Look, I get it. The Los Angeles Lakers have talked a LOT when it’s come to playing the Denver Nuggets. And for a while, it seemed as if they really believed they could beat them. I’m not referring to the regular season, because when it’s mattered most (yes the playoffs), the Nuggets have continuously shown that the Lakers don’t have the firepower to keep up with them.
When the Nuggets hoisted the Larry O’brien trophy in 2023, you would have thought that they would be done with the Lakers until the following season, but no this was merely the beginning.
Head coach of the Nuggets Mike Malone would be introduced at their 2023 Championship parade as “Lakers Daddy” and even trolled Lebron James’s retirement rumors saying he might retire himself, seemingly to take the attention away from him.
And in the following season with the Lakers and the Nuggets meeting in the playoffs again, the Nuggets destroyed the Lakers winning the series 4-1, before ultimately losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves 3-4 in a series that went down to the wire.
But this NBA season is an opportunity for the new look Lakers to show they’re ready. With Lebron James seeming to turn back the clock and his newfound partner in one of the NBAs most prestigious talents Luka Doncic, there’s no telling where this game will go.
On the other hand star forward for the Nuggets Aaron Gordon has stated that they aren’t too concerned with their new look “”We don’t really concern ourselves with other teams. We focus on what’s going on in our locker room. We take care of what we’re supposed to take care of. If the cards fall where they may, we focus on Denver Nuggets basketball and that’s it. It doesn’t really matter who’s in front of us or who our opposition is”.
Back when these two teams played each other in November, the Nuggets won, but that was before the Lakers traded Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks for Luka Doncic in a trade that no one saw coming as Doncic had recently led his former team to the NBA Finals only to lose to the Boston Celtics.
It will be interesting to see how the Nuggets prepare for this new look Lakers. As for the Lakers, I can’t wait to see what Luka brings to this recent rivalry.
The Nuggets and Lakers will Tip off on Saturday, February 25th at 8:30 PM EST and will be televised on ABC.
