5 Things We Learned About the Los Angeles Lakers in Round 1

5. The Lakers Cannot Stop Denver

The Los Angeles Lakers are a good team capable of advancing past the first round, but they ran into a terrible matchup. The games are close, but the Nuggets have won 12 of the past 13 against the Lakers. The Denver Nuggets are just better, and the Lakers do not have immediate answers to close the gap. The Lakers have three future first-round picks they can trade, three first-round swaps, and a couple of attractive young assets that could be flipped for guards. Players like Trae Young could be available, but that would reduce roster flexibility. There is the question of whether or not Young would move the needle against Denver. After all, Young is a disaster on defense. LA has many decisions to make, but for the foreseeable future, they don’t appear able to get past the Denver Nuggets and become a legitimate title contender.

2. The Lakers Missed On-Ball Defenders

By most accounts, the two best on-ball defenders for the Los Angeles Lakers are Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent. Los Angeles was counting on them to disrupt the Denver offense and make life uncomfortable for Jamal Murray on the perimeter. Instead, both players battled injuries all season, and the Lakers could never figure out a suitable backcourt. Vincent was never truly healthy after a knee injury, and Vanderbilt was lost for the season after a significant foot injury in January. Both players could have made an impact against Denver, and the Lakers were mostly dysfunctional on the perimeter.

Bookmark our NBA Injuries Page for the latest news on player injuries and return timeframes.

3. Jamal Murray Exposed LA's Guard Issues

Jamal Murray's presence amplified the backcourt deficiencies, making LA’s shortcomings at guard all the more glaring. Murray was not 100% healthy during the series, but he still averaged 21.5 points per game and five rebounds per game. The most significant impact may have been his 7.3 assists per game and his play in the clutch. Time after time, Murray made critical plays down the stretch as early Laker leads dwindled and disappeared in the second half. Whether it was Austin Reaves or D'Angelo Russell, Los Angeles had no answers in the backcourt. The Lakers have two superstars, but neither of them is primarily a perimeter player, and it may be time for LA to move on instead of giving LeBron James the three-year, $164 million contract extension he will covet. That would provide roster flexibility to build around Anthony Davis with better guards or ship him out for a significant haul of draft picks and young assets and go all-in on a complete reset.

4. Moving on from Darvin Ham

Darvin Ham is out as the Lakers head coach. His tenure had been up and down, with his job security vacillating weekly. The rotations changed often, with Ham seemingly unsure what to do with Rui Hachimura, Cam Reddish, or Taurean Prince, and the decision to move Austin Reaves to the bench was not well-received in the locker room. Despite the success of winning the in-season tournament, the inability to make adjustments in the second halves of this first-round series against Denver resulted in the Lakers blowing multiple leads that cost them a chance to extend it to six or seven games.

Dunk on the sportsbooks tonight! Grab SportsGrid’s free NBA picks, NBA props, and NBA SGPs.

5. The Lakers Cannot Stop Denver

The Los Angeles Lakers are a good team capable of advancing past the first round, but they ran into a terrible matchup. The games are close, but the Nuggets have won 12 of the past 13 against the Lakers. The Denver Nuggets are just better, and the Lakers do not have immediate answers to close the gap. The Lakers have three future first-round picks they can trade, three first-round swaps, and a couple of attractive young assets that could be flipped for guards. Players like Trae Young could be available, but that would reduce roster flexibility. There is the question of whether or not Young would move the needle against Denver. After all, Young is a disaster on defense. LA has many decisions to make, but for the foreseeable future, they don’t appear able to get past the Denver Nuggets and become a legitimate title contender.