After today's play-offs, the top eight in the East and West will be officially released, and the most interesting thing in the first round is the No. 7 seed Lakers in the West against the No. 2 seed Nuggets, the two teams are already rivals, and they have met in the playoffs three times in the past five years. In the 19-20 season, when the Lakers eliminated the Nuggets and finally won the championship, and in the 22-23 season, the Lakers swept the Lakers 4-0 in the Western Conference finals and finally won the championship. In the regular season of the 23-24 season, the Lakers 0-3 Nuggets, judging from the record of the meeting in recent years, the Lakers are at a disadvantage.
On April 20, less than 24 hours before the first round of G1, the Lakers officially announced the injury report, and 4 people were confirmed to be absent, namely Schifino, Reddish, Van der Biao, and Wood, these 4 people will not return this season, even if they return to Ham, they will not be used, and they can only use reliable players in the playoffs. James and thick eyebrows have a high probability of playing, which is also a smoke bomb released by the Lakers, which is actually equivalent to a confirmed participation, in order to confuse the opponent, so the official announcement has a high probability of attending. And the Nuggets' core players will also play, and the first game of the series is very crucial.
And domestic basketball celebrity Su Qun also predicted, he believes that the Lakers can beat the Nuggets 4-2 to advance to the semifinals. Moreover, Mr. Su Qun believes that there are several conditions in favor of the Lakers, the first is that the Nuggets have won 8 consecutive victories against the Lakers, and they will underestimate the Lakers in terms of mentality. Secondly, the Nuggets are in the bright and the Lakers are in the dark, which means that the Nuggets' style of play is no secret, and the Lakers may burst out with a lot of energy in the playoffs. In the end, the Lakers will definitely make changes, mainly for the Nuggets, and the Nuggets changes are mainly for the long-term development.
Teacher Su Qun also reminded the Lakers that the game must not be dragged into a tie-breaker, and it is best to end the battle within 6 games, because if you play 7 games, it will be very disadvantageous to the Lakers, not only will there be no home court advantage, but also James is too old, which is a great test of his physical fitness.
There is no doubt that the Nuggets are the more advantageous side, and the author also agrees with Mr. Su's opinion that the Lakers may upset and advance. In NBA games, often the biggest favorites to win the championship will be out early, referring to the past 4 years of the championship Lakers (the biggest favorite Clippers), Bucks (the biggest favorite Nets), Warriors (the biggest favorite Green Army) and Nuggets (the biggest favorite Green Army), and the West has the strength to beat the Nuggets The only team that has the strength to beat the Nuggets may be the Lakers and Clippers, the Lakers have shown real strength in the final stage of the regular season and the play-offs, and the overall strength should be in the second tier of the West, stronger than the Pelicans, Kings, and the Suns, Clippers, The Mavericks are in first gear, and the Nuggets are in first gear.
G1 in the first round is important for both sides, if the Lakers win, they will be confident of winning the series, James's team is the best at turning the tables against the wind, and if the Nuggets win, it could break the Lakers' confidence and boost their hopes of qualifying. The Lakers were able to steal a win in the Nuggets' first two home games and exceeded expectations, and they did their best to win the game when they returned to their home court. The good news is that Vincent is in good shape, Dinwiddie can also carry the heavy responsibility, Murray averaged 30+ per game in the Western Conference finals last year, and if he can't break out in a row this year, the Nuggets will be very uncomfortable.