Lakers News: Anthony Davis Reveals LA's 'Achilles Heel' In Loss To Nuggets

This issue is a lingering problem.

Andrew Wevers-USA TODAY Sports

Once again, the Los Angeles Lakers fell short to the Denver Nuggets. In Game 1 of round one of the Western Conference playoffs, the Nuggets secured a 114-103 win over the Lakers as they tried to defend their title.

The Nuggets are easily the favorites to win this series, given both their status as the reigning champions and their recent track record against the Lakers. Denver has defeated the Lakers in every game this season and also swept them during last year's Western Conference Finals.

Still, the Lakers know they have a chance if they execute to the best of their ability. It won't guarantee them a win, but they'll have better odds in this series if they avoid mistakes. During their game one loss, one of the Lakers' big issues was their inability to snag defensive rebounds. Instead, the Nuggets were able to grab a bunch of offensive rebounds, which then led to increased scoring opportunities for Denver that the Lakers could have been prevented.

“We can’t be bad at defensive rebounding and transition. It’s something that we struggle against this team with since last playoffs,” Anthony Davis said, via Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times. “… Once again, that’s our Achilles heel. We have to be better in both departments, if not one.”

In total, the Nuggets notched offensive 15 rebounds, in comparison to the Lakers who only recorded six rebounds. Since both teams tallied 34 defensive rebounds, so this difference in offensive rebounds proved to be a key advantage for the Nuggets in possessing the ball and scoring.