The NBA play-offs officially began, and the Lakers defeated the Pelicans 110-106 on the road to reach the playoffs as the No. 7 seed in the West. After this game, another round of playoff matchups in the West was released, and the Nuggets and Lakers met in the first round, which was also the second consecutive playoff collision between the two sides in the Western Conference Finals last season.
The Lakers won but couldn't laugh or cry!
No team would pick a first-round playoff opponent while they're in the playoffs, and it turns out that the Lakers don't do that kind of crazy thing. Ham's post-game remark was the best response, and he had this to say: "Anyone who thinks we're going to deliberately lose and avoid the Nuggets is crazy." "Obviously, in this game against the Pelicans, the Lakers played a strong performance, and it was extremely difficult to win in the end, if Zion was not injured at the last moment, to be honest, the Lakers could really be reversed, but this is definitely not the Lakers letting go of the water, but the combination of James and thick eyebrows is really bad in terms of form. If this is the case against the Nuggets, the Lakers probably won't have a chance.
This is the embarrassment of the Lakers, although they broke through smoothly, and they are the same as last season, they are 7th in the West, but this time the Lakers want to face the Nuggets directly, no matter how confident the Lakers are, they want revenge, but the Nuggets swept the Lakers in the West last year, and it is a fact that they swept the Lakers again in the regular season this season. However, the Lakers can't avoid the Nuggets now, and even if they bite the bullet, the Lakers need to rise to the challenge.
Although the Lakers are promoted, their state is worrying!
First of all, in terms of injuries, Vanderbilt still has no signs of returning, he is the best candidate for the Lakers to defend Murray, and before the injury, Vanderbilt's offensive state was also very good, at least he is no longer a burden on the offensive end, originally he was a very key part of the Lakers, but it is likely that the Lakers will not have him at the beginning of the series, and considering the long-term absence, to be honest, even if Vanderbilt can return at some stage in the first round, it is unrealistic to expect him to play immediately before the injury.
In addition, thick eyebrows seem to be affected by back spasms in the play-offs, of course, thick eyebrows' frontcourt rebounds and tough attitude are very important at critical moments, but he doesn't dare to exert his strength when defending Zion as a whole, and the offense is buttery many times, and the ball is unstable, which are hidden dangers. Before the playoffs begin, Bush has about half a week to recover, and his form is the lifeblood of the Lakers. At the same time, Vincent's offensive and defensive state in the first half was very good, but he staggered a little when he stood up and walked after a defensive downfall, although Vincent also played in the second half, but his offensive and defensive state obviously plummeted, which is also a very critical point for the Lakers.
James may experience the first round of the playoffs again!
Anyway, against the defending champions, even if the Lakers want to fight their opponents in a real round, from the perspective of strength, the Lakers want to overturn the Nuggets, and they do have a chance, but the hope is really not so great. Compared with the opponents of the Thunder and the Timberwolves, it is obvious that the Nuggets are one of the opponents that the Lakers are most unsure of winning, and there is a feeling of blood suppression between the two sides, just like the Lakers against the Pelicans, even if James and the thick eyebrows are in such a general state, they can still win, the Lakers play the Nuggets, they need to do their best to limit the Nuggets, which can give the Lakers some opportunities, and even it is difficult to take the initiative on the court.
James avoided another playoff miss in his Lakers career, but his first playoff first-round trip was with the Lakers, who were reversed by the Suns in the 20-21 season due to an injury to the Suns. This time is obviously different, the Lakers are complete "dogs", they can't have any problems, and they have to hope that the Nuggets will make mistakes, and it can be said that it is very difficult to complete the black 7 on the Nuggets.