LeBron’s clever play before the start of the NBA playoffs. Can Jokic handle the pressure?
Nikita Biryukov April 20, 2024, 14:15 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
The confrontation between the Denver Nuggets and the Los Angeles Lakers is approaching.
Today, April 20, the long-awaited National Basketball Association playoffs begin. The defending NBA champions Denver Nuggets and the Los Angeles Lakers will meet in the first round of the Western Conference. The teams met in the West final last season, and then the “Nuggets” turned out to be stronger with a score of 4:0. Despite the result, the series was extremely interesting. The legendary LeBron James could not do without comments about the upcoming game.
The Lakers had a tough time against Denver last season. LeBron, Anthony Davis and the rest fought until the end against the future champions. The Ozerniki, with the exception of one match, were very close to their rival in terms of scores: 126:132, 103:108 and 111:113. The King and company again repeated their path to the playoffs: last season the team started from the play-in stage and in the first match reached the decisive stage. It is true that now the Lakers will have to immediately play with one of the main contenders for the title, and not in the conference finals.
Lakers coach Darwin Ham said LeBron takes the games with Denver very seriously: “Just by the look on his face… You can see in his eyes how serious everything is. It’s time for big things.” Last year’s series clearly hurt the King’s ego, and now he and his faithful teammates are ready to impose a serious fight on the court on the reigning NBA champion. LeBron himself, before of the first game of the playoffs, he talked about the MVP of the final series and two-time most valuable player of the regular season, Nikola Jokic.
Lebron James
Four-time NBA champion, most successful player in NBA history
“He is one of the best players of all time. It’s simple. Nikola can do everything. Most importantly, he changes the way his teammates think about his own game. “When someone can inspire their teammates to perform at a level they themselves didn’t even know they could, we’re talking about great talent.”
Is it even necessary to praise the opponent’s leader and the main offender in last year’s playoffs? Maybe the Lakers have some kind of plan to stop Jokic. Davis is one of the best defensive players in the NBA, if not the best. However, we all know that the Serbian center literally plays at half his capacity in the regular season, but in the playoffs he gives his best. At the same time, the Joker is not affected by such tricks, with the help of which LeBron probably wanted to hurt Nikola in order to put pressure on him even more. The Denver leader pays virtually no attention to the public interest in himself, and he only has in mind the saying: “If you have done the work, walk boldly.”
Once again, LeBron and company probably have some kind of plan to stop not only Jokic, but the entire Denver system. However, things are going badly so far: the Lakers have failed to beat the Nuggets for eight games in a row. In the family of one of the leaders of the “nuggets”, Michael Porter, terrible things are happening: his younger brother was sentenced to six years in prison for hitting a woman while drunk, and his middle brother was banned forever play in the NBA. (he played for the Toronto Raptors”) because of fees.
More on the situation with Michael Porter’s brother:
He raised money, but lost his career. Brother of NBA champion receives lifetime ban
Perhaps this will somehow affect Porter and he will lose the series, which will be one of the few advantages that the Los Angeles club will have over its opponent. All the main faces of the teams are lined up and ready to put on a show. But Denver coach Mike Malone decided to voice his opinion: “On Saturday, 15 other teams will want the same thing as us. “We have a trophy… We’re champions, and now here comes a Lakers team that’s really hungry and angry because we beat them eight times in a row.”
Quite confident words from the coach, which can give the Lakers the necessary motivation before the start of the series. The first game will take place in Denver. Will Jokic, Murray, Gordon and Porter start with an average win, or will the Lakers come up with something innovative and find a way to stop the Nuggets’ great ball movement, led, of course, by the Joker? The match will be played on April 21 at 3:30 Moscow time, a spectacle like this should not be missed.
We summarize the results of the NBA regular season:
The NBA regular season is over. Do your results mean anything?
