Lakers Must Stick to Strategy vs. Jokić, Nuggets Despite D'Angelo Russell Rumors

The Los Angeles Lakers enter Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals down 1-0 after Tuesday night's tough 132-126 loss.

However, Los Angeles may have found something in the second half. The Lakers were down 72-54 and ultimately had chances to win it late. A shift in defensive strategy and a heavy dose of Rui Hachimura defending Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokić allowed L.A. to climb back into the contest.

As ESPN's Dave McMenamin pointed out after the game, Denver averaged 1.45 points per play while Anthony Davis was the main defender on Jokić and only 0.67 points per play in the with Hachimura on him.

Even if LeBron James and Davis are playing at a high level, utilizing Hachimura may indeed be the key to at least slowing Jokić for the rest of the series.

As one anonymous coach told Sam Amick, Darnell Mayberry and Josh Robbins of The Athletic, having a plan to slow Jokić was always the key:

"The last time these two teams played in the Western Conference final in the bubble, I thought the Lakers had a luxury with the depth of their bigs. ... They beat him up every single time. The Lakers don’t have that physicality anymore. So what schemes and coverages are you going to do differently for Nikola Jokić, because I just don’t believe that Anthony Davis is the end-all, be-all with him."

The unknown heading into Thursday's game is how Denver will counter—and how the Nuggets will find a way to adjust.

"Much [is being] made of them putting Rui Hachimura on Nikola Jokic," Denver head coach Michael Malone said, per ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk. "Like we have never seen that before."

There's going to be a proverbial chess match between Malone and L.A. coach Darvin Ham throughout this series, but for now, the Lakers must stick with what worked in the fourth quarter of Game 1.

To get Hachimura more minutes, however, Los Angeles will likely need to pull either D'Angelo Russell or Dennis Schröder from the starting lineup. According to McMenamin, pulling Russell could be problematic.

"Multiple team sources told ESPN that there is concern the team could 'lose' the 27-year-old point guard if he views the adjustment as a demotion after starting every other game this postseason," McMenamin wrote.

The risk for L.A. is twofold. Russell could "check out" for the remainder of the series—and the Lakers need everything they can get from their supporting players—and he could depart as a free agent in the offseason.

To this point, the Lakers have shown that the new-look squad they created at the trade deadline is quite good. Finding a suitable replacement with an already expensive roster could be extremely difficult.

It's a risk that the Lakers must be willing to take, however. James is 38 years old, and Davis has a notable injury history. This core group isn't going to get many more opportunities to reach the Finals, and there's no guarantee it even returns for the 2023-24 season.

Budding star Austin Reaves will be a restricted free agent this offseason and, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, other teams will be willing to offer Reaves more than Los Angeles can.

But limiting Russell's minutes does seem to be the right call. He's been inconsistent offensively—he was 4-of-11 shooting on Tuesday—and is a defensive liability the Nuggets have planned to attack.

"Just going at him," Nuggets forward Bruce Brown told reporters. "He's not the best defender, but he definitely tries."

According to McMenamin, Russell registered a minus-23 in the first half on Tuesday before playing only nine minutes in the second half. The results scream that L.A. was a better matchup against Denver with Russell playing a limited role.

Ham must stick with whatever works until it no longer does. For now, that means more of Hachimura and less of Russell. This is something that Russell should ultimately be able to grasp.

The Nuggets were the No. 1 seed for a reason. They're deep, talented and almost always have the best player on the court. Every matchup advantage the Lakers can find in this series will be critical. Russell can still have an impactful role off the bench or, potentially, once Denver figures out how to counter Hachimura. And if L.A. can somehow make its way to the Finals, Russell can have a prominent role there too.

The Lakers must first have to figure out a way to defeat the Nuggets. That means containing Jokić, and if they have to risk alienating Russell in the process, so be it.