Lakers Had ‘So Many Opportunities’ vs. Nuggets But ‘Better Team Won’

LeBron James knows the Los Angeles Lakers had chances to knock out the defending champion Denver Nuggets in Round 1, but they didn’t execute when it mattered.

“F–k, we had so many opportunities. To lose in five, two of them being game-winners by Jamal, we had so many opportunities,” James told JJ Redick on their Mind the Game podcast. “Obviously, being up 20 in Game 2 in their building and losing that game and having so many opportunities in other games, you just feel like, s–t, one play here, one play there, could have made a difference.

“When you’re playing against a team like that, you have zero room for error. And I believe we made too many errors in some of the games. … Emotionally, I feel like we were right there. Obviously, in every game, to be able to steal a game. But, at the same time, we weren’t, and that’s why we lost the series. The better team won, for sure.”

The Lakers actually led the vast majority of their series against Denver, holding a 150-50 minute advantage overall. That mattered little when it came to the final score, as the Nuggets regularly erased advantages in the second half and dispatched the Lakers in just five games.

Overall, Denver won the series by a combined 11 points.

The Lakers clearly thought coaching was among their biggest issues in the series, as they fired head coach Darvin Ham last week. Ham went 90-72 in his two seasons in Los Angeles, with each of his postseason appearances ending at the hands of the Nuggets.

James has now lost twice in the first round in the last four seasons after never losing in the first round in his first 18 campaigns.