Luka and Reaves Found Answers — the Lakers’ Defense Didn’t
GOATIFYLos Angeles closed its preseason with a 121–106 loss to Denver, and the most important takeaway was not that the Nuggets were better for one October night. It was how quickly the Lakers’ defense lost control of the game. A 36–22 first quarter put Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves in catch-up mode, and even several encouraging rallies could not erase the damage.
Dončić scored 15 points in just 18 minutes before sitting out the second half. Reaves had 19, while Ziaire Williams and Sandro Mamukelashvili supplied energetic contributions. The Lakers produced 45 bench points and turned Denver mistakes into transition offense. Those are useful signs for a reshaped team still trying to establish its best combinations.
But Nikola Jokić, Jamal Murray and the Nuggets repeatedly found the next answer. Denver won the paint battle, kept scoring through different players and closed with a strong fourth quarter. The contrast gave coach JJ Redick a sharper question than the final score: which lineup can protect the rim and defend the perimeter without leaving Dončić and Reaves to manufacture every good offensive possession? With Golden State waiting on opening night, the answer cannot remain theoretical for long.
Denver exposed the Lakers’ slow starts before the rotations could settle
Los Angeles began its preseason finale in a 36–22 first-quarter hole against Denver, committing six of its 14 turnovers in the opening period. The Lakers spent the rest of the night chasing a deficit that kept returning whenever the Nuggets found easy points. A 121–106 defeat is not proof of a regular-season problem, but it revealed how quickly poor ball security can compound defensive mistakes.
Nikola Jokić finished with 17 points, eight assists and six rebounds, hitting seven of eight shots. Jamal Murray added 21 points, and Christian Braun contributed 16. Denver had enough scoring and playmaking to keep the Lakers scrambling across several matchups rather than focusing on one star.
The clearest warning was the paint. Denver outscored Los Angeles 56–30 inside, forcing the Lakers to choose between stopping penetration and recovering to shooters. Walker Kessler can protect the basket, but even a strong interior defender needs guards and wings to contain the first drive. When the point of attack breaks down, the center faces two threats at once and the weak side is left scrambling.
The Lakers did rally behind outside shots from Ziaire Williams and Jake LaRavia, cutting the margin to seven by halftime. That recovery was encouraging, yet it also showed the cost of the opening mistakes: Los Angeles spent good offensive possessions merely repairing the damage rather than building a lead. Preseason lineups are experimental, but Denver's ability to create clean looks is a meaningful warning for a team trying to establish a reliable defensive identity.
Dončić and Reaves can score; Redick still has to find the right five
Dončić scored 15 points in 18 first-half minutes, adding four rebounds and two assists before sitting out the second half as planned. Reaves produced 19 points, five rebounds and three assists. Those two creators give Los Angeles a high offensive floor, but their presence also makes the supporting lineup unusually important. The other three starters must supply shooting, screening, defense and movement without demanding the same touches.
JJ Redick started Dončić and Reaves alongside Walker Kessler, Ziaire Williams and Matisse Thybulle against Denver. That group has size, rim protection and defensive activity, but it can ask too much of its guards as primary creators if defenders help off the wings. The Nuggets game did not prove the combination cannot work. It did show why every possession matters when Los Angeles is trying to score through two main decision-makers.
Quentin Grimes offers a different balance. His 11 points in the finale came as the Lakers considered whether his shooting and secondary ball-handling belong in the opening group or are more valuable with the reserves. Collin Sexton’s limited preseason availability makes that second-unit creation question more pressing. Without another reliable organizer, every stretch with Dončić resting can become a difficult exercise in manufacturing shots.
Kessler finished with six points, six rebounds and four assists. His screens and interior presence can simplify decisions for the guards, yet a traditional center also changes spacing. Sandro Mamukelashvili, a more perimeter-oriented big, gives Redick a different offensive shape. The Lakers need not settle on one combination forever, but they must find a starting group that does not spend the first quarter digging itself out of a hole.
Williams and Mamukelashvili turned a blowout into a game
The final score obscured several promising developments for Los Angeles. Williams scored 14 points in only ten minutes, giving the starters an immediate jolt. Mamukelashvili supplied 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists, showing why a passing big who can hit outside shots is valuable beside Dončić and Reaves. Grimes added 11, and Jaden Hardy contributed 13 late. The Lakers received 45 bench points overall.
That supporting production matters because an offense cannot demand a 40-minute rescue from its star guards every night. Williams can attack open space when defenders focus on Dončić. Mamukelashvili can catch on the move, pass to a cutter or punish a defense that ignores him on the perimeter. Grimes offers a steadier guard option, and the competition for minutes should give Redick useful alternatives when a particular matchup is not working.
The Lakers also showed how quickly defense can create offense. Denver committed 14 turnovers, and Los Angeles turned those into 27 points. Reaves helped narrow the margin after drawing a flagrant foul on Cam Johnson in the third quarter. Mamukelashvili followed with important outside shooting, and the Lakers entered the final period only five points behind. They later pulled within three.
That is the optimistic version of the night: the roster has several ways to change a game’s rhythm even when the starters do not begin sharply. The concern is that those rallies depended on bursts rather than sustained control. If the Lakers can keep the passing, cutting and shooting that their reserves displayed while tightening the defense, the supporting cast can be a genuine strength instead of a consolation prize after another slow start.
The fourth quarter explained what must change before Golden State
The most uncomfortable number for Los Angeles was not the 15-point final margin. It was the fourth quarter: Denver scored 33 while the Lakers managed 23. After fighting back from a 14-point first-quarter deficit, Los Angeles could not string together enough stops to finish the job. The Nuggets had answers whenever the home team appeared ready to take control.
Denver’s offense was not simply a Jokić highlight reel. Murray’s 21 points and six assists gave the Nuggets another organizer, while Braun and DeMar DeRozan contributed 16 and 14 points. With several players capable of initiating or finishing an action, Denver could punish defensive hesitation. A late closeout or missed switch mattered even when Jokić was not the shooter.
That dynamic makes the Lakers’ regular-season opener against Golden State on Wednesday, October 21, a revealing next test. Stephen Curry’s constant movement creates a different kind of pressure from Jokić’s passing and Murray’s drives. But both opponents can force a defense to make repeated decisions within one possession. Redick needs his wings to communicate through screens, his bigs to recognize when help is required and his guards to recover without surrendering easy backdoor cuts.
One exhibition loss should not dictate an entire season’s outlook. Stars played limited minutes, reserve combinations were evaluated and the coaching staff had reasons to test lineups that may rarely appear together in meaningful games. Still, the defensive sequences are useful evidence. Los Angeles has enough creation to score, and its bench can contribute. The question for opening night is whether it can prevent the first-quarter damage that makes all of that offense feel like catch-up basketball.
The Lakers’ preseason finale offered a balanced warning. Dončić and Reaves can create efficient offense, Williams and Mamukelashvili can lift the supporting cast, and Redick has several plausible combinations to test. Those positives matter. They also become much less valuable when the team starts a game by surrendering 36 points and spends three quarters trying to undo it.
Denver’s 121 points did not expose one simple weakness that a single substitution can fix. The problems overlapped: turnovers put the defense under pressure, penetration forced help, and Jokić and Murray exploited the space that followed. Better communication, more reliable point-of-attack resistance and a clear plan for Kessler’s rim protection all matter.
Opening night against the Warriors will not provide a complete season verdict either. It will, however, test whether the Lakers can begin with the concentration they only found in stretches against Denver. The offense has enough talent to produce memorable runs. To become a serious Western Conference threat, Los Angeles needs the defense to make those runs count.
