On Monday, the Los Angeles Lakers headed into Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets with high hopes of evening the series at one win apiece before heading back home to play Game 3 and Game 4.
Even though the Lakers had a 20-point lead in Game 2 at Ball Arena and seemed to be in control of the game for the majority of the contest, the Nuggets proved why they are the defending champs and the favorite to win it all again this season.
Nikola Jokic and company turned it on in the third and fourth quarters to cut the lead to single digits and ultimately to one possession with time expiring and the ball in Jamal Murray’s hands for the last shot, which turned out to be a game-winner as the clock clicked down to zero.
After the game, no one was more frustrated and visibly angry than Lakers superstar Anthony Davis, who admitted that sometimes the team has no idea what they’re doing on both ends of the basketball floor, which seemed like a direct shot at head coach Darvin Ham.
Although she thinks that the series is closer than the 2-0 lead for the Nuggets suggests, Rachel Nichols of FOX Sports says Davis’ comments are an obvious problem that doesn’t look good for Ham.
The Lakers are a lot closer to the Nuggets than a 2-0 series would suggest, and I fully expect them to get a win or two in the coming days – but when after your 86th game of the season, AD is talking about the team not knowing what to do out on the floor…that’s a problem. pic.twitter.com/G7T4QfTtg1
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) April 24, 2024
With criticism of Ham getting louder and louder from players, fans, and the media, it’ll be interesting to see what happens for the rest of this series and what his job status is if they get swept again by the Nuggets in the NBA playoffs.
So far, Denver has been the better team, as expected, living up to expectations, while the Lakers have fallen flat, with an early postseason exit potentially on the horizon.
NEXT:
Nick Wright Reveals Why Lakers Lost To Nuggets In Game 2