The Los Angeles Lakers were complete no-shows in the first half vs. the Denver Nuggets. Anthony Davis allowed Nikola Jokic to dominate both ends of the glass en route to an 18-point halftime lead.
Darvin Ham made some key adjustments, such as giving Rui Hachimura more minutes, and the Lakers slowly worked their way back into the game, eventually losing by six.
That’s why both LeBron James and Coach Ham aren’t worried or fazed by the loss. They know their team can bounce back and be better than this when they square off again for Game 2.
LeBron James Vows To Bounce Back After Game 1 Loss
“We’ll be better,” LeBron said after the loss. “We know we didn’t play up to our capabilities in that first half– we’ll be better in Game 2. That’s for sure.”
“I know the game is won in 48 minutes but they set the tone in the first 24 minutes and we were playing catch up for the next 24,” James continued. “We have to play better, we have to rebound better. I thought we did a good job of not turning the ball over and that’s one thing we’ve been very conscious about in the postseason but we’ve been better in transition, tonight we wasn’t that great.”
"We'll be better. We know we didn't play up to our capabilities in that first half...we'll be better in Game 2. That's for sure." LeBron in response to the Lakers' effort in Game 1
Darvin Ham Trusts The Lakers To Bounce Back
“We woke up and I think we started digging in and playing with a little bit more urgency,” Ham started. “There’s no doubt in my mind that when we come out for Game 2, we’ll be ready.”
"We'll be okay. Trust me." Darvin Ham after Game 1
“We’ll go back and do what we need to do to get the team right physically, start the recovery process now, break down the film, and watch what we need to watch,” the coach continued. “Thank God it’s a best-of-seven and not the NCAA tournament. It’s first to four. We’ll be okay. Trust me.”
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It’s nice to see that they haven’t lost their confidence despite allowing 132 points on 54% shooting. But moral victories will mean little if they fail to even things up in Game 2.
