If Shaquille O’Neal had hair, he’d be pulling it out. Many are feeling the frustration after the Lakers blew a 20-point lead against Denver. They’re 2-0  in this series after losing Game 2 101-99. The mistake, according to Shaq&Co., is the Lakers forgetting that The Joker is inevitable. They wasted too many resources guarding, or trying to slow down Nikola Jokic, and ignored maintaining that score gap that was in their favor. It was enough for the Inside Guys to be discussing it backstage and for it to spill over live in the post-game show.

Shaq, the one who’s been hoping for the Lakers to win, points out their tragic mistake in one question. “I would question the Lakers… when you’re up 20, why do you double Denver when they’re not shooting well?” Valid question with no clear answer.

In Saturday’s game, Rui Hachimura tried to defend against Jokic. Anthony Davis and LeBron James guarded him too. The strategy didn’t work and the Nuggets dominated the second half to steal the lead from the Lakers to win 114-103. Darvin Ham said they’d make adjustments to slow Jokic down in Game 2.

The strategies were non-existent to anyone watching Game 2. AD was arguably the best point of defense against Jokic, but analysts and fans are left frustrated the Lakers waste too much energy on him instead of adding some points under their name. It doesn’t matter who was on Jokic. He had no turnovers and made an easy 27 points, 20 rebounds, and 10 assists in 41 minutes.

“When you double a guy like Joker,” as Shaq explained, “Because of 10 assists, he’s a great passing big man.” So what did Shaq expect from his Lakers?

Shaquille O’Neal can’t ignore Lakers’ flaws

Joker’s going to get his numbers, Shaq very accurately put it. So he was expecting the Lakers to just go out there and score buckets. He was impressed by AD’s 32-point outing. But he was also dismayed by his scoreless latter half.

LeBron James made 26 tonight in less time than Jokic and AD. This made Shaq, along with Chuck and Kenny, question why would they let Davis’ efforts go to waste after he showed a tremendously dominant performance.

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Barkley disclosed more of their backstage discussion on this theme. It appears they were frustrated that while the Lakers focused on Jokic, the other unguarded Nuggets players could score and close the gap. Something that showed when Bron missed a last-second three and Jamal Murray swooped in for a buzzer-beater that decided the game.

After the game, the Lakers’ strategies still seem to be focused on Nikola Jokic for Game 3. However, Shaq wants them to strategize around themselves. Do you have an answer to Shaq’s question for the Lakers?