There is no shame in going 1-0 down against the defending champions, but if you’re a Lakers fan you have to be worried by how your team has played the Nuggets lately. Saturday’s loss was the 9th in a row for the Lakers in head-to-head meetings, it’s been almost 500 days since they recorded a win against Nikola Jokic’s team. Adjustments will surely be made ahead of Game 2 by head coach Darvin Ham, D’Angelo Russell really disappointed in the series opener going just 6-for-20 from the field. As a team the Lakers shot a mere 27% from three-point land, with that type of inefficiency it’s hard to stay competitive vs Denver. Once again the Lakers are 7.5 point underdogs, just like they were in Game 1.
Despite trailing by 3 points and winning by just 9 in the end, the Nuggets never really looked in danger of losing on Saturday. Nikola Jokic looks like an unsolvable enigma, he dominated with 32 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists in the win. All 5 Nuggets starters scored in double-figures, aside from Boston I think Denver has the best starting 5 in the entire NBA. They’ve now won 5 straight at home, while in their last 6 overall they’re 5-1 ATS/SU. In head-to-head meetings vs LA at home they’re 6-0 in the last 6 meetings, the odds are stacked in their favor ahead of Monday’s game. If they can limit the Lakers’ shooting from downtown like they did in the opener, I can definitely see the Nuggets going up 2-0 here.
