Where was Anthony Davis in the second half, as the Lakers tumble in opener to Nuggets 119-107

Lakers General Manager Rob Pelinka attacked this past offseason with the understanding that the team has a limited amount of time with the aging, all-time great Lebron James. The team knew that they must put together a roster that can help take some of the burden off its two-star players in Anthony Davis and James. In the beginning of a very busy offseason, the Lakers moved on from point guard Dennis Schroder, who quickly signed with the Toronto Raptors, and they also let go of sharpshooter Malik Beasley, who was supposed to add spacing to the floor with his 3-point shooting ability.

The Lakers took care of the younger half of the big two as they extended Anthony Davis with a 3-year, 86-million-dollar contract that will keep him in purple and gold through the 2027–2028 season. Los Angeles was lacking youth, athleticism, and scoring off the bench, so they looked to fix that with key additions such as Gabe Vincent, who played a key role in the Miami Heat’s run to the NBA Finals last season, and they added plenty of length and rim protection with Jaxson Hayes and Christian Wood. Coming into the offseason, the Lakers had two young players who they felt were ready to play pivotal roles for the team after what they proved during last season. Those two players were Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura, so both were resigned. The team also gave veteran point guard D’Angelo Russell a second chance after his postseason struggles with a 2-year deal worth $37 million.

The first test of the new season came in game one against the same Denver Nuggets team that sent the Lakers home on their way to their first championship in franchise history. Before the game began, the Lakers watched the Nuggets receive their rings, and as the first half came to an end, the Lakers were down nine and faced the same problem as they did last season, which was none other than two-time MVP Nikola Jokic.

The Lakers made a big 13-0 run during the third quarter while Jokic was on the Denver bench. LeBron James did his best to keep his team in the game with 11 points in the second half, but without help from his co-star Anthony Davis, who went scoreless in the second half, the Lakers ended up getting routed in the fourth quarter, losing the game by 12 points. Although this was only one game of a long 82-game season, it looked as if there were new faces but the same Lakers out there. Anthony Davis will hopefully look to be more aggressive, and the rest of the team will have plenty of time to find their rhythm and get comfortable in their new roles in LA. Only time will tell if the new additions will help this team get over the hump in the very competitive west!