Darvin Ham opened up on the Lakers’ impending first-round playoff matchup against the Denver Nuggets, acknowledging the Lakers’ spotty record against them while exuding confidence about what they could achieve in this series.
“It’s back to 0-0. Obviously, they’ve had a ton of success against our ball club but, there’s always a new day. My staff and I, we’ve been putting the groundwork together for that gameplan and we’ll get together tomorrow. The guys will have a day off but we’ll start the work process of building out the gameplan and go out there and give it our best shot. That’s all we can do.”
Ham also complimented the Lakers’ spirit right now, while giving props to the Nuggets before proclaiming they like their chances.
“We’re comfortable though. We like where we are, where the spirit of the group is. Everybody is chipping in and excited about this challenge and opportunity. Respect to Denver, they’re a hell of a ball club, there’s a reason why they’re the defending champions. But, we like our chances.”
"Its back to 0-0. Obviously, they've had a ton of success against our ball club but, there's always a new day… We like our chances." 🍿
Lakers HC Darvin Ham on matching up with Denver in the 1st Round pic.twitter.com/rBDJlI2Oq6
— NBA TV (@NBATV) April 17, 2024
The Lakers sealed their fate of a playoff matchup against the Nuggets by emerging victorious in the 7-8 Play-In Tournament game against the New Orleans Pelicans. The 120-116 score showed that they went out of their way to guarantee victory, even if it meant heading into a first-round series against the Denver Nuggets.
Not only are the Nuggets the defending champions and considered the favorites in the West, but they have also dominated the Lakers over the last 12 months of matchups. The Nuggets are 7-0 in this stretch, sweeping the Lakers in the 2023 Conference Finals before sweeping the 2023-24 regular season matchups 3-0.
The Lakers have proven to be a stylistic challenge for almost every team in the Western Conference, but the Nuggets are one team that has had them completely figured out for a while. Let’s see what happens this time around.
LeBron James Knows The Nuggets Are Scary
LeBron James spoke about the Nuggets immediately after the Lakers’ win over the Pelicans and had only compliments to hand out for the defending champions.
“It’s the defending champions. They know what it takes. They know how to win. They’ve been extremely dominant on their home floor. … They got an MVP on their team. They got a closer on their team. They got a hell of a coach.”
The Lakers haven’t had an answer for the Nuggets over the last 12 months and it’s hard to see how that would change in this series. Their games have been competitive, but LA seems to fall apart in the fourth quarter of these contests compared to the Nuggets. Maybe that’s a testament to Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, but it’s been a worrying pattern for the Lakers.
LeBron led the NBA in fourth quarter scoring this season and has had a sensational season. Anthony Davis is an All-Defense lock this year as well, there’s no explicit reason why they should struggle so much against Denver.
The Nuggets look unbeatable, but a LeBron James-led team with Anthony Davis might have the best shot at pulling off this upset.
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