3 adjustments that the Nuggets must make immediately

The Denver Nuggets were gashed in Game 1 but all hope isn’t lost.

While the Denver Nuggets started off strong against the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1, they made costly mistakes that only served to make it more difficult for them to complete a comeback against the Lakers in the second half.

Frankly, the officiating was terrible and there was a clear difference in the physicality the two teams were allowed display without getting a foul call.

Nonetheless, there are some easy adjustments that Denver can make for the rest of the series that will give them a better chance of upsetting LA, even if the referees are causing them frustration.

1. Don’t leave Markieff Morris open from three

At times, it seemed like the Nuggets were daring Lakers big man Markieff Morris to shoot, with his man (usually Mason Plumlee) playing far off of him because he was concerned about protecting the paint. With a team that has Anthony Davis and LeBron James, there’s nothing wrong with the desire to protect the paint. However, if you’re matched up with Morris in this series, you can’t just let him take wide open 3-point attempts.

True, he’s been an inconsistent 3-point shooter when you look at his year-by-year splits. This season though, Morris has been on time and on target, knocking down 38.6% of his threes in the regular season and 44.1% of his threes in the postseason.

The Nuggets lost by 12 points in Game 1 and Morris scored nine points, all on 3-point attempts. It’s one thing to let the star players beat you but when you’re allowing role players to shoot that efficiently, you’re beating yourselves.

2. Pick better matchups for Lakers stars

At the start of Game 1, Nuggets head coach Michael Malone made the interesting — and head-scratching — decision to have Jamal Murray guarding LeBron James on the perimeter. Sure, Murray is a solid defender and yes, LeBron can overthink the situation when guarded by a smaller player. However, the Lakers scored 9 points in 41 seconds when Murray was guarding LeBron.

Jerami Grant guarded LeBron more than any other player in Game 1 but while Grant held LeBron to 1-4 shooting from the field thanks to his combination of length and athleticism, the Lakers scored 32 points in the 7 minutes and 14 seconds that Grant was guarding him.

Amazingly, Torrey Craig only guarded LeBron for seven seconds, despite him holding LeBron to 4-15 shooting in the regular season. In four games and a total of 8 minutes and 39 seconds, the Lakers scored 37 points when Craig was James’ primary defender.

Frankly, the Nuggets don’t have anyone that is going to stop LeBron from being a playmaker, because he’s too big, strong and athletic for most of Denver’s rotation, and too great of a passer in general.

However, James only scored 15 points in Game 1. It was AD who was making mincemeat of the Nuggets’ frontcourt, scoring 37 points in 33 minutes.

He was 2-3 when guarded by Mason Plumlee, 2-2 when guarded by Michael Porter Jr. but 2-4 when guarded by Nikola Jokic, 1-3 when guarded by Grant and 3-7 when guarded by Paul Millsap. Of course, it’ll take a by-committee approach but it would seem that Grant had the greatest success against the star big man.

While the Lakers scored 23 points in the two and a half minutes that Jokic guarded him, Davis also shot five free-throws. The Lakers scored 14 points in 3 minutes and 49 seconds of Millsap guarding him but he took four free-throws. He didn’t get to the free-throw line at all when Grant was guarding him.

Whether it’s the starting lineup or making better matchup decisions, Malone needs to make a change in Game 2.

3. Get Michael Porter Jr. involved in different ways offensively

There’s a benefit to Porter posting up behind the line, as it keeps whoever is guarding him (sometimes Davis) from foraying into the paint for fear of the damage he can do as a shooter. However, unless Porter is shooting efficiently — and honestly, even if he is — the Nuggets need to get him involved in different ways offensively.

He’s 6’10” and has nice shooting touch from everywhere on the floor. Letting him get the ball in transition (where he scored 1.23 points per possession in the regular season) and using off-ball screens that free him up on cuts (where he scored 1.12 points per possession in the regular season) could make the hoop seem a little wider to him and get him free-throw attempts. It could also keep him engaged at a maximum level on the defensive end as well.

His lack of integration into the offense after his showing in the seeding games has been horrendous. There’s a reason that his NBA peers, including elite players like LeBron and Kawhi Leonard, respect his talent. It’s time to stop using him only as a specialist and guy who gets putbacks. It doesn’t benefit either him or the Nuggets.

What adjustments do you think the Nuggets need to make after Game 1?