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LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers went from not being guaranteed a playoff spot to being picked to upset the defending champions in less than a week.
Following the Lakers’ Tuesday play-in win over the New Orleans Pelicans, an NBA scout told The Athletic’s Josh Robbins and Sam Amick that the Lakers will defeat the Denver Nuggets in the first round “because they’ve got their mojo going.”
“They played great at the end of the year. They got their lineup set with Rui Hachimura now. Denver’s just not as good (as it was last year),” the scout said.
“I think the Lakers are very dangerous. They’re playing at a very high level. They’re playing with confidence.”
The Lakers have lost eight straight games to the Nuggets, including last season’s conference finals sweep.
James, who had 23 points, nine assists and nine rebounds during Tuesday’s play-in victory, will look to break that streak when Game 1 tips off Saturday in Denver at 8:30 p.m. ET.
The scout noted that the Nuggets’ home court advantage will be “significant,” per Robbins and Amick.
The Nuggets compiled a 33-8 record at Ball Arena during the regular season, trailing only the Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder for the most home victories in the NBA.
But Denver is “just not the same team” that they were during the 2022-23 campaign, the scout told Robbins and Amick.
That is in large part due to struggles from the Nuggets’ bench, which was key down the stretch during Denver’s run to last season’s title.
“This has been said all year: Losing Bruce Brown and Jeff Green is going to be important come playoff time. … They’re relying on young guys, Peyton Watson and Christian Braun,” the scout said.
None of the Nuggets’ main bench players in 2023-24 ended the season with a positive point differential, as noted by Forbes’ Matt Issa, after Denver didn’t make any major trade deadline moves to bolster their reserves.
Meanwhile the Lakers’ bench was just bolstered by the return of backup guard Gabe Vincent, who could become a key part of the Los Angeles defense as the team looks to upset the defending champions.
Vincent, who returned from knee injury at the end of March, faced the Nuggets in the NBA Finals last season as a member of the Miami Heat.
During that series, Vincent was frequently matched up with Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, who averaged 21.4 points and 10.0 assists through five Finals games to help the Nuggets to the title.
Vincent and the Lakers will need to stifle Murray more effectively Saturday if they want to take advantage of the Nuggets’ roster weaknesses and earn the upset.
