NBA Friday Night
Denver Nuggets vs Los Angeles Lakers
Game 1
It isn't the Western Conference finals matchup most expected, but the Denver Nuggets have more than earned the right to face the Los Angeles Lakers in what should be another intriguing series. The Nuggets dispatched the presumptive title favorite Los Angeles Clippers in seven games, becoming the first team to come back from two 3-1 deficits in NBA postseason history. Meanwhile, the Lakers bounced back from a Game 1 loss to eliminate the Houston Rockets with four straight wins.
Denver will once again be the heavy underdog -- as our expert picks indicate -- but that's exactly where it wants to be. Budding superstars Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray have both played the "nobody believes in us" card already this postseason, with good reason, and the Nuggets are playing with nothing to lose. They face a tough task, however, with LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the well-oiled Lakers standing between them and their first NBA Finals appearance in franchise history.
Denver will once again be the heavy underdog -- as our expert picks indicate -- but that's exactly where it wants to be. Budding superstars Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray have both played the "nobody believes in us" card already this postseason, with good reason, and the Nuggets are playing with nothing to lose. They face a tough task, however, with LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the well-oiled Lakers standing between them and their first NBA Finals appearance in franchise history.