The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Golden State Warriors on Friday night to end the second-round playoff series in six games. Awaiting the Lake Show in the Western Conference Finals is Nikola Jokic and the No. 1 seeded Denver Nuggets.
It is going to be a tough task for the Lakers as Denver has been the best team in the league all season long. They also have the best player in the entire league who has been absolutely dominant thus far in the playoffs.
That being said, this is not unfamiliar territory for the Lake Show. Los Angeles took on Jokic and the Nuggets back in the 2020 bubble in the Western Conference Finals. While Jokic was not yet at the peak of his powers, the Lakers were still able to dispose of Denver rather easily.
This is following a trend as the Miami Heat have also made a surprise run into the Eastern Conference Finals. If the Boston Celtics win on Sunday then the final four teams from the Orlando bubble will be back in the Conference Finals.
Former Laker Alex Caruso seems to have FOMO about the Lakers making the Western Conference Finals and repeating a similar path to 2020, as evident by his tweets after Game 6.
“ BUT THE BUBBLE DIDNT COUNT !” 😭😭
— Alex Caruso (@ACFresh21) May 13, 2023
At least the Lakers don’t have to play Alex Caruso in the Western Conference Finals.
Caruso is having FOMO and it is a shame because he should have returned to the Lakers during the 2021 offseason but the front office made a terrible decision not to bring him back. That decision has been well-documented and does not need more explanation.
But at least the team does not have to face Caruso in the Western Conference Finals like they do with another former player from that 2020 championship team. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has become an instrumental role player for the Nuggets this season and could absolutely swing this series one way or another.
KCP’s familiarity with LeBron James and Anthony Davis could play big dividends for the Nuggets in this series. While the rest of the roster (and the head coach) are different from 2020, KCP still understands the barebones of what the Lakers want to do better than anyone else the team has played in the playoffs thus far.
Offensively, KCP could also be a swing role player as well. We have seen in the playoffs thus far that role players can steal games and thus steal series as a result. If any role player on the Nuggets is going to do that in the game, it is KCP.
So while Caruso has FOMO about watching his former team and teammate play in the Western Conference Finals, the Lakers need to ensure that a familiar face doesn’t end up burning them.