While the Los Angeles Lakers did pick up a win over the Denver Nuggets on Monday, it was not because they shut down MVP frontrunner Nikola Jokic. As he has been all season, he was solid against the Lakers with 32 points, nine rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block.
Where the Lakers succeeded was shutting down everyone else, forcing Jokic to win by himself. This would appear to be their game plan in the event that the Lakers and Nuggets met in the first round, which is looking like one of the most likely matchups in the opening series.