The Los Angeles Lakers are getting exposed before the defending champs! They blew a 20-point lead allowing them to take a 2-0 lead in the first round. They have now lost 10 straight games against the Denver Nuggets including six, in a row, in the playoffs. Thus, there are fears that LeBron James and Co. can face two straight postseason sweeps against the Denver side. Rajon Rondo and DeMarcus Cousins debated, whether the Lakers would get swept in the first round, before the Lakers’ Game 2 meltdown.
On the ‘Bully Ball’ podcast, Rachel Nichols asked the former Kings teammates which team is “most in danger of getting swept”. Boogie immediately replied that the Lakers were most likely to face the broom. He argued that Anthony Davis “can’t play any better” and even then, the Californian franchise is at risk of seeing a premature exit.
“I am looking at this Lakers team this Denver team has dominated for a couple of years now,” Cousins replied to Nichols. Rajon Rondo responded with multiple “No” to Boogie’s observation. He expressed that D’Angelo Russell would shoot better than 30% and trusted Austin Reaves to unlock his true self. For Rondo, the answer to the Lakers’ woes lies with the supporting cast.
He also argued that the Lakers had just one bad quarter and were doing well the rest of the way. However, Cousins wasn’t convinced. He countered by pointing out the regular season sweep series despite the same supporting cast for the Lakers. Thus, he was steadfast in his belief that the Nuggets would sweep the Lakers unlike Rondo who wondered,
“LeBron getting swept 8 games in playoffs though?”
Both Rondo and Nichols predicted that the Lakers would win “at least one game”. Cousins scoffed at the idea of the “bar being so low”. While the 2x champion backed his former teammate to take a game, he hasn’t been convinced about them taking the Nuggets down.
Rajon Rondo believes the Wolves could get the job done
Earlier in April, the former All-Star guard went to the ‘All the Smoke’ pod and picked Wolves over the Lakers to prevail against Denver. During his appearance, Rondo recalled the 2020 bubble when Dwight Howard kept the Joker in check enabling the Lakers to down the Nuggets in WCF.
Back then, the size of D-12 and AD proved to be the difference-maker. As per the 2-time NBA champion, only the Timberwolves’ twin-tower of Rudy Gobert and Karl Anthony-Towns can deal with the Nuggets. The basketball savant seemed to hit the nail right on the head. The Lakers have had no answer against Jokic who has dominated them offensively in the paint.
As someone, who helped the Lakers overcome the ascending Nuggets in the 2020 bubble championship, Rondo knows a trick or two to shut them down. At any rate, coach Darvin Ham and LeBron James haven’t come up with an answer against Michael Malone’s guys. The team has showcased the trend of building a first-half lead and then losing the game, implying Malone’s superior adjustments. Down 0-2, the Lakers still have a glimmer of hope because of their experience. Can they bounce back?
