The biggest problem the Lakers have to address this 2024 NBA offseason: If the Lakers are looking to beat the Nuggets, they'll need to make some moves this offseason.
Los Angeles is home to stars, and the Lakers are definitely no exception. Led by LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and even D'Angelo Russell, the classic Purple and Gold team is no stranger to being the center of the NBA media spotlight.
More league fans recognize Lakers ownership, and even before James moved to the city in 2018, it had a long history of glory and fame.
But as "great" as the Lakers are — or in this case, probably — they still haven't found a way to fix Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, affectionately known as "The Joker."
Ever since the Serbian superstar rose to the top of the NBA's ranks in his first MVP season in 2020, he has wowed the crowd with his ability to control the game with his scoring and passing, and he has made the game look too easy, almost too easy.
Two seasons ago, the Lakers, who were plagued by multiple injuries — notably James and Davis — missed the playoffs. They failed to give James a chance to compete for a fifth championship, but quietly moved into the next season, knowing what they would be able to achieve if they hadn't been hindered, and they still had Russell Westbrook after all.
Unfortunately, Westbrook, James, Davis, and the rest of the Lakers players never fully got along, instead finding themselves nearly at the bottom of the Western Conference before the trade deadline.
As a result, Westbrook was traded, new faces were brought in, and Los Angeles basically had a new team, still led by James.
But then came the Nuggets, who eliminated the Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies in a Cinderella-like run and made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals, but the Lakers were frozen by them and they were swept.
What about this season?
Pretty much the same story.
Most of L.A.'s new core — namely Russell, Gibb Vincent, and others — stayed with the Lakers and went all out this season in hopes of getting more out of the Western Conference standings. The competition in the Western Conference was fierce, and the Lakers still couldn't make it to the qualifiers with a record of just over 10 wins.
Despite this, they managed to make the cut.
And then here came the Nuggets, again.
Despite a good record against some of the other top teams in the West, Los Angeles still can't beat Denver. They led by double digits in every game in the series, but ended up winning just one, falling victim to a gentleman's sweep that marked their 12th loss in their last 13 games against the Nuggets.
So, with another offseason underway, the Lakers need to address their biggest offseason need, and that's very specific but appropriate: they need to figure out how to beat the Nuggets.
Within minutes of the Nuggets' series victory, a graphic began to appear on social media, perfectly capturing the matchup between the two teams.
The picture features Jokic, with the makeup of a Washington, D.C. clown on his face, while breaking a crown in half. The crown is inscribed with #23, which is almost saying that Jokic not only has dominance over James and the Lakers, but also ownership of his crown, and rightly so.
James, who played in the NBA for 21 years, has shown that he is not only still a scorer worthy of respect, but also capable of being a top option on a competitive team.
In this regard, the Lakers have also been recognized. They are competitive.
They ended the season with a plus-minus record and could have been the fourth seed if it weren't for the rest of the Western Conference rising this season. As a result, the Lakers' seeds don't quite reflect their actual skills.
For the top-seeded Thunder, who went 3-1 in the regular season, so did the Los Angeles Clippers. The Lakers beat the Phoenix Suns 3-2 in the regular season and 3-1 against the Pelicans.
If any of these teams are the Lakers' first-round opponents, they have a chance to advance. But, just like last season, they'll just go all the way to where the Nuggets left off. If at any point in the playoffs, the Nuggets get in their way, they're eliminated.
Losing 12 of the last 13 games is proof of that, so what can the Lakers do to beat the Nuggets?
Considering they've racked up a double-digit lead in every game in this season's series, they have the tools and the talent. But when the Nuggets burst out of energy late in the game, they didn't have the stamina to compete with, and the Nuggets were simply a more cohesive team.
It started with consistency, with Gabe Vincent and Jared Wenderbilt unable to get into the rhythm of Denver with Gabe Vincent and Jared Wenderbilt unable to play most of the game, as Davin Ham admitted.
"[You're] stay healthy," he said, referring to the Lakers' need to improve in the offseason.
"Stay healthy. You get a lot of blame for your rotation, but rotation is secondary. The most important thing is health. … Health is the greatest asset. That's basically it. ”
Avoiding injuries is easier said than done, but it should be acknowledged again that the Lakers have the facilities to pull off a win against the Nuggets, it's just that they haven't figured out how to do that yet, even if the defending champions at the time don't look that scary.
As long as Jokic and the Nuggets remain competitive in the Western Conference — which will be a long time given Jokic's upcoming third MVP award — the Lakers will face formidable opponents. If they choose to keep the core team, nothing is more important than figuring out how to beat this team. If LA plays its cards right, other problems may be solved.
As for James, he's ready to make those improvements and head into his 22nd season with the Nuggets in sight.
"Nope. … I'm not a participatory person," he said when asked if he sees his team's intense game against the Nuggets as a silver lining.
"We lost. [Now], let's move on and see how we can get better. ”
One thing to say, the Lakers have to figure out how to beat the Nuggets next year in the offseason, and they can't keep losing.