Denver Nuggets: 3 keys heading into Game 3 against the Lakers

3. Jokic needs to get himself going early

Aside from his defense, the biggest knock against The Joker is the double-edged nature of his unselfishness. He’s one the best passers in the game, but his desire to feed everyone in the Nuggets’ ecosystem has been detrimental to Denver at times given how talented he is as a scorer.

In the fourth quarter, he flexed that scoring prowess by scoring 11 straight to end the game, albeit in a losing effort. He put the team on his back in crunch time, but as the best player on the squad, he needs to get things going earlier in the game.

It’s hard to ask more from a guy when he put up 30 points, dished nine dimes, grabbed six boards, and came up with four steals, but when you look at his 9-of-20 shooting performance and his 3-of-10 start to the game, he clearly has a bit more to give.

In the first quarter, he shot just 3-of-9, and while he only attempted one field goal in the second quarter, he did an excellent job of getting to the line, where he converted all eight of his free throws.

As a whole, he needs to look for his shot just a little more. In Game 1, the story was early foul trouble for Jokic and Murray, and in their limited minutes, they managed a combined 26 field goal attempts, while Davis alone shot the ball 21 times and attempted 15 free throws.

In Game 2, foul trouble wasn’t a factor, yet the Nuggets’ star tandem still attempted fewer shots than their superstar counterparts on the Lakers. The second options, Murray and LeBron James shot 19 and 20 times respectively, while Jokic and Davis shot the rock 20 and 23 times each.

It might not look like a huge difference, but in games that end as tightly as game two did, putting the ball in the hands of greatness for even a couple more looks can be the difference-maker.