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Dwayne Wells believes, baby.
He believes his Lakers are up Cherry Creek. Sans paddle.
“Even though I am a Lakers fan, it’s probably going to be Nuggets in six, low-key,” Wells, an Air Force man and L.A. fanatic from Clovis, N.M., told me as we shivered outside Ball Arena an hour before Game 1 of Nuggets-Lakers.
“I hate it, man. (Nikola) Jokic last year was freaking crazy and (expletive) me off. And (Jamal) Murray was crazy, too. Oh my gosh. But them two — and Michael Porter Jr. might go off.
“I mean, we might get two (wins) off. But I’m just going (to Game 1) for the experience. I already know the outcome, in my head.”
So do the oddsmakers. As of Saturday afternoon, the defending NBA champs were still the betting favorite to win the nasty Western Conference (FanDuel: +310, DraftKings.com, +300) by a healthy margin over Oklahoma City (+1300, +1600); Dallas (+1500, +1600); and Minnesota (+1900, +2200). LeBron or no LeBron.
“They’re terrifying, let’s just put it that way,” Lakers fan Skyler Hertz told me Saturday before tip. “This is the one series I would worry about in the West, for sure. I’m not worried about OKC or Minnesota. (The Nuggets) deserved the No. 1 spot in the West this year.”
Hertz and his wife, Loren, drove to our fair burg all the way from Grant, Iowa, population 83, an hour down a long and lonesome highway east of Omaha.
“Because I’ve always been a LeBron fan,” Skyler explained. “Just following him around pretty much ’til he’s done.”
So one more year, then? Two?
“I think he’s gonna do one more,” Hertz replied. “It’s hard. He’s gonna do one. But he’s gonna be low-key about it. I don’t think he’s gonna make a whole farewell deal.”
A few yards away, Dakotah Taylor of Colorado Springs waited for the gates to open in a purple Lakers jersey while pal Caiden Orosco repped Nuggets blue.
“Lakers in 4,” Taylor said.
“Why?” I asked.
“Karma,” he replied.
“What word would you use to describe the Nuggs this year?”
A pause.
“Annoying,” Taylor replied.
“So not, ‘Terrifying.'”
“If it wasn’t ‘annoying,’ I’d say, ‘Little Brother,'” he laughed. “Because they’ve only beaten us one playoff series in their existence. And they think they’re God’s greatest gift now.”
“Let us have one,” Orosco interjected. “We can have one.”
Taylor shook his head at that one.
I reminded the pair that history in Nuggets-Lakers in the postseason says the better seed has always come out on top in the end.
“All we’ve gotta do,” Taylor countered, “is steal one here.”
Good luck with that.
“They’re scary, OK?” Wells said. “They’re scary.”
“So, sort of, ‘Terrifying.'”
“Because of that man named Nikola Jokic. And that’s all you need. Oh, my goodness. That’s all you need. That man is the franchise right there.
“And I respected them last year. And I feared them last year. But I had kind of the same thought last year. But I respect them more now. Especially with the ring that they won last year and all that stuff. I definitely respect them more than I did last year.”
Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon (50) drives to the basket against Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) in the first quarter during the first round of the NBA playoffs at Ball Arena in Denver on Saturday, April 20, 2024. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)
Hertz said Lakers in 6.
Check that.
He hopes Lakers in 6.
“Four to two, Lakers,” he continued. “And the only reason I say that is because they’re meeting them way earlier (in the postseason) and LeBron’s a lot healthier. And (D’Angelo Russell) was not even a factor last year and he’s a factor this year.
“So it’s going to be way better than it was last year. It’s going to be way better than it was in last year’s (Western Conference Finals) for sure.”
The Game 1 weather, though?
Not so much.
“I’m here for the experience,” Wells said with chattering teeth. “I do feel like I know the outcome of this. But I will support my team. And go through the heartbreak.”
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