Lakers Brace for Rematch Against Denver

The Lakers will head to Denver for a 2023 Western Conference Finals re-match. In what is set to be a thrilling series, the Lakers know this will be the toughest task on their way to an 18th championship.

The season series did not treat the Lakers well, as they went 0-4 against Denver. The biggest key would be that Anthony Davis hasn’t quite found his rhythm against the mile high city.

In his last six games against the Nuggets, the brow averaging 22.2 points and 12.3 rebounds. A double-double might suffice against other teams, but against the likes of Nikola Jokic, he needs to be much better offensively. When the Lakers defeated the Nuggets in 2020, Davis averaged almost ten more points with an impressive 31.2 points. 

There is a monumental question that Anthony Davis might need to answer during this series. Is he good enough at the five to win an NBA championship? During their bubble championship run, head coach Frank Vogel started JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard at the five.

Dwight Howard was a big reason they were able to dominate Denver and ultimately shut Jokic down. In their recent matchups, A.D. has played center, and that hasn’t necessarily been a recipe for success.

Averaging 26.8 points a game on the season, Davis will need to eclipse that so the Lakers can pull off the upset against Denver, an upset a year in the making.

Anthony Davis does not lack confidence when having to face Denver. Before the season started, he made it very adamant that he wanted this very scenario stating, “We can’t wait.”

After their play-in win on Tuesday, he spoke about how they can tame Denver’s explosive offense. “We have to lay our hats on defense, defense is what’s going to help us win basketball games…if we continue to have the faith and trust in each other defensively, we can hold these guys to one shot and get in transition.”

Head coach Darvin Ham’s message was very blunt, “Be disciplined.” Executing their game plan down the stretch has proven to be Denver’s biggest advantage and the Lakers’ Kryptonite.

The Lakers have lost 8 straight against Denver and it feels like failure to execute late in games is the reason they have lost every game. 

There is another player that is looking for redemption from last year’s Western Conference Finals matchup. D’Angelo Russell struggled in the Denver series compared to his previous opponents during the 2023 playoffs. 

He went from averaging 15.7 points, to just 6.3 points when he came up against Jamaal Murray and company. 

D’Angelo Russell had a message for wanting to be productive down the stretch. “Trying stay valuable on the floor in the guts and the crunch of the game, trying to be on the floor because I can hold my own.”

Russell also wanted to reiterate the importance of excelling on the defensive end as well. The Lakers have yet to see Russell at the top of his game against Denver and Saturday night will be the perfect moment to showcase his determination to be the best point guard on the floor. 

Every Laker player will be looking to do their part in taking down the Nuggets and it must start on the defensive side of the ball.