People are underestimating Lakers a lot, we may see them go to finals. Remember the time Lebron lead a series in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks all at the same time? I am not saying he will do that, but we all know what he can do if he has to carry and not like he lost a series before, he did, and he may lose this one too, Denver is amazing and all and Jokic is unmatched and can't be guarded but Lakers is Lakers and Lebron is Lebron.
I think if given enough chances then we could end up with a good series. I do not see any clear winner here, I think it will be a close series that may end in 6 or 7 at least. That means even though it might be won by Denver, at least it will be close enough, or maybe Lakers will shock you all and win the series.
TBH, I'm one of them that are underestimating the Lakers, but after this series against the Warriors, I still don't see them winning the Western Conference, and going into the NBA Finals.
I have respect for Lebron though because he's one of the greatest basketball player in the NBA history.
Right, but one thing I noticed though is that there are a lot of basketball analyst who predicts the Lakers in 6. Not sure if they really hated the Warriors because for me the Warriors have a good chance on that series. But when they lost their home court advantage, it start to dawn on me that those who says Lakers are going to win might be saying the truth and no hate for the Warriors.
The Lakers with AD and Lebron healthy plus good role players makes them one of the formidable teams right now. They're also the best defensive teams after trade deadline last February. They also became number 1 in free throw attempts after trade deadline. However, the Nuggets are at the top of the Western Conference for many reasons. They have good bench players who can step up if needed. They also have Jokic who might not that good in defense, but his all-around skills are just out of this world. I will not be surprised if Jokic will focus more on passing rather than shooting because he will be guarded by Davis most of the time.
They have a good bench scoring, with D'Lo, Reaves, Hachimura, Dennis and others. So in the guard position, the Lakers are in a advantage, maybe we can see Thompson matching against Jokic, who knows. Coach Ham should come up with some strategy to offset Jokic's game performance. He should not let Jokic play the way he did against the Suns. They need to put some body on his to distract and not feel comfortable in the paint.
Nuggets in 6. That's my prediction. What the Nuggets need is to defend their home court in the first 2 games because that's the key for the Lakers in winning their last 2 series. They stole Game 1, defended their home, and got the victory.
Best of luck to your prediction mate, I haven't put mine though, probably just game to game basis.