Westbrook gives a big gift to the Lakers! The Nuggets have been severely damaged, and the only strong opponent in the Western Conference is the Thunder?

As we all know, the Lakers without games are often the strongest. Yesterday, the Nuggets defeated the Rockets in an away game, which dropped the Rockets to fifth place in the Western Conference, helping the Lakers rise to third place in the Western Conference. Today, the Kings defeated the Nuggets in an away game with an upset of 128 to 123. After this battle, the Kings ended their eight-game losing streak, and the Nuggets' The record has reached 12 wins and 4 losses, only 0.5 games ahead of the Lakers, who are third in the Western Conference. As long as the Lakers beat the Jazz tomorrow, they can tie the Nuggets in record. And because of the division ranking, the Lakers can overtake the Nuggets and become second in the Western Conference. It can be said that the Kings and Nuggets have given the Lakers continuous gifts.

Looking back on this game, the performance of Kings guard Westbrook was crucial. Westbrook played 30 minutes, 9 of 16, 2 of 6 three-pointers, 21 points, 6 rebounds, 11 assists, 1 steal and 1 block. He scored 15 points in the final quarter to help the Kings defeat the Nuggets. He not only avenged being abandoned by the Nuggets, but also gave the Lakers a divine assist. For the Kings, this victory was a break from a long drought. After losing eight games in a row, they desperately needed a victory to boost their morale. For the Nuggets, what was worse than losing this game was the team's wave of injuries.

In the last game against the Rockets, Nuggets forward Gordon suffered a hamstring strain. After the game, Nuggets coach Adelman revealed that Gordon may be sidelined for a period of time due to injury. Adelman said that Gordon is currently seeking multiple opinions to determine the severity of his hamstring strain and how long he will be absent. In addition, Nuggets guard Braun has missed 5 consecutive games due to injury, which is even worse for the Nuggets, who already have insufficient lineup depth. You must know that the Nuggets' substitutes are already weak. They rely heavily on the performance of the starting players. Now that the starting players are injured continuously, the following schedule will be very troublesome for the Nuggets.

More importantly, Gordon injured his leg in the playoffs last season, and now he is injured again. No one can guarantee whether it will affect his competitive state. The regular season has just begun, and the Nuggets have suffered continuous injuries. If they cannot solve the injury problem, then even if Jokic is brave and the team has a good record in the regular season, it will not go far in the playoffs. As for the Rockets, although they look very strong so far this season, they have actually never won against the strong teams in the Western Conference, especially the top eight teams in the Western Conference. They typically cannot fight tough battles and need to further prove themselves.

Looking at it this way, this season is really the best opportunity for the Lakers to compete for the championship. Their strongest opponent in the Western Conference is basically the Thunder. Although the Thunder currently seems to be the best in the Western Conference, the Lakers who welcome back James will not be without the ability to fight as long as everyone remains healthy. In a recent interview, Lakers player Laravia said: LeBron's comeback has brought to our team the qualities that I think we lacked before, a higher-dimensional passing vision, and his overall dominance on the offensive end. Whether it's a positional battle or a transition attack, this energy can be felt as long as the ball is in his hands. "

In the eyes of Lakers players, James' return will make the Lakers stronger and truly enter the championship ranks. When Doncic recently talked about the prospects of the Lakers, he directly stated: "Our goal is to win the championship. This is the direction of our efforts." "It is worth mentioning that the Lakers have recently undergone management changes, which shows that the new boss is ambitious and wants to make some big moves this season. Although there were previous reports that the Lakers are focusing on 2027, it now seems that focusing on the present this season may be a better choice.