Lakers News: Expert Can't Wait For This LA Playoff Rewatch

Neither can we!

This season, your Los Angeles Lakers are hoping to improve on their surprise run to the 2023 Western Conference Finals with some reinforcements (and probably, let's be real, a D'Angelo Russell trade) and another year of chemistry-building.

After LA's 2023-24 schedule was announced last week, fans started circling their calendars for their most-anticipated matchups of the season.

Zach Harper of The Athletic singles out a big rematch, which also happens to be LA's first contest of the year: the Lakers' October 24th bout against the reigning champion Denver Nuggets, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on TNT, on the night Denver will be receiving its 2023 championship rings.

"We’ll see the banner raised and to what size furniture we can best compare to the size of the rings," Harper writes. "Then, we’ll see the Nuggets begin their quest to try to repeat. The Lakers will try to ruin the celebration as much as they can, if that’s even possible, and try to begin to avenge the sweep the Nuggets laid down on them in last year’s conference finals. We’ll also see [All-NBA Nuggets center] Nikola Jokic start a possible third MVP season while LeBron James begins the 21st season of his beyond historic career."

LA's uneven 2022-23 regular season stabilized when the club's front office jettisoned the contracts of over-the-hill guards Russell Westbrook, Patrick Beverley and Kendrick Nunn. An increased role for Austin Reaves, the improved shooting of D'Angelo Russell and Malik Beasley (at least, during the regular season), and the size and shooting of Rui Hachimura helped the Lakers finish their year strong and nab the No. 7 seed and a 43-39 record. That cumulative finish undersold just how good the club was with its new additions, and it promptly beat two higher-seeded clubs (the second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies, who to be fair had some major frontcourt injuries, and the sixth-seeded Golden State Warriors) en route to the Western Conference Finals. Los Angeles was swept by the eventual champion Nuggets.

The additions of Gabe Vincent and Taurean Prince in free agency, coupled with the hoped-for growth of re-signed 25-year-olds Reaves and Hachimura (plus, maybe, Max Christie?) should help the Lakers improve their season record. Will they kick things off with a win? We'll find out in just two months.

Are you following us on Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube yet? Join the conversation as we discuss the latest Lakers news and rumors with fans like you!