The Lakers are hoping to avoid a repeat of last season’s playoff series against the Nuggets.

For all the x-factors and adjustments, the Los Angeles Lakers‘ Round 1 series vs. the Denver Nuggets may simply boil down to what most NBA Playoffs series do: stars. In this case, will LeBron James and Anthony Davis outperform Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray?

The Lakers are remaining confident in D’Angelo Russell after another rough game against the Nuggets.

What did LeBron James and Anthony Davis have to say after the Lakers Game 1 loss in Denver?

D’Lo had another rough game against Jokic and the Nuggets.

The Denver Nuggets are the defending NBA champions, and along with the Boston Celtics, the co-favorites to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy in June 2024. Their opening test of the postseason is a familiar foe… the Los Angeles Lakers, who the Nuggets have faced in the Playoffs in three of the previous five postseasons. Behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the Lakers present all sorts of matchup issues for any opponent they face, and that would be the case even if LA didn’t get to the free throw line at an historic rate. But they do, and in Game 1, the Lakers attempted 13 more free throws than the Nuggets.