Even though the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder are at a talent level miles ahead of the competition in the Western Conference, there is still a chance both teams don’t make it to the conference final. The Lakers completely revamped their roster and there may be a lengthy adjustment period while the Thunder may not be able to have a repeat performance in 2012-13.
There are other capable teams in the conference that can ruin a Lakers-Thunder series, including Karl’s Nuggets. Karl spoke to the Denver Post and he talked about the Western Conference is not just about the Lakers and Thunder clashing.
What I basically say is — that’s summer talk. You have two teams that probably have the most talented players, especially in their top seven, but it’s summer talk. … I have a lot of respect for both of those teams. … But that doesn’t mean we never thought we could overtake them. Our goal this summer was: How do we get better? And how do we move closer to the top-echelon teams?
The Nuggets’ biggest acquisition this summer was adding Andre Iguodala to the team. Iguodala was a part of the Dwight Howard deal and the athletic forward will be looking to make a big splash in Denver. The Nuggets were already an explosive team to begin with, but they will be even better now that Iguodala joined the team.
Denver pushed the Lakers to seven games last post-season and those have had some great series in the past. With both franchises improving their rosters, a Nuggets-Lakers game in 2012-13 will be very interesting.