What went wrong for the Lakers
While losing Game 1 against the Blazers isn’t ideal for LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the Lakers, it’s also not something that many didn’t see coming. Aside from the Phoenix Suns, there’s an argument to be made that the Blazers were the hottest team headed into the playoffs. They had to win their way into the playoffs and picked up where they left off by dethroning the Lakers in Game 1.
Aside from LeBron and Davis, the Lakers struggled mightily on the offensive end. Simply put, the Lakers only scored 93 points. Against a team that had the third-worst defensive rating in the restart bubble, that’s horrific. It’s a nightmarish-type scenario for Los Angeles. But it only mirrored the issues the Lakers had in the restart.
In the eight bubble games, the Lakers had the third-worst offensive rating. Other than LeBron and Davis, who combined to score 51 points, the Lakers only had two other players score in double-digits. Their supporting cast proved to be a huge hindrance against the Blazers and if they can’t play at a higher level I don’t see why this won’t continue to be an issue.
There are real concerns for the Lakers, especially going against a team as dangerous as the Blazers. The Lakers played terribly on offense and that will have to change for them to win this series. What makes Game 1 even more concerning is the fact that the Blazers didn’t even play all that well on the offensive end and still won.