There were a lot of storylines coming out of the Los Angeles Lakers' Game 2 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Monday night. On a night where there was a controversial ending to the New York Knicks-Philadelphia 76ers game, the Lakers were also in the spotlight for a perceived lack of officiating.
LeBron James went as far as to completely blast the officiating and the league as a whole following the team's loss. Even D'Angelo Russell wasn't shy to take to social media to tell the world about his gripes with the officiating.
Naturally, Lakers fans patiently waited for the league's Last 2 Minutes report from Monday's game to see exactly where the league would admit fault. Lakers fans got that in the L2M report, but probably not as much as they would have hoped.
NBA confirms only one referee blunder in Lakers-Nuggets
The L2M report highlighted just one missed call from the officiating crew from Monday's game. With 1:50 left on the clock, Austin Reaves attempted (and missed) a three-point shot that should have never happed as Nikola Jokic should have been called for defensive three seconds.
If it was properly called, the Lakers would have gotten one free throw and started a new possession on offense. In a game that ended up being decided by one point, and in a situation with less than two minutes remaining, correctly calling this would have made a massive difference.
The league did not confirm any other missed calls during the final two minutes despite pleas from the Lakers and the fanbase. There were definitely a few instances where contact was made, but according to the league, it was all just "marginal".
Lakers officially get 17th pick in 2024 NBA Draft
There was a four-way tie in the NBA standings so a random tiebreaker had to be administered to determine the order of those four teams in the 2024 NBA Draft. Those tiebreaker results were announced and the Lakers got the second-best pick they could have gotten: the 17th pick.
NBA Draft tiebreaker results:
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) April 22, 2024
No. 16 pick: Philadelphia 76ers
No. 17 pick: Los Angeles Lakers (may be conveyed to New Orleans at New Orleans' discretion [by June 1])
No. 18 pick: Orlando Magic
No. 19 pick: Indiana Pacers (pick will be conveyed to Toronto)
As the post above mentions, the Lakers may not actually get the pick as the Pelicans have the right to either take the Lakers' pick this year or take next year's pick regardless of where it falls. In a pretty thin draft class, though, the Pelicans would be better off rolling the dice and hoping the Lakers' pick lands in the lottery next year.
The 17th pick itself won't have a huge impact on the Lakers next season, but the ability to include it in any trade package certainly can have a big impact.
Jarred Vanderbilt targeting Game 3 return for Lakers
Lakers fans accepted the fact that Jarred Vanderbilt would not play again this season but that does not seem to be the case. According to ESPN's Dave McMenamin, Vanderbilt is targeting a Game 3 return for the Lakers on Thursday.
Vanderbilt's defense and switch-ability are huge for the Lakers on paper but it is hard to get excited about this return considering the circumstances. Los Angeles still has a massive mountain to climb in this series and Vanderbilt may still have a governor on when he returns.
But even if he didn't, Ham probably wouldn't utilize him properly anyway.