There are the technical elements of this first round playoff series, like the amount the Lakers can get into offensive sets, the right actions at the right times. There are defensive assignments, such as blitz or drop, double or hedge decisions.
It can be complicated.
Or, as LeBron James said in New Orleans after the rematch with Denver was scheduled, it could be simple.
“We have to play mistake-free basketball,” James said.
Perfection, of course, is not possible. But for moments early in the first quarter Saturday night, the Lakers flirted with that.
James was transcendent, controlling all the action, while Anthony Davis made the most of the Nuggets’ suspect rim protection. Rui Hachimura chased down Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, slowing him down a bit as the Lakers guard doubled down and recovered.
The work put the Lakers ahead by double digits, with Denver coach Michael Malone calling a timeout in anger as the Lakers were up 14.
But at the grand conclusion of a 114-103 loss in game 1, the Lakers got a reminder. The mistakes they will certainly make cannot be accumulated. Errors cannot be unforced. The Nuggets don’t need help.
And the Lakers, in the most important parts, gave a little.
The turnovers fueled an 8-0 run that quickly got the Nuggets back into the game, before breaks on both ends of the court in the third quarter put the Lakers in a bad position, needing to climb a mountain in Denver against the defending champions.
Although the Lakers pressed hard and the game remained competitive until the final minutes of the fourth quarter, they, once again, were not error-free enough.
Davis scored 32 points but was outmatched in transition defense. James had 27 points but had seven turnovers. And the Lakers supporting cast missed too many shots, too many times.
Jokic led Denver with 32 points.
Saturday night, the mistakes came in droves. With the Lakers down seven, a Russell three-pointer was in and out. The Nuggets caught the Lakers out of position on the way back down the court, made a three and, on the next possession, stole a nonchalant pass from James to ensure there was no late-game suspense.
It will be difficult for the Lakers to leave the arena on Saturday feeling like a team that was just 1-0 down in the series. The victory was Denver’s ninth in a row against Ham’s Lakers, including victory in last season’s Western Conference Finals.
In many of these games, the script was familiar. The Nuggets would press and press against the Lakers until eventually the pressure would be too much and things would fall apart.
Russell, a Nuggets target last spring, bounced back during a regular season when he set the Lakers’ mark for most threes made in a season, helping lead their comeback this winter.
But redemption will truly be judged in this series, and he got off to the toughest start, missing his first six threes before finally hitting one in the fourth.
He was hardly the only Laker to struggle in the depths. The team made just eight of 29 three-point shots, with the Nuggets making seven more threes.
Another key to the series, pushing the Nuggets off the offensive glass, went Denver’s way. On possessions, when the Lakers got the shot they wanted or challenged the one the Nuggets were working for, Jokic and Aaron Gordon were there to give them extra chances to deplete the Lakers’ defensive energy.
After the Lakers cut it to six in the fourth quarter, Denver got two offensive rebounds before Jokic finally scored on his third attempt. A callout from Gordon about his own mistake as the Lakers watched was a fitting image near the final horn.
The Nuggets had 15 offensive rebounds for 18 second-chance points, killers against a Lakers team operating with razor-thin margins for error.
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This story originally appeared on Los Angeles Times.
