The Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets are set to face off in the opening round of this year’s postseason. Denver finished the regular season as the 2-seed in the stacked West, with the Lakers stealing the 7-seed for themselves after a close battle with the New Orleans Pelicans in the play-in. Denver is considered by many to be the scariest team in the league, with many listing them as the favorites to win this season’s championship once again. They have arguably the best player in basketball leading their deep and experienced roster, in Nikola Jokić, and the most unstoppable two-man game in the entire league pairing the Joker with a healthy Jamal Murray. The Lakers have the box-office superstar duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis, who on paper may be the most dangerous duo to face, but we have seen on many occasions that box-office does not always translate to better performance.
This series is extremely appealing and exciting for an array of different reasons, and a matchup of this nature should draw the attention of both NBA superfans as well as casual basketball enjoyers. Having faced one another multiple times in the playoffs over the last few seasons, we are getting a new taste of this matchup and only time will tell who will come out on top.
How Did the Lakers and Nuggets End the Season?
The Los Angeles Lakers closed off the regular season with a final record of 47 wins and 35 losses, having won 7 of their final 10 games. The Denver Nuggets wrapped up the regular season with a final record of 57 wins and 25 losses, having won 6 of their last 10 games.
Who Came Out On Top This Regular Season?
In order to understand how these two teams match up, let's first take a look at their three head-to-head games from the regular season. Denver walked away with a clean sweep of the Lakers this season, having beaten them 119-107 at home on October 24th, 114-106 away from home on February 8th, and 124-114 away from home on March 2nd. Despite the largest margin of victory across these three matchups only being 12 points, Denver’s handling of the Lakers should not be brushed past or looked at as a lucky occurrence.
Denver’s dominance is undeniable, and they have culminated a perfect recipe for success in the NBA with a top player of Jokić’s caliber, a great head coach in Michael Malone, and a very deep and well-integrated roster that trust their system and are willing to play their role to achieve greater success. The Los Angeles Lakers experienced less success than Denver this season, but they have shown many glimpses of their potential to perform as a fully functional and balanced roster, making them a team to not count out by any means.
Series Schedule:
The first-round matchup between the LA Lakers and Denver Nuggets is set to kick off on April 20th. The NBA have officially released the following schedule for the series:
- Game 1: Lakers at Nuggets; Saturday, April 20 (8:30 EST)
- Game 2: Lakers at Nuggets; Monday, April 22 (10:00 EST)
- Game 3: Nuggets at Lakers; Thursday, April 25 (10:00 EST)
- Game 4: Nuggets at Lakers; Saturday, April 27 (8:30 EST)
- Game 5: Lakers at Nuggets; Monday, April 29 (TBD)*
- Game 6: Nuggets at Lakers; Thursday, May 2 (TBD)*
- Game 7: Lakers at Nuggets; Saturday, May 4 (TBD)*
* = if necessary
Lakers Players to Watch Out For:
In regards to the Los Angeles Lakers’ roster, the obvious names to watch out for are LeBron James and Anthony Davis. LeBron finished this season with averages of 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 8.3 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game, with shooting splits of 54% from the field, 41% from the 3-point line, and 75% from the charity stripe. Anthony Davis finished this season with averages of 24.7 points, 12.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.2 steals, and 2.3 blocks per game, with shooting splits of 56% from the field, 27% from 3, and 82% from the free-throw line.
These two star names are expected to bring everything they have to the table in this matchup for the Lakers to even have a chance at beating the juggernaut Nuggets in their opening series. Assuming they do so, which is more likely than not, I believe that one man on this LA roster becomes the absolute X-factor for their success; that man being D’Angelo Russell.
D’Lo is known to be a very streaky player, whose value may float in and out of the output range expected of him. Last year’s playoff series against the Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals was a rough series for D’Angelo, essentially finding himself played off of the court by Denver. This year is his opportunity at a bounce-back performance, and I truly believe that his success will translate to Lakers wins and possibly even a victory in the series altogether.
Russell has repeatedly made clear that the scrutiny and negativity he experienced following last year’s playoff exit has only prepared him further for such moments. His high efficiency since the trade deadline and his extensive contribution to LA’s strong finish to the season gives us a great peek into what he should be bringing to the table going into the postseason. The Lakers also have other crucial players on their roster including Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura, and it is safe to say that they will need a cohesive and in-form version of the squad to walk away from the series victorious.
Nuggets Players to Watch Out For:
Similarly to the Lakers, the Nuggets have two players that are undisputedly the primary contributors to the team’s success; these players being Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray. Nikola finished this regular season with averages of 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds, 9 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game, with shooting splits of 58% from the field, 36% from the 3-point line, and 82% from the free-throw line. Jamal Murray finished the season averaging 21.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 1 steal, and 0.7 blocks per game, on shooting splits of 48% from the field, 43% from 3, and 85% from the charity stripe.
When healthy, Jokić and Murray put on a two-man game like none other, so their contributions, especially in the playoffs, are not to be doubted or questioned. Assuming that the Lakers do bring all their firepower though, the Nuggets will need their deep roster to play accordingly in order to avoid getting eliminated in an upset fashion.
Some notable players on the Nuggets roster include shooting threats Michael Porter Jr. and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, alongside Aaron Gordon and Reggie Jackson who have both found and fit into their own important roles on the roster. As much as Denver's success can be attributed to having a one-of-a-kind basketball player in Jokić, their success can equally be credited to the unbelievably balanced roster depth they have maintained over the last few seasons, as well as great coaching from Michael Malone's side, which has kept them relatively competitive even with Jokić out.
Whichever way this best-of-seven ends up going, I know I will be sat at my TV and tuned in for every single game. Expect an action-packed matchup between some of the NBA's best players, in what I can only call a Western Conference Final matchup that came too early.