Los Angeles Lakers: 3 deciding factors vs. Denver Nuggets

The Los Angeles Lakers take on the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals.

To the surprise of basketball fans everywhere, the Los Angeles Lakers won’t be meeting the Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference Finals after all.

The Lakers, of course, did their part. They defeated the Houston Rockets in five games, as predicted here, winning four straight after losing the opening game.

LeBron James and Anthony Davis led the way, but they got tremendous support from teammates like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Alex Caruso, Danny Green, Kyle Kuzma, Markieff Morris and Rajon Rondo, who returned from injury to play surprisingly well. An unexpected contribution was also made by rookie Talen Horton-Tucker.

Meanwhile, the Clippers somehow managed to choke away a 3-games-to-1 lead over the feisty Denver Nuggets. That meant the franchise failed yet again to advance past the second round… for the 50th consecutive year!

But let’s not focus on the woeful history of LA’s second team or the coaching shortcomings of Doc Rivers. Instead, let’s examine what the Lakers must do to march into the NBA Finals for the 32nd time in franchise history.

1. Do Not Underestimate the Nuggets

All season long fans debated which LA team was the best in the Western Conference. Many NBA pundits picked the Clips to win the battle of LA and go on to capture the title. So it was only natural that Lakers players and coaches all anticipated having a showdown battle with the Clippers.

A Lakers-Clippers matchup figured to be a highly competitive “pick-em” series with the outcome uncertain. But now the Lakers are strong favorites not only to beat the Nuggets but also to win the NBA crown.

However natural a collective letdown against Denver might be, it’s something the team cannot afford to allow. Coach Frank Vogel must prepare them to face an unflappable opponent that plays hard and never quits.

This is where the experience of James may prove invaluable. His teams have rarely been upset in the postseason. It happened in his first year with Miami nine years ago when they were beaten in the NBA Finals in 2011 by underdog Dallas. They also lost three years later in the final round to San Antonio, but the victory by the Spurs was, at most, a mild upset, and certainly was not unexpected.

In LeBron’s other two years with the Heat, his team won titles both times. Prior to that, he played for undermanned, overachieving Cleveland teams. And when he returned to the Cavs, they made the Finals four straight times when they were always underdogs to the Warriors.

The point is that James has demonstrated an ability to rise to the occasion and to inspire his teammates to do the same. He won’t allow the Lakers to take the Nuggets too lightly.

Fortunately for the team, there are other players who will also help keep the team on its toes. Davis has been an unstoppable force in the playoffs, and although he has no experience playing this deep in the postseason, there is every reason to expect that he will continue to dominate.

Rondo has helped the Lakers engine keep on humming. Since he joined the team, he has never played at a higher level than he has in his five playoff games.

And then there is Caruso. Is there a player in the league who does so many little things better? AC exemplifies the word hustle on defense while on offense he’s been outstanding playing either at point guard or off the ball.