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LeBron James and the LA Lakers earned a first-round playoff showdown with the defending NBA champions Denver Nuggets, and sports television personality Skip Bayless said they should now make their move while they are still "fresh."
The Lakers secured the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference after they defeated the New Orleans Pelicans, 110-106 on Tuesday in their Play-In Tournament game on the road.
The win set the Purple and Gold for an opening-round playoff clash with the Nuggets, which is a rematch of the Western Conference Finals last season, where LeBron James and Co. were swept in four games by the eventual NBA champions.
Bayless was critical of James over the sweep, saying that "King James" ran out of gas and failed to lead the team as hoped.
It was something the "Undisputed" host highlighted once again as the Lakers and Nuggets collide in this year's playoffs.
He took to X, formerly Twitter, to share his thoughts on James and the upcoming postseason series:
"The Lakers are better than the Nuggets. Now they have an early-round opportunity to PLAY better than the Nuggets ... before LeBron 'runs out of gas.'"
The Lakers (47-35) played the second-seeded Nuggets (57-25) three times this season and lost in all of them.
Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic has had his way against LA, averaging 29.3 points, 12.0 rebounds and 9.0 assists while point guard Jamal Murray, too, has been solid for 24.7 ppg and 9.3 apg.
The teams' best-of-seven playoff series begins on Saturday, April 20 in Denver.
LeBron James on facing Denver Nuggets in opening round of 2024 playoffs
While happy that they secured a spot in the playoff proper, LeBron James said the job only got tougher for them as they have to play the defending champions in the opening round of this year's postseason.
"The King" was stellar as they defeated the New Orleans Pelicans, 110-106.
James had a near triple-double of 23 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in the win. He also had three steals and two blocks in 41 minutes of play.
Following the game, the 20-time NBA All-Star spoke about their upcoming showdown with the Nuggets, highlighting how it is going to be a daunting task but something they are willing to take on.
James said:
"It's the defending champions. We understand how difficult of a matchup it's been versus them. They're gonna make it tough on [us], and we're gonna try to make it tough on them."
He added:
"So we're gonna get the opportunity to kind of rest tonight, maybe rest tomorrow a little bit, and then get back into the books and get ready for this first-round series that's gonna be extremely tough on us."
Check out what LeBron James had to say below, beginning at 0:36:
Also having a good game against the Pelicans on Tuesday were Anthony Davis and D'Angelo Russell. "AD" had 20 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks while "DLo" added 21 points and six assists.
Guess the Lakers players!
