Balkan spirits and Detroit-style slices were served to the various factions of the Denver Nuggets as they learned which opponent they would be facing in the playoffs.
Jambalaya is officially off the table.
It’s Nuggets vs. Lakers for the third time in five years after Los Angeles knocked off the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. Before the defending champions got to work Wednesday with their first matchup-focused practice of the week, they enjoyed some quality time together with multiple NBA Play-In Tournament watch parties.
The players met at Nikola Jokic’s house for the game. The coaches watched at the office, ordering from local pizzeria Blue Pan. “Gotta give them a shoutout, they always take care of us,” head coach Michael Malone said. “And (we) were able to watch the game and meet and discuss after the game.”
Full of pizza, the coaches assembled a schedule for the week and examined matchup personnel. Meanwhile, on the players’ side?
“It was a blast,” Peyton Watson said. “It’s always a good time when we can all get together. And it’s always an honor when the two-time MVP, soon to be three, invites you over to his house to indulge in a basketball game. So definitely went over there, drank a little Rakija. Got acquainted. A little ritual right before the playoffs. Kind of just letting loose and having a good night with my guys (to) bond a little bit before we get into these serious playoffs.”
The Lakers are serious as it gets. Both of these teams have eliminated the other to reach the NBA Finals in the last four years. After the Nuggets swept Los Angeles in 2023, Anthony Davis called out Denver for continuing to trash-talk during the offseason. At training camp, Malone rejected the idea that it was transforming into a rivalry. “Oh, they’re talking about us?” he said in San Diego. “Yeah, that was, like, four months ago?” Then the Nuggets proceeded to win all three regular-season matchups, spoiling the Kobe Bryant statue unveiling and LeBron James surpassing 40,000 career points in separate road games.
Of course, it was all leading to a playoff rematch.
“We know them. They know us,” Malone said Wednesday at Ball Arena. “And we know what to expect.”
So while the Lakers’ play designs and personnel were a part of Denver’s practice, it was equally focused on broader themes — such as the Lakers ranking fifth in the NBA in transition scoring per game and second in transition efficiency. Or that the LeBron James-led offense averages 55.6 points in the paint, leading the Western Conference.
Questions for Malone and Jokic largely revolved around Denver’s eight-game win streak against Los Angeles dating back to the 2022-23 regular season. The coach and the star player downplayed the idea that the Nuggets are a matchup problem for the Lakers.
“I think every game in the playoff series last year was really tough,” Jokic said. “Could’ve went either way. … Yes, we beat them 4-0, but they’re a really talented team. They’re really well-built.”
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“Everyone keeps talking about how we’ve beaten them eight games in a row, and as I told our players today, that doesn’t mean anything,” Malone said. “This is a different team, a different series, and we know what we have in front of us. It’ll be a hell of a challenge to beat the Lakers in the playoffs.”
Having seen the same roster in a best-of-seven series so recently does help from a scouting perspective, Jokic acknowledged. He saw every type of coverage the Lakers had in the 2023 showdown, from single-teams to double-teams, from Anthony Davis as a primary defender to Rui Hachimura. Even James guarded him in the post for a while as Darvin Ham was looking for a solution.
“I think we match up with them really good and they match up with us really good,” Jokic said. “… They can do a couple different things on defense. On offense, we can put some other guys on their main players. So I think it’s gonna be really interesting basketball-wise. Strategy-wise, I think it’s gonna be really interesting.”
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