Even though the Lakers lost Game 1, they should be optimistic

In the prior round versus the Golden State Warriors, Hachimura played poorly, but he wounded Denver in Game 1 with 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting.

No matter who was guarding him, he took his man into the paint, either by backing him down or driving to the hoop, and he used his threat as a 3-point shooter to get some separation off the dribble after faking a trey.

Even better, the Lakers found something on the defensive end with Hachimura.

He guarded Nikola Jokic in the fourth quarter, and he was able to neutralize the two-time MVP after he mauled L.A. beforehand. Jokic had 34 points on 12-of-17 shooting, 21 rebounds and 14 assists for the game, but in the fourth quarter, he got off just two shots, missing both of them, while getting just two rebounds.

Hachimura, unlike Davis, has a low center of gravity, and although he is smaller than Jokic, he has the type of wide frame that makes him effective defensively. This matchup allowed Davis to come over as a help defender when Jokic got too deep into the paint, not unlike the defensive role Davis played in 2020 when he played considerable minutes at the 4 spot.