Lakers Legend's Brutally Honest Message After LA's First Round Exit

The Denver Nuggets eliminated the Los Angeles Lakers again

Apr 27, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) during the / Jason Parkhurst-USA TODAY Sports

The Denver Nuggets eliminated the Los Angeles Lakers for the second-straight season, doing it in five games this time after their four game sweep of LA in last year's Western Conference Finals. While the Lakers were able to get a game off the Nuggets this year, an improvement from last postseason, this elimination came in the first round as opposed to the Western Conference Finals, which adds an increased feeling of disappointment.

In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) after the Lakers were eliminated, NBA and Lakers legend Magic Johnson was brutally honest in his assessment of this series, saying the defending champion Nuggets are simply the mentally and physically tougher team.

And the #1 reason the Lakers can’t beat Denver in a 7 game series is because the Nuggets are mentally and physically tougher than the Lakers.

— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) April 30, 2024

While this may be true, the Nuggets also simply have the better roster, as their production outside of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray is significantly better than what the Lakers have outside of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Everything begins with Jokic and Murray for Denver, but the contributions from their supporting cast cannot be overlooked, especially in this series.

The Lakers have a lot to figure out this summer, as their roster is clearly far from a contender. Any team with LeBron James is expected to contend, so as long as James is in a Lakers uniform, that will be the goal of the of the organization.

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