On April 18, Beijing time, according to Lakers reporter Dave McMenamin, the team will fly to Denver on Thursday (Friday, Beijing time) local time, which was the practice of the Lakers last season, when the team arrived in Memphis two days before the first round against the Grizzlies, the Lakers won the first game, and won that round of the series, and finally went all the way to the Western Conference finals. Only this time they will meet the Nuggets sooner than last season.
"It's the defending champions," James said of the Nuggets, "and they know what needs to be done." They know how to win. They have been extremely dominant at home in the last few years. Their team has an MVP. They have a finisher on their team. They have high-level players, high-IQ players, and they have a great coach. ”
"So, we have to play basketball without mistakes. Make it difficult for them. Obviously, they will also find ways to make trouble for us. But if we can play a good game and they can play a good game, then the fight will be over in a round or two. When the time comes, it will be up to who executes better. It's worth mentioning that the Lakers have lost to the Nuggets eight times in a row.
The Lakers' thick eyebrows are glad that they have about 4 days off to recover from the cramped back. "I think we're in the right place," says Bush, "the guys are playing well, they're very confident and feeling good. We need these things, especially against Denver. ”
Lakers coach Darvin Ham said: "Very excited. This is an opportunity. Like I said, it's back to 0-0. Obviously, they had great success against our team, but there's always a new day. My staff and I have done the groundwork. We'll get together tomorrow to make a game plan, and the rest of the Lakers will have a day off. We're going to start making a game plan and then we're going to go all in, that's all we are. We feel comfortable, we love the spirit of our team, everyone is excited about the challenge and the opportunity, they are a really good team, they are the defending champions for a reason, but we love our chance. ”
After a few days of rest, the Nuggets had a team workout to prepare for the Lakers. "We swept them last year. This year we swept them again. They played very well and they were scrappy. They want to change that. Our players understand that. Speaking of facing the Lakers in the playoffs, Nuggets coach Malone said.
Jokic invited the whole team to his home yesterday to watch the Lakers vs Pelicans play-off game together, and everyone had a little drink. Speaking about the Lakers as an opponent, Jokic said, "I think we all played really well, and last year's series with them was probably the toughest series we had. Although the overall score was 4-0, Jokic didn't think it was going to be easy. The Nuggets eliminated the Timberwolves 4-1, the Suns 4-2, the Lakers 4-0 in their playoff journey last year, and defeated the Heat 4-1 in the finals to win the championship.
The schedule for this round of the series has now been released -
G1: April 21, 8:30 a.m., Nuggets at home
G2: April 23 at 10 a.m., Nuggets at home
G3: April 26 at 10 a.m., Lakers home court
G4: April 28, 8:30 a.m., Lakers home
G5: April 30, exact time to be determined
G6: May 3, exact time to be determined
G7: May 5, exact time to be determined
The NBA's official website predicts that the Nuggets will sweep the Lakers 4-0 again, what is the total score predicted?