And we also forget that the Lakers as the inaugural In-Season Tournament, defeating the Indiana Pacers. So they really started very strong in the first half of the regular season as they are in the top 4 or 5 consistent.
That was a huge success for them, and I thought they were a legitimate contender for the NBA Finals, but they fell short. The Lakers had a dominant win with a final score of 123-109... definitely a statement game. But after that, things seemed to change, I can't quite figure it out. Maybe the Pacers just weren’t strong enough since they didn’t make it to the NBA Finals either.
The real problem with the Lakers is their outside shooting, they don't have a consistent shooter, which makes them too unpredictable.
But after that, it seems that it was a curse winning the first tournament, as after that, they suffered loses already and we really can't pinpoint what is the reason for that. They struggled, barely survived as 8th seed, won the play-in, but lost to the Nuggets.
They were just unlucky to face the Nuggets, especially since the season before, they got swept by them.
I think they had a good chance against the Nuggets that time, KCP, a former Nuggets, says that they are too tired going into the first round as they keep on chasing the best record in the West that time.
And in their series, it was really close, but it was just the Lakers doesn't have the killer instinct to close out the Nuggets. And then with Jokic really pushing hard specially in the 4th quarter, the Nuggets won 3 straight games. And in the 5th game, Murray hit that winning basket to advance.