The Los Angeles Lakers may make a starting lineup change for Game 2 of their Western Conference Finals series against the Denver Nuggets.
The Lakers had no answers for the Nuggets defensively in Game 1, particularly when they allowed 72 first-half points. They tightened things up a bit in the second half and fell just short of pulling off a huge comeback.
Rui Hachimura gave L.A. great minutes off the bench, and he may be inserted into the starting lineup on Thursday night. According to Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report, Lakers head coach Darvin Ham is considering starting Hachimura in Game 2.
Ham went with a three-guard lineup to start Game 1, and that obviously did not work. Hachimura played 28 minutes off the bench and scored 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting. He also had some great sequences of defense on Nikola Jokic.
Rui Hachimura’s defense on Jokic pic.twitter.com/oSrnyIojmZ
— Los Angeles Lakers (@CookedByLakers) May 17, 2023
There is obviously no need for the Lakers to panic, but giving Hachimura more minutes makes sense given how he played in Game 1.
