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LeBron James has led the Los Angeles Lakers to a surprising run to the Western Conference finals. James and the Lakers now take on the number one seed Denver Nuggets who have looked like the best team in the NBA.
James has played 40 games against Denver in his long-storied career. He averages 26.4 points, 8.2 assists and 7.5 rebounds against the Nuggets.
Did LeBron James dominate Denver this season?
This season LeBron James played in three of LA’s four games against Denver. LA went 2-1 in those games when James started.
James and the Lakers squared off against the Nuggets twice in this first month of the season. He put up 19 points, nine assists and seven rebounds in the Lakers' 110-99 loss in Denver. He then bounced back four days later to lead the Lakers to a 121-110 win in LA. while scoring 26 points, grabbing six boards and eight assists.
James did not play in LA’s 122-109 loss in Denver in January. He did score 30 points and recorded nine rebounds in the Lakers 126-108 blowout win against Denver in December this season.
The LA star could have some favorable matchups against the Nuggets, as the latter does not have many athletic wings with the size to slow down James.
Denver coach Michael Malone may use a lot of forward Aaron Gordon to defend LeBron James. Gordon is super athletic and plays with an energy that could wear down James. He may also be used to compete in the paint with Anthony Davis.
If Gordon is on Davis, then James can take advantage of a smaller defender on him and drive towards the rim. LA will also likely try to create switches to draw Jokic on to James on the perimeter so James can take advantage of Jokic’s weak perimeter defense.
James has played in the playoffs in 16 seasons. He averages 28.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 7.1 assists. He is averaging 23.4 points, 10.0 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game during these playoffs.
Game 1 of the Western Conference finals tips off at 8:30 pm ET on Tuesday. Games 1 and 2 will be in Denver, where the Nuggets are undefeated during the playoffs.
