it out to open teammates. However, the star big man did admit that he needed to shoot it more even in situations where he has a clear pass.
Davis has floated in and out of games before, so it was disappointing to see him fall into the background in a marquee matchup against Denver. He has always been good about taking accountability for his subpar performances, and hopefully he comes out with the right mindset on Thursday against the Phoenix Suns.
Darvin Ham vows Lakers will be better after loss to Nuggets
There were both positives and negatives to take away from the loss to the Nuggets, and Ham acknowledged it was tough for them to be their first game. However, Ham also said that his team would be better going forward and it’ll be interesting to see how the players respond.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!
