The Lakers face a familiar foe in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs and defeating them will be no easy feat. But even knowing the battles to come, Anthony Davis says the Lakers’ mindset is of total fearlessness coming into the highly anticipated series.
“If they beat us, they beat us,” Anthony Davis told The Athletic. “We’re not ducking the smoke.”
Around the NBA, there’s been a growing movement that says teams should try to arrange a certain first-round match-up to tip the odds in their favor. The Cleveland Cavaliers, for example, practically threw their final game of the regular season to ensure a matchup against the Orlando Magic.
Many fans and experts tried to argue that the Lakers should employ this same strategy to avoid the Denver Nuggets this season and get a more favorable opponent — but it’s too late to change it now. The matchups are already set and the Lakers will be starting their playoff journey against arguably the best team in the league, who they’ve lost 9 straight games to.
Meanwhile, the Nuggets are casually hosting watch parties as they prepare for the opening round. While the Nuggets are making sure not to underestimate the Lakers, Michael Malone expressed confidence that his team could keep the streak going when it matters most. On Saturday, the Lakers will be put to the test to see if they stand any chance against a ghost from their past.
Regardless of recent history, however, the Lakers are coming into this series with a clean slate and they aren’t ready to roll over now. If they can steal a game or two on the road, the Lakers fan set the tone early and send a message to the Nuggets that this is a new year.
Do The Lakers Have A Chance Against Denver?
At full strength, we’ve seen what the Lakers can do with LeBron James and Anthony Davis leading the way. And while the last few seasons have been rough going, the Lakers still have what most teams do not: two top-10 players who have already won a championship together.
Of course, the x-factor for the Lakers will be D’Angelo Russell. His shooting is notoriously streaky but he’ll need to be on his game for the Lakers to have a shot in this series. With D’Lo at his best, it unlocks a new level of potency in the Lakers’ offense that makes them extremely hard to beat.
Last season, these teams clashed in the third round and they were on very different trajectories. The Nuggets were in the middle of a dominant playoff run while the Lakers were lucky to be alive after needing the play-in to advance.
This season, while the scales are slightly more evenly balanced, the Lakers are still outmatched in almost every way and the only path for them to win is through a historic performance from one of their two two superstars.
No matter what happens this post-season, the Lakers will go out fighting and they will not cower from any opponent that stands in their way. The same can be said of the Nuggets, who have already shown they can beat any team in the league.
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