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Los Angeles is home to the stars, and the Lakers are no exception to that. Between LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and even D’Angelo Russell, the ever-classic Purple & Gold is no stranger to being at the forefront of the NBA media landscape. More league fans know the Lakers’ ownership than any other franchise, and even before James made his move to the city in 2018, it had a long-standing history of greatness and fame.
But as “great” as the Lakers are — or, in this case, could be — they simply haven’t figured out a solution to the Nuggets’ authoritative center, Nikola Jokic, fondly referred to as “The Joker.” Since the Serbian superstar took his place among the NBA’s top talents back during his first MVP season in 2020, he’s wowed crowds with his ability to control games through scoring and passing. He makes the game look easy.
Almost too easy.
Two seasons ago, the Lakers, then dealing with a multitude of injuries — most notably to James and Davis — missed the playoffs. They fell short of giving James a chance at a fifth title but quietly advanced to the next season knowing what they could be capable of if they weren’t hampered. They did have Russell Westbrook, too after all.
Unfortunately, Westbrook, James, Davis, and the rest of the Lakers never quite meshed, and instead found themselves near the bottom of the Western Conference heading into the trade deadline. So, Westbrook was moved, new faces were brought in, and Los Angeles essentially had a new team in its midst, still led by James.
But then came the Nuggets. After going on a Cinderella-type run, knocking off the Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies en route to the Western Conference Finals, the Lakers were stopped cold in their tracks. They were swept.
And this season? Nearly the same story.
A majority of Los Angeles’ new core — that is, Russell, Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt, and more — stayed put with the Lakers and attacked this season head-on, looking to find more favor in the West standings. A stacked conference made that difficult, as the Lakers’ 10-game-North-of-.500 record still wasn’t enough to put them above the Play-In Tournament. Nevertheless, they made it through.
Then came the Nuggets. Again. Los Angeles, despite posting strong records against some of the other top Western Conference teams, couldn’t overcome Denver. It held double-digit leads over the defending champions in every single game of the series, yet only managed to grab one win in what became a gentleman’s sweep to mark 12 losses in 13 games against the Nuggets.
So, with yet another offseason underway, the Lakers are left to tackle their biggest offseason need. It’s uber-specific but fitting.
They need to figure out how to beat the Nuggets.
Defeating the Denver Nuggets
A social-media graphic that began swirling around Instagram a few minutes after the Nuggets claimed the series-winning victory over the Lakers perfectly captures the heart of the matchup between both teams.
It featured Jokic at the center with a face painted to look like D.C.’s Joker while snapping a crown in half. The crown was engraved with #23, almost as a way to say that Jokic not only owned James and the Lakers but also his right to the crown. And it’d be right.
James has made waves in the NBA for 21 years now. He’s shown that not only is he still a worthy scorer, but he’s capable of being a top option on a contending team. The Lakers do get credit in that regard. They’re contenders.
They finished the season above .500 and, had it not been for the rest of the Western Conference taking a step up this season, they’d be the No. 4 seed. So, the Lakers’ seed wasn’t exactly a reflection on their actual skill.
Against the No. 1-seeded Thunder, they won 3 of 4 games in the regular season. Same with the LA Clippers. Los Angeles took a 3-2 series victory in the regular season against the Phoenix Suns, and 3-1 on the Pelicans.
Had any of those teams been the Lakers’ first-round matchup, chances are they’d be advancing. But, like last season, they’d only get as far as the Nuggets weren’t. If Denver — at any point of the postseason — stood in their way, they’d be eliminated.
Losing 12 of the last 13 games was proof of that. So, what can the Lakers do to defeat the Nuggets?
Well, considering they were able to take a double-digit lead in every game of this season’s series, they have the tools and the talent. But they don’t have the stamina to hang with Denver when it finds a late-game burst of energy. The Nuggets simply have a more cohesive unit.
That starts with consistency.
Between missing Gabe Vincent and Jarred Vanderbilt for a large part of the season with injuries, Los Angeles wasn’t able to get into a rhythm the way that a team like Denver was. Darvin Ham acknowledged that.
“(You have to) stay healthy,” he said, referring to offseason improvements the Lakers need to make. “Stay healthy. You take a lot of flak for your rotations, but rotations are secondary. Primary is health. … Health is the greatest of wealth. That’s pretty much it.”
Avoiding injuries is much easier said than done, but it should be acknowledged again that the Lakers have the facilities to pull off victories against the Nuggets, they just haven’t figured out how to do it, even when the defending champions were significantly less scary-looking.
As long as Jokic and the Nuggets remain in Western Conference contention — which, given by Jokic’s impending third MVP award, will be a while — the Lakers will have met their match. If they choose to keep their core group together, nothing should be of greater importance than figuring out how to beat that squad. The rest might just take care of itself if Los Angeles plays its cards right.
As far as James goes, he’s ready to make those improvements and move on to his 22nd season with the Nuggets in scope.
“No. … I’m not a participation guy,” he said when asked if he saw his team’s close matchups against Denver as silver linings. “We lost. (Now), we move on and see how we can be better.”
More must-reads:
- Gritty young Thunder take down veteran Mavericks in Game 4
- Chris Finch throws shade at Nuggets star over Rudy Gobert’s fine
- The 'No. 1 overall NBA draft pick' quiz
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