Snubbed for the NBA MVP Award, LeBron James played like someone who felt he deserved to win it. Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

If you’re the Denver Nuggets, you have to be concerned about the comment made by LeBron James on Friday night.

James had 15 points and 12 assists in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 126-114 win over the Nuggets in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. He learned earlier in the day that he finished second in the NBA MVP vote behind Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Milwaukee Bucks star got 85 first-place votes, while James received 16.

James admitted that the vote “(ticked) me off.”

Despite being upset, James also acknowledged that Antetokounmpo deserved the award.

So why is this problematic for Denver? If James is angry because he feels slighted about not winning the award, then maybe he will be even more motivated to win the series. That’s bad news for Denver.

For now, it was actually Anthony Davis who dominated. Davis had 37 points and 10 rebounds in the Lakers’ victory. If anything, this tell us that Charles Barkley’s prediction could come true.

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