The forthcoming clash between the LA Lakers and Denver Nuggets has gained a massive amount of attention, mainly because of their history in the Western Conference Finals last season. Many speculations have been made about the rematch and while LA’s head coach discarded them, the Nuggets HC Michael Malone has a different take.
Malone said, “We swept them last year. We swept them this year. They come in playing really well and hungry. They want to flip that script. Our players understand that.”
The HC reminded everyone of the dominance his team has had over the Los Angeles side in eight consecutive games. However, Malone is aware that the Lakers would want to take revenge on the Nuggets for defeating them the previous year.
Even though the Denver-based franchise tasted success by winning all three regular-season games (in 2023-2024), the playoffs are different, and the coach has conveyed it to his team.
“This is a different team; a different series and we know what we have in front of us. It’s going to be a hell of a challenge to beat the Lakers again in the playoffs,” Malone added. The Nuggets players are wise enough to not take the Lakers lightly and Nikola Jokic is no different.
Nikola Jokic wary of Lakers ahead of play-off clash
Following their 110-106 victory over the Pelicans, the Lakers will enter the first round of the playoff tournament with the Denver Nuggets on Saturday, starting their seven-series journey from Ball Arena. The fixture has sparked assumptions in favor of the Nuggets, which their star Nikola Jokic dismissed.
Asking not to mention the wins they had earlier, the MVP favorite in an interview said, “It wasn’t easy sweeping them last year.” Then he continued to add, “And this time, there is no favorite. It can go both ways.”
Jokic shared a high regard for LeBron James before the exciting series which might bring out the best of them like last year. Both of them averaged 27.8 points in the four-game series, but the Serbian center’s 11.8 assists and 14.5 rebounds were slightly better than LeBron’s 10.0 assists and 9.5 rebounds.
Nevertheless, like Malone said, it’s a different series and one can expect an entirely different show this time around, which surely the Lakers fans will want.
