On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Lakers headed into their season-opening game against the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets motivated after hearing all the trash-talk during the offseason.
LeBron James and company were expected to come into this game determined to prove that the Western Conference Finals sweep was a fluke and that the series was much closer than a four-game sweep.
Unfortunately for Darvin Ham’s squad, that didn’t turn out to be the case as the Lakers continued to look like a team that couldn’t contend with Nikola Jokic and his crew, who seemed as if they hadn’t missed a beat since lifting the Larry O’Brien Trophy in June.
The Lakers seemed to have two fatal flaws that stuck out on Tuesday night in Denver, with the team getting virtually nothing from Anthony Davis in the second half (zero points) and James only playing 29 minutes.
On Wednesday, Chris Broussard of FOX Sports questioned the tactic of playing James for only 29 minutes against the Nuggets, via “First Things First.”
Is limiting LeBron’s minutes a recipe for success?
“No. Unfortunately, LeBron is still the Lakers best player. … The Lakers can make the playoffs without LeBron, but they’re a La-BOB Team (Larry O’Brien or Bust team).” 🫠
— @Chris_Broussard pic.twitter.com/sTgLknC3Sb
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) October 25, 2023
Broussard believes that the Lakers are a championship-or-bust team this season, and that could be the case considering all the moves that were made to make this team a legitimate contender in the twilight of James’ career.
However, it remains to be seen how good this Lakers team is, especially if Davis continues to disappear on nights they play against an elite team in the league.
The Lakers will definitely be an interesting team to watch moving forward, as there’s no telling what direction they may be headed in.
NEXT:
Analyst Makes A Clear Statement On Anthony Davis Criticism