(Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images)
The Los Angeles Lakers had an uneven 2023-24 NBA season, but they pulled themselves together to qualify for the 2024 NBA Playoffs.
The Lakers climbed all the way to the eighth spot in the Western Conference and were able to beat the New Orleans Pelicans in the Play-In Tournament to secure the seventh seed and a playoff rematch against the Denver Nuggets.
Denver finished as the second seed and is largely favored to come out of the conference and defend their title.
On the flip side, Los Angeles will be looking to avenge last year’s Western Conference Finals showing where they got swept by the reigning champions.
Lakers star LeBron James has already come out and said that he doesn’t believe the series should be taken personally despite all the trash talk that he and the team received from Nuggets members and their fans.
However, former James teammate Kendrick Perkins believes that L.A. should be taking this series personally via ESPN.
“This series should be personal,” Perkins said.
“This series should be personal.”
—@KendrickPerkins says the Lakers’ locker room should have all the inspiration they need against the Nuggets pic.twitter.com/GyGG6htK6z
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) April 20, 2024
Perkins has a point as the Nuggets weren’t shy about letting the world know they took down the Lakers, with people like head coach Mike Malone and Bruce Brown taking shots at their expense.
The purple and gold have heard all the noise and have no other choice but to go out and show they can compete with a Denver team that looks like a juggernaut heading into the postseason.
Los Angeles has a deeper and more well-rounded group this time around and this could very well be the best first-round series of the playoffs.
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