The defending champion Nuggets will likely enter the first round of the NBA playoffs as a significant favorite over whoever they face in the first round, including the Lakers.
Five-time NBA champion Magic Johnson is weighing in on the Los Angeles Lakers postseason prospects.
The Lakers finished the regular season ranked eight in the Western Conference standings, which earned the team a spot in the NBA Play-In tournament. LeBron James and the Lakers traveled to New Orleans this week for a play-In matchup with the seventh-seeded Pelicans.
A Lakers win would earn the team a spot in the first round, where Los Angeles would take on the reigning champion Denver Nuggets. But, some of the Lakers faithful expressed concern about the idea of going up against the team that eliminated Los Angeles in the Western Conference Finals last year.
But, a Los Angeles loss would open the door for a Lakers-Thunder first round matchup. But, the Lakers would have to defeat the winner of the other Western Conference play-in game between the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors.
