The LA Lakers are set to kickstart their First Round Playoff campaign against the Nuggets at the Ball Arena tomorrow night. The highly anticipated matchup has the hoop world buzzing with predictions. While it seems like the Lakers are on a roll, on a recent episode of the ‘UNDISPUTED’ show, Paul Pierce made his stance clear by picking the Nuggets over the Lakers to advance further into the season.
Pierce stated that he doesn’t believe in the Lakers’ optimism that’s going around. In the last few days, several analysts, including Stephen A. Smith, have vouched for the Lakers in the series against the Nuggets. However, the Celtics legend does not doubt that Nikola Jokic and Co. will comfortably stomp the LeBron James’ squad. He said,
“I know you have confidence in LeBron and AD, but what do you guys mean? You don’t see a line like 7.5 for nothing, which is probably the biggest line in the opening game of the playoffs that we’re gonna see this weekend.”
Apart from the odds favoring the Nuggets, Pierce is also confident that nothing has changed as far as the Nuggets’ dominance is concerned. He said, “Nothing’s going to change, Denver is still the Lakers’ daddy, they’ve won eight in a row and they’re gonna continue to win in game one.”
His faith in the Denver franchise is through the roof for the upcoming series. He believes that not only are they going to beat the Lakers, but they will also make a statement by winning with over 15 points in game one.
A few things should be considered before picking sides between the Lakers and the Nuggets. There isn’t really an answer that LeBron’s team has found against Jokic yet. According to Stat Muse, the two-time MVP is averaging 29.3 points, 12.0 rebounds and 9.0 assists in three games against the Lakers this season. In addition, the high-altitude factor will also be at play because the Ball Arena sits at an astonishing 5,280 feet above sea level which can create problems for the Lakers.
Skip Bayless backs the Lakers in the playoffs
While Pierce is team Jokic for the upcoming series, Skip Bayless sided with the Lakers. As unreal as it sounds, Bayless actually believed that LeBron has been blessed this season and will comfortably lead the franchise past the Nuggets. He said,
“The Lakers are going to win tomorrow night and they are going to win the series in 6. I believe that the basketball gods have tapped LeBron James on the shoulder, I believe they have blessed him.”
The reasoning behind Bayless’ prediction for the series stems from the fact that in the last few days, things have panned out in favor of the Lakers and against the Nuggets. He outlined that the team with a 21-60 record in the West, the Spurs, managed to beat the Nuggets by one point. He also mentioned the Pelicans-Lakers play-in game where Zion Williamson was on an incredible run with 40 points and 11 rebounds, but suddenly injured himself and ended up losing the game.
