For the second year in a row, the Los Angeles Lakers were knocked out of the playoffs by the Denver Nuggets.
Like last year’s Western Conference Finals, the Lakers led in every game but found a way to lose against a Nuggets team that always seemed to have an answer.
Denver superstars Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray were outstanding in the final minutes of Game 5, although LeBron James did his best to stave off elimination with some shots of his own.
However, now that Los Angeles is entering the offseason it will need to make some adjustments to its roster after they were shown how far away they are from competing for a title.
While a loss to the defending champions is nothing to be ashamed of, some fans are starting to argue that the Lakers are not a good basketball team during the 2023-24 NBA season.
However, analysts like Adam Mares believe that’s wrong and LA should get more credit, via The Volume.
“I think the Lakers are better than people think,” Mares said.
“I think the Lakers are better than what people might give them credit for”
—@Adam_Mares gave his honest assessment of the Lakers’ season to @_JasonLT pic.twitter.com/dgEl1qlfcd
— The Volume (@TheVolumeSports) May 4, 2024
Losing five games might indicate a team is overmatched, but the Lakers gave the Nuggets everything they could handle.
If not for the Game 2 collapse, Los Angeles might still be in the playoffs and playing Denver in Game 7.
Unfortunately, that’s not the case and the Lakers will have to go back to the drawing board and find the right players if they hope to beat a team like the Nuggets.
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