LeBron James was honest about the Los Angeles Lakers’ chances in the first round of the playoffs against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets.
LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers fulfilled their duties by defeating the New Orleans Pelicans 110-106 in the start of the play-in tournament. Now, their next opponent will be the Denver Nuggets. A massive challenge.
In recent weeks, the Lakers have been on an extraordinary run with 12 wins in 15 games. Additionally, the team is healthy with names like Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, Jaxson Hayes and the return of Gabe Vincent.
However, the Lakers will not be favorites against the Nuggets. Nikola Jokic is favorite in the NBA to win the MVP award, Jamal Murray has had a terrific season and there’s a lot of talent surrounding them: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Michael Porter Jr or Aaron Gordon.
Last year, the Denver Nuggets routed the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals with a convincing 4-0 victory. The King aims to rewrite history by seeking his fifth ring.
LeBron James got real about Lakers’ chances against the Nuggets (Getty Images)
LeBron James explains how the Lakers can beat Nuggets
After the victory in New Orleans, LeBron James showed utmost respect for the Nuggets. Over the past few days, many people speculated that the Lakers didn’t want to be the No. 7 seed to avoid playing against Denver, but that ultimately did not happen.
“It’s the defending champion. They know what it takes. They know how to win. They’ve been extremely dominant on their home floor over the last few years. They’ve got an MVP on their team. They’ve got a closer on their team. They’ve got high-level players, high-IQ players and they’ve got a hell of a coach.”
The Nuggets had a record of 33-8 at home and that could be crucial considering that four of the seven games will be played in Denver. LeBron pointed out what will be the key factor to win the series.
“We have to play mistake-free basketball. Make it tough on them. They’re going to try to make it tough on us, obviously. But if we can play as great of a game as we can play, and they’re going to play as great of a game as they play, it’s going come down to one or two possessions. And we’ll see who executes then.”
More must-reads:
-
Russian court extends detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Gershkovich until end of January
-
Russian court extends detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, arrested on espionage charges
-
Israel's economy recovered from previous wars with Hamas, but this one might go longer, hit harder
-
Stock market today: Asian shares mixed ahead of US consumer confidence and price data
-
EXCLUSIVE: ‘Sister Wives' star Christine Brown says her kids' happy marriages inspired her leave Kody Brown
-
NBA fans roast Clippers for losing to Nuggets without Jokic, Murray, Gordon
-
Panthers-Senators brawl ends in 10-minute penalty for all players on ice
-
CNBC Daily Open: Is record Black Friday sales spike a false dawn?
-
Freed Israeli hostage describes deteriorating conditions while being held by Hamas
-
High stakes and glitz mark the vote in Paris for the 2030 World Expo host
-
Biden’s unworkable nursing rule will harm seniors
-
Jalen Hurts: We did what we needed to do when it mattered the most
-
LeBron James takes NBA all-time minutes lead in career-worst loss
-
Vikings' Kevin O'Connell to evaluate Josh Dobbs, path forward at QB