3 reasons the Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Denver Nuggets in Game 1

Despite a hot start, the Lakers lost Game 1 to the Denver Nuggets, 114-103. Everything seemed to rolling for L.A in the first half. Anthony Davis and LeBron James look amazing on the offensive side of the floor in the first quarter. After the first quarter, the franchise's other veterans got exposed and Denver was able to get the W.

Even though the Lakers were on the road and a solid Game 2 appearance could allow them to tie up the series, there doesn't seem to be much optimism linked with the squad as they are rolling into many of the same issues that they ran into last season.

As Michael Malone said before Game 1, it's tough to find much a difference between last season's Lakers and this team, and that's bad news for LBJ and Co.

3. Second half-LeBron James

After scoring 19 points in the first half, LeBron James stopped attacking the basket and allowed others to take the share of the offensive shots. The star only shot six times in the second half. It seemed like when the momentum shifted, the All-NBA veteran realized that this Lakers squad was going to need performances from others if they wanted to beat Denver.

The team didn't play perfect in the opening moments of this game but the Lakers got a great effort from James. Despite an inspiring early performance from James, the Nuggets were able to come back behind the same issues that plagued the Lakers in the 2023 playoffs.

2. Austin Reaves

While his 13 points on 55 percent shooting look fine on the box score, the above-average starter just didn't rise to the occasion. The Lakers needed some Reaves' magic to make up for Russell's poor play. Going forward, the floor general will need to be able to get switches that enable him to be guarded by Jamal Murray or Reggie Jackson.

If Reaves is stuck being defended by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for the rest of the series, the Lakers will need their other high-profile guard to show up or the series could be extremely short.

1. D'Angelo Russell

Since it's the Lakers and LeBron James, it will be a talking point around the NBA landscape, but D'Angelo Russell just straight up was good enough for the Lakers to get the win. To be quite honest, the guard looked horrible on the offensive side of the ball. He was a negative for L.A. in this matchup when on the floor.

Russell's 13 points on 30 percent shooting was horrendous. His three-point shooting was a lot worse as the veteran shot 11 percent from the three-point line.

At his best, Russell can be a complimentary piece to LeBron and Anthony Davis. L.A doesn't have a chance against the Nuggets if he plays like that the rest of the series. Additionally, the guard just isn't able to be a good offensive distributor.

If the Lakers want any chance of this series, they will probably need Russell to step up. If he doesn't, then this could be a very quick series for Denver and a long summer for L.A.