PREVIEW: The Western Conference's second-seeded Denver Nuggets will face the seventh-seeded Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the 2024 NBA playoffs. This is a rematch of the 2023 Western Conference finals, when the Nuggets swept the Lakers on their way to the championship. Denver enters this matchup with elite three-point shooting efficiency ranked second and a league-leading offensive rating of 120.3 points per 100 possessions, while Los Angeles counters with the league's most efficient attacks at the rim and a league-high free throw rate. Denver swept the regular-season series 3-0, rolling to three wins by an average of 10 points and never trailing in the first two meetings. The depth of this playoff series will likely hinge on execution in crunch moments. Los Angeles struggles defensively against attacking rim shots and sits among the league's worst in offensive rebounding at 23.3 percent, while Denver's poor rebounding at 22.5 percent could become a liability against a team that generates numerous scoring opportunities. In their regular-season meetings, Nikola Jokic demonstrated why he remains nearly impossible to stop, collecting 31 points and 16 assists in one matchup while scoring 35 points on 16-for-23 shooting in another stretch. The Lakers face a strategic quandary with Anthony Davis: doubling Jokic leaves shooters open while single coverage proves equally futile, and defensive pressure may tire Davis on the offensive end where he struggled significantly in previous meetings.