It isn’t often the first round of the NBA playoffs features a heavyweight-type battle between two teams with championship aspirations and big-time superstars. But that’s what we’re getting in 2024.
By getting past the New Orleans Pelicans in the play-in tournament, the Los Angeles Lakers claimed the seventh seed in the Western Conference. That means a date with the defending world champion Denver Nuggets in the opening round of the playoffs.
It will be a rematch of last season’s Western Conference finals when the Lakers were swept. Overall, LeBron James and crew have lost eight games in a row to Denver, but they’re on a mini-roll right now, having won 12 of their last 15 games.
The schedule for the Lakers-Nuggets series is set. Game 1 will take place in Colorado on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. Los Angeles time, and there will be at least one two-day break between games.
Lakers-Nuggets first round schedule: pic.twitter.com/qkH6N3HkVI
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) April 17, 2024
The best shot for L.A. to steal one of the first two in Denver will likely be in Game 1 coming off three straight days of rest. There is always the chance Nikola Jokić’s team comes out a bit rusty after not playing since Sunday, and if that is the case, the Lakers may be able to take advantage.