It may feel like salt in the wounds, but Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is among those who believe the Lakers should’ve beaten the Nuggets in the playoffs.
The last time the Lakers played an official NBA game was against the Denver Nuggets in the playoffs. The results in 2024 mirrored 2023, where Los Angeles fell to Denver in the postseason.
Back in 2023, the Lakers were swept in the Western Conference Finals, while in 2024, they mustered up a sole win in their opening round series loss to the Nuggets.
Those numbers make it seem like the Nuggets dominated the Lakers and the fans who cheered for that result certainly pushed that narrative. However, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, a Nuggets guard who will be joining the Orlando Magic this fall, has a different interpretation of that series.
On "The Draymond Green Show," he discussed how the Nuggets felt gassed and the Lakers “should have beat” Denver.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope on why the Denver Nuggets struggled in the playoffs:
— BASKETBALL ON (@BASKETBALLonX) July 24, 2024
"We had no gas. We felt like the Lakers should have beat us. We was down every game"
[via https://t.co/16WEM9gMgq] pic.twitter.com/lMydIwZkpy
Numbers tell the story but not the whole story. Yes, the fact is the Lakers only won once versus the Nuggets and NBA history is filled with would've, could've and should've scenarios. Still, it's borderline miraculous that the Lakers only beat the Nuggets once in the 2024 NBA playoffs.
They led in all five games at the halftime break and had the largest overall lead in all games, minus Game 1. However, two Jamal Murray game-winners tipped things in Denver's favor.
It's easy to forget, but that series was exhausting for both teams. Murray was dealing with calf issues and was not fully healthy but toughed it out and they needed every bit of his effort to get the job done.
Based on what Caldwell-Pope said, that level of exhaustion, mixed with the regular season, left Denver gassed and is likely one of many reasons the Nuggets didn't repeat as champions last season.
From the Lakers' perspective, those losses were frustrating. The ray of hope for L.A. is that under a new coach in JJ Redick, they can execute better in the margins and come out on top if they are in a similar series next year.
The Lakers are essentially running it back with the same team and while the Nuggets may not be the team on top of the Western Conference, you'll have to beat a team of their caliber if you want to advance deep into the postseason.
Perhaps utilizing Anthony Davis as an offensive hub, as Redick has mentioned, will help this team get past the best in the West.
In their final playoff game, Davis only took one field goal attempt despite being the only player to play the entire quarter. The Lakers lost by just two points.
This team may not be perfect, but righting those kinds of wrongs can take this team from play-in positioning to a top-four seed. With that kind of potential and some first round draft picks and moveable contracts, who knows, maybe the Lakers can make a trade in the winter to become contenders in the summer, just like they did back in the 2022-23 season.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.
