And we're going in with the utmost respect for their ballclub. "They've played exceptional basketball all year. 1 team in the West for a reason," said James. While the Lakers have been red-hot through the playoffs, with Davis rediscovering his best form at the perfect time, James says he is under no illusions about the size of the task facing his team-mates. "I think the biggest key will be making the ball find the guys we want it to find, just play off of that," Davis said. Embiid, Giannis, Doncic, Tatum named to All-NBA First Team."So, we come in with the utmost respect for this team that we're challenged against and playing against, so look forward to the matchup."ĭenver and the Lakers squared their meetings in the regular season at two games apiece, with the Nuggets winning their most recent encounter on January 9.ĭrawing firm conclusions from those results, however, is largely meaningless as the Lakers overhauled their roster in the mid-season trade window and James and Davis did not feature in the most recent January game.ĭavis said the Lakers planned to pore over footage of the 2020 series in an attempt to design a game plan capable of nullifying Jokic and the Denver line-up. Every game, every postseason, every matchup allows you to continue to grow as a franchise, as a team, and they've done that. "They're a better team," James said when asked to compare Denver with the team beaten in Florida three years ago. James said Monday he has no doubt that the 2023 version of the Nuggets will be a stiffer proposition. Since then, however, Denver has matured significantly, with Jokic winning back-to-back NBA MVP awards in 20 as part of a team that also includes the talented Jamal Murray. The showdown is a rematch of the Lakers-Nuggets 2020 playoff series in the NBA's Covid-19 bubble in Orlando, when the Lakers won 4-1 before going on to win their 16th championship. NBA: Jokic triple-double as Nuggets down Suns to reach West finals.NBA: Lakers eliminate defending champion Warriors in playoffs.Now James and Lakers defensive star Anthony Davis are plotting an ambush of the top-seeded Nuggets in game one of their best-of-seven Western Conference finals series on Tuesday. LOS ANGELES - LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers will attempt to overcome the formidable challenge posed by Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets as the Western Conference playoff finals get under way on Tuesday.Īfter struggling through the regular season, the Lakers are within four wins of returning to the NBA Finals after ousting the defending champion Golden State Warriors on Friday. Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (L) makes a pass as Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (R) defends during the second half of Game 3 of the NBA Western Conference Finals at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Kissimmee, Florida, USA, September 22, 2020.
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