3. The Denver Nuggets need to make the conference finals
Looking at the bracket further, the Lakers will also need the Denver Nuggets to make it to the conference finals. But a potential second-round matchup between the Phoenix Suns and/or LA Clippers could make the idea of that a bit murky. Even more so than the Lakers, you can make the argument that the Suns are a team that no one wants to face in the playoffs. When Kevin Durant and Devin Booker are playing at their peaks, there may not be an offensive duo in the West that can keep up with them.
I wouldn’t like the Lakers’ chances against the Suns specifically in the conference finals. I still believe the Nuggets would be favored against the Lakers in what would be an unlikely conference finals series, but I’d like their chances a bit better as an underdog in that series.
Even though this year’s Nuggets team is different, the Lakers do have some experience against them in the NBA playoffs. During the 2020 bubble playoffs, en route to winning a championship, the Lakers did beat Denver in five games in that conference finals. So there would, at the very least, be some familiarity of success on that front.
In other words, this needs to be the road to the NBA Finals for the Lakers – Kings, Grizzlies, and Nuggets. That’s doable for the Lakers, right?