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The Series Itself

No. 1 Nuggets vs. No. 7 Lakers (Nuggets won 4-0)

Sometimes, figuring out how a team lost is pretty simple. This is one of those times, as the Nuggets made more shots while shooting more efficiently (49% from the field).

This was also the case for three-pointers, as Denver was laser-sharp from deep, while the Lakers struggled.

Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic were sublime, with Murray averaging 32.5 points on 53/40/95 splits and not even being the best player on his own team, as Nikola Jokic put up 28 points, 14.5 rebounds, and 12 assists a night.

Shooting struggles aside, the Lakers managed to keep things close (on a game-by-game basis), as they never lost by more than 11 points.

Old school coaches often point to the rebounding numbers as one of the leading indicators of a team’s performance.

The Lakers had a massive drop-off in their rebounding ability, going from averaging a combined 47 rebounds per game in their first 12 games against Memphis and Golden State to just 38 boards per game in the series against Denver.

Much of this is down to the reduced role of Jarred Vanderbilt, who averaged 4.4 rebounds in 20 minutes per game during his first nine Playoff games.

But due to his weakness on offense, he was dropped from the starting lineup and eventually from the rotation altogether, as he barely saw the court against his former squad (the Nuggets), only playing for a total of 41 minutes and not playing at all in the decisive game four.

Austin Reaves again showed his future star potential by averaging 21 points and 5 assists while shooting 55% from the field, 56% from deep, and 15/15 from the free throw line.

Rui Hachimura also played well, but the same could not be said for Dennis Schroder and D’Angelo Russell, who showed their true colors after their previous solid performances.

Early on, we all thought Russell and Schroder would hurt the team at some point, but it was looking like they had turned things around until now when they proved all the doubters right.

The two players combined to score 53 points while shooting a combined 34% from the field.

The Nuggets players were all fantastic, but it kind of feels like this would have been a different series had the Lakers’ role players—who had been brilliant in the past few months—played up to their standards.

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What Does This Mean For…

Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets)

The Joker has won big. Now, everyone has stopped talking about Joel Embiid and all eyes are on Jokic…

Oh wait a minute, people are talking about LeBron’s retirement plans and have once again forgotten about Jokic and the Nuggets.

This has been the story of the Joker’s life. After impressing in Serbia, Jokic was offered a contract by European giants Barcelona, but the Blaugrana rescinded their offer after Jokic played one of the worst games of his career.

Then, he was infamously drafted in the middle of a Taco Bell commercial, but we all know about that. Let me tell you something that is slightly lesser known.

In his first NBA 2K game, which was the legendary NBA 2K16, Nikola Jokic was deemed so irrelevant that he was given the cyber face of a Turkish basketball player named Sinan Güler.

Yes, they gave him another player’s likeness, because they thought that no one would care, since it was unlikely that Jokic would ever succeed in the NBA.

He has always been overlooked, and maybe this is a curse that Jokic will have to live with forever.

He can win a ring this year and the people of Denver will quickly forget about it and shift their attention to thinking about what Sean Payton can get out of Russell Wilson this season.

It has always been the same old story for Jokic, proving his doubters wrong until the very end, and that’s what drives him to be one of the best.

The Los Angeles Lakers

I am assuming that LeBron will suit up for the Lakers next season (more on that in the next part), so the Lakers have to get the most out of what could be the final year of the LeBron/AD era.

First things first, they have to resign two of their best performers, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura.

They will probably get offers for 15-20 million a year, so the Lakers will have to pay up and not be cheap like they were with Alex Caruso.

They should also bring back Lonnie Walker, who can contribute when needed, and maybe even Tristan Thompson, as having more veterans is key when you’re trying to win a title.

As for free agency targets, the only man that can fix Kyrie Irving is LeBron James, as Kyrie will never be the same until he comes back to the man he left in 2017.

The Lakers should go all out for Irving, and could even try a sign-and-trade with the Mavs which would see D’Angelo Russell moving to Dallas.

If Kyrie stays in Dallas or moves to a small market team as I theorized a couple of months ago, the Lakers can take a look at Draymond Green’s situation in Golden State.

The Dubs, who will have to spend the offseason without Bob Myers for the first time since 2011, will have a big decision to make between Jordan Poole and Draymond, and if they choose Poole, Draymond can team up in LA with his buddy LeBron.

If they can’t get Kyrie or Draymond, the situation in Chicago, where three All-Star level players (DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, Nikola Vucevic) could be worth monitoring.

If all else fails, don’t be surprised if LeBron can get his BFF Chris Paul to finally join the Lakers for real this time, as the Suns are reportedly ready to move on from him.

LeBron James (LA Lakers)

I believe LeBron will play for the Lakers next season, and a lot of people around the league think the same, too.

“We’re doing exactly what he wants us to do, just talk about it.” Said WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson. “Let it linger, got us right where he wanted.”

LeBron just wants everyone to talk about him and what he will do next. He wants to keep us guessing. You all remember “The Decision,” right?

An anonymous NBA executive said it best: “He’ll suit up next year. He just changed the conversation. Now we’re not talking about a sweep; we’re talking about LeBron and retirement. He loves to control the narrative.”

Even his teammates don’t think LeBron is done. “I can’t see that, said Dennis Schroder when asked about LeBron’s retirement.

This is LeBron telling the Lakers front office to not mess up, and go after his desired FA/Trade targets (like Kyrie, Draymond, and CP3).

This is only a threat, and no, he won’t walk away for a year like Jordan. Jordan walked away in 1993 because he was burnt out due to his father’s passing (though some claim that he was secretly suspended by the NBA due to his gambling habits), and his 2001 return is a story for another day. LeBron will play this season and will play a few games (or even years) with his son, and finally ride off to the sunset.

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NBA Finals Preview

No. 1 Denver Nuggets vs. No. 8 Heat

The Heat and Celtics had a series for the ages.

I’ve been following the Heat for years since Jimmy Butler has always been one of my favorite players dating back to his days in Chicago, and I was enamored by their underdog run to the Conference Finals.

The Heat went up 3-0, and since no team had ever come back from a 3-0 deficit, things were looking good.

But then, the Celtics players warned the Heat to “Not let us get one [game].”

And the Heat failed to listen, as Boston staved off elimination in game four, before winning game five and shocking the world in game six by winning after Derrick White made his incredible last-second buzzer-beater.

The Celtics had all the momentum in the world when they were at home for game seven.

But following an injury to Jayson Tatum and a disgusting performance from Jaylen Brown, the Celtics failed to make history.

And the Heat will now make their second Finals appearance in the four-year Jimmy Butler era, becoming just the second eight-seed in NBA history to make the Finals.

The Heat have a lot of heart, like the Lakers, but we saw what Denver did to them.

Miami might have no answer for Jokic, as the Joker has not lost to Bam Adebayo since his first MVP season (6-0), and shot 63.5% from the floor in those games.

The Nuggets also can exploit the Heat’s favored zone defense and are a better squad than the Boston team that Miami lost three games to.

The Heat can get lucky if someone on the Nuggets gets hurt, but overall, I think the Nuggets will be the 2023 NBA champions.

Overall Prediction: Nuggets in six.