Lakers News: Michael Malone Already Sick Of Rui Hachimura Questions

Denver's head coach is looking ahead.

During your Los Angeles Lakers 132-126 Western Conference Finals Game 1 defeat at the hands of the Denver Nuggets Tuesday, things were looking pretty dire for the matchup's first two-and-a-half quarters.

Then, among other things, head coach Darvin Ham shifted reserve power forward Rui Hachimura onto two-time MVP Nikola Jokic instead of Anthony Davis, which freed up Davis to work as more of a rover on defense around the post. This wrinkle helped the Lakers claw their way back into the game, before ultimately still falling short. Hachimura was effective in limited minutes, possibly in part because the look was new.

As Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports indicates, Denver head coach Michael Malone appears to be absolutely fed up with the flurry of questions he's been getting since Los Angeles landed its near-comeback against Denver following the change.

"This is the first time I've ever been in a series up 1-0 and the series is over [in LA's favor] in everybody's mind because they put Rui Hachimura on Nikola Jokic for six possessions," Malone complained, per Wind. "So let's see how it plays out tonight."

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