After 10 years and a season unlike any we’ve seen before, the Los Angeles Lakers are back in the Western Conference Finals. In his first Western Conference Playoffs, LeBron James is in the Conference Finals and he is only four wins away from going to his ninth NBA Finals in 10 seasons. But the team standing in their way, the Denver Nuggets, has already made it clear they are not in the bubble to be a footnote in somebody else’s story.

Can the Nuggets avoid another 3-1 deficit in their hopes to make their first NBA Finals in franchise history? Can LeBron James and the Lakers avoid their third straight Game 1 loss of the postseason on Friday? Here’s how to watch and what to look for in Friday’s Game 1.

How To Watch

Time: 6 p.m. Pacific/9 p.m. Eastern

Channel: TNT (All games of the Western Conference Finals will be shown on TNT)

Spread via BetMGM: Lakers -6.5

Injuries: Will Barton (knee) remains out for the Nuggets

Will the LeBron James rope-a-dope Game 1s continue?

LeBron has said it before and it’s been even more true in the bubble, Game 1 is typically a feel-out game for The King. Especially in the bubble, where playoff games feel different than any other playoff game LeBron has played before in his illustrious career, downloading the opposing team’s gameplan to his immaculate basketball brain seems to be a trend for him. Especially against teams and coaches whom he has never faced in the postseason before. So, that begs the question, will the trend of LeBron taking haymakers while he bides his time continue in Friday night’s Game 1? Even if it does, the Nuggets can’t feel particularly safe.

LeBron James has been down 0-1 and won the following Game 2, 12 times in his career, including twice in these playoffs. The impeccable brain of LeBron James often needs one full-speed experience against a gameplan before he knows all of the reads he has to make before he makes them. With heavy hitters in Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, Denver could be in a prime position to take advantage of the disposition we have seen from LeBron and the Lakers in their previous Game 1s in the bubble.

The mental challenge of guarding Nikola Jokic

Jamal Murray had 40 points in the close-out Game 7 against the Los Angeles Clippers but everybody in the West knows the Nuggets attack begins and ends with Nikola Jokic. Even though the Lakers have had a variety of skilled players attacking them,  they’ve faced nobody with the size and ability of Jokic.

Jokic can start a fast break off a rebound in a blink of an eye or he can methodically bring the ball up the floor like a 7-foot point guard. If you leave him open, he will bury you. And the best part about those moments when he’s open is, he often starts the sequence in which he gets open with a brilliant pass.  If you double him lazily on the drive or in the post, as the Los Angeles Clippers did, he will pick you apart and find easy baskets for his teammates. That type of play is contagious, especially from your best player.

While Anthony Davis will get the headlines and will have plenty of possessions guarding Jokic, the Lakers have other big men they will throw at him like Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee. LeBron James and Kyle Kuzma should also get their working boots on for Jokic duty.

But the key for all of them is realizing that playing Jokic requires far more mental bandwidth than any other big man they will face in these playoffs. His combination of scoring ability both inside and outside, his creative unpredictability, his general unflappable nature, and his smart decision-making makes him the most difficult challenge the Lakers defense has faced in the playoffs so far. The Lakers are built to have multiple guys to throw at Jokic and it’s a good thing they do. They are going to need it.

The other Nuggets

Murray and Jokic are both high-volume 3-point threats on the outside, but a big reason the Nuggets are here is that they have found a rotating cast of players who are able to help the two stars find release valves.

Gary Harris’ jumper was missing in action for nearly a year, but he has found success offensively inside the bubble and he’s found even more as of late. He shot 41% from the 3-point line in the Clippers series and he has shot 50% from the field overall. Michael Porter Jr. was used sparingly throughout the season, even racking up a few DNPs, but he has been a regular fixture in closing lineups for the Nuggets in the postseason thanks to his combination of confident 3-point shooting and strong rebounding.

Porter averaged 10 points and nearly seven rebounds off the bench, often finishing games over veterans Paul Millsap and Jerami Grant. However, Millsap, Grant, and Torrey Craig will all be crucial in the Nuggets’ hopes of slowing down LeBron James. While Porter is a work in progress on the defensive end, he’s gotten better in the bubble and his confident shooting may be the ultimate thing that keeps him on the floor late in games. If you leave Porter, Jokic will find him and that shot is going up. If Grant gets some shots to fall, the Nuggets will have an even stronger combination of forwards at their disposal, who can make LeBron at least have to work on both sides of the ball.

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