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The Denver Nuggets aren’t worried about playing a series as an underdog.
Just take a look at what they did to earn the right to play the Los Angeles Lakers for a chance to win the Western Conference and a trip to the NBA Finals. First, they had to take on the Utah Jazz and come back from a 3-1 deficit in the series to win and advance to the second round. There, they found themselves behind the Los Angeles Clippers, 3-1, before making a comeback and winning that series as well.
The Lakers are the favorite for the oddsmakers, holding -625 odds to win the Western Conference. The Nuggets are significantly the underdog at +450.
It’s an understandable approach by the sportsbooks, especially considering the Lakers are well-rested and haven’t had much in the way of difficulty making it this far.
Denver wasn’t expected to make it to this point in the postseason, and the odds are definitely reflecting that.
But how can you count out a team that has beat the odds in the first two series they played in?
What’s key for the Nuggets
There’s no doubt Denver will be leaning on the play of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray as they take on the likes of LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
But the role of spoiler is one the Nuggets have embraced, and with the way Jokic played against the Clippers it can be expected he won’t be slowing down any against the other team from L.A. Murray, on the other hand, really lit up in the final three games against the Clippers, shooting 54.5 percent from beyond the three-point arc while averaging 29 points per contest.
There won’t be much of a chance to rest for Denver, which finished its last series just this past Tuesday. Two days later, they get the Lakers.
Can Jokic keep up the marvelous play he’s been showcasing? With 63 percent shooting from the field and nearly 67 percent from three-point range, he’s been an absolute terror to defend. The question remains if his team can step up enough to keep all the pressure from being applied to Jokic throughout this series.
What’s key for the Lakers
It’s not surprising the Lakers are in the Western Conference final, but it is surprising that they won’t be playing the Clippers.
Lots of pundits likely view Los Angeles as the dominating team in this matchup vs. the Nuggets, but James, Davis and the rest of the veteran Lakers know better than to count a hot team out. With those two superstars — and the help of JR Smith — they’ve made a run in the postseason, winning both of their series in just five games each.
The Lakers can’t expect to come in and roll through this Denver squad, and Game 1 will tell a tale of just how seriously they are taking their latest opponent.
Who wins?
Denver isn’t going to go down without a fight. In fact, we expect they will take Game 1 of this series as the Lakers try to get a feel for what is going to work against this team, just like they did in the first two rounds of the playoffs.
In the end, though, it’s going to be the Lakers that walk away with the Western Conference championship and a trip to the NBA Finals. There’s just too much momentum and talent on a Lakers squad that really came together in a difficult year to put on some amazing basketball performances.
It’s going to be a tough fight, but expect the Lakers to take this series in six games.