The Los Angeles Lakers are getting ready for what should be a tough and competitive Western Conference Finals series against the Denver Nuggets which tips off on Tuesday.
They may be getting a bit of a break to begin the series, as Nuggets star guard Jamal Murray is listed as questionable with an illness.
Jamal Murray (illness) listed questionable for Tuesday.
— Underdog NBA (@Underdog__NBA) May 15, 2023
While Nikola Jokic is the rock that the Nuggets lean on, not to mention the hub of their offense, Murray is something of an accelerator for them.
He averaged a solid 20.0 points and 6.2 assists per game in the regular season, but he has a history of stepping up his game in the playoffs, and he has done so again this spring. The guard is putting up 25.9 points a contest in this year’s playoffs so far, and in four of his 11 postseason games, he has scored over 30 points.
The Lakers may be able to survive some big scoring games from Jokic, but if Murray goes off, they could be in trouble.
Once again, they will start a playoff series on the road, and Game 1 may be their best shot at stealing home-court advantage, especially given the fact that they will end up having three full days off before the series starts.
Versus the Memphis Grizzlies and Golden State Warriors in the previous two rounds, L.A. won Game 1 on the road, then took all three subsequent home games to advance. The same formula could be the key for it against Denver, but it won’t exactly be easy.
The Nuggets had the NBA’s second-best home record during the regular season at 34-7, and the altitude in Denver is always a challenge for even the most conditioned athletes.
The two teams played each other in the 2020 Western Conference Finals, but other than their two main stars, both teams look a lot different now, and LeBron James admitted that the Nuggets are also a better team than they were then.
