Denver Nuggets first-round playoff opponent and schedule revealed

After much fanfare about the Lakers trying to tank the play-in game, they did not opt for that approach and came out guns blazing against the Pelicans. The Lakers got out to an 18-point lead in the second half and fought off a furious Zion Williamson-led comeback to ultimately win in New Orleans 110-106 and secure the 7 seed in the Western Conference playoffs.

That means we’ll get a rematch of last year’s West Finals in round one, Lakers vs Nuggets. The storylines and intrigue for this one are as juicy as it gets. LeBron and AD have been playing great all season, and their supporting cast has turned it on down the stretch as the Lakers finished the season very strongly.

But the Nuggets have been their bugaboo, sweeping the regular season series after sweeping the Lakers in the playoffs last season. It certainly appears as if Denver has their number, but it’s hard to ever rule out a team with LeBron James. 

Though the Nuggets have dominated LA, I’m sure they wouldn’t have minded avoiding them at least for a couple of rounds, and taken on a less proven team like the Pelicans. But the draw is the draw and I’m sure you won’t hear any complaining from the Nuggets side of things.

They know exactly what this team is, and they know that if they play well, they will beat them… Again. The series will get underway this Saturday, with game one taking place at Ball Arena in Denver at 8:30 PM EST. Here is the full schedule for the entire series:

Game 1: Lakers @ Nuggets, Saturday, April 20th, 8:30 PM EST - ABC

Game 2: Lakers @ Nuggets, Monday, April 22nd, 10 PM EST - TNT

Game 3: Nuggets @ Lakers, Thursday, April 25th, 10 PM EST - TNT

Game 4: Nuggets @ Lakers, Saturday, April 27th, 8:30 PM EST - ABC

Game 5 (If necessary): Lakers @ Nuggets, Monday April 29th, TBD - TBD

Game 6 (If necessary): Nuggets @ Lakers, Thursday, May 2nd, TBD - TBD

Game 7 (If necessary): Lakers @ Nuggets, Saturday, May 4th, TBD - TNT

This is where it gets fun, Nuggets fans. We’ve finally made it, the team is fully healthy and hopefully peaking at the right time. Here’s to another long playoff run and hopefully another sweep of the Lakers!