Draymond Green Brilliantly Explains How Lakers Can Beat Nuggets in West Finals

• Draymond Green has made his prediction for the NBA Western Conference finals matchup
• The Golden State Warriors veteran highlighted the key to the Nuggets versus Lakers series
• Los Angeles won the series when they met Denver in the 2020 Western Conference finals

The Los Angeles Lakers and the Denver Nuggets face off in a highly anticipated Western Conference finals, with each team looking to book their spot in the NBA finals.

Golden State Warriors veteran, Draymond Green, whose team was eliminated by the Lakers in the second round, feels the 17-time NBA champions will win the series in six games.

The Lakers and the Nuggets met in the 2020 conference finals in the bubble, which the Lakers won in five games.

However, both teams have undergone significant changes since then. The Lakers were eliminated in the playoffs in the first round in 2021 and failed to qualify in 2022. They made wholesale changes to their roster in February and have looked like a team capable of winning a championship.

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Meanwhile, the Nuggets reached the semifinals in 2021 before losing to the Warriors in the first round in 2022. They finished as the top seed in the Western Conference and are one of the favorites to win the title this season.

Green makes his playoff prediction

Green, who has won four NBA championships with the Warriors, identified the key to this series - the two-time MVP, Nikola Jokic.

He brilliantly laid a blueprint for the Lakers to stop the Serbian big man.

"It is going to be on the Lakers to... you either [have] to stop Joker [Jokic] from passing or stop him from scoring. The easier one to do is to stop him from getting assists. Can't allow him to get both. If he gets both, you lose. It's very simple. Denver's ready man, I think Denver is ready. Denver's taking that next step. They're doing it," Green said, via SI.

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Jokic enters this matchup after dropping three triple-doubles in his last four games against the Phoenix Suns in the second round.

In that series, he averaged 34.5 points, 13.2 rebounds, and 10.3 assists while shooting 59.4% from the field, per ESPN.

Green feels 2020 will repeat itself:

"I think the Lakers are at the bubble, and I think the Lakers take it. I've got the Lakers in six, closing out at home in six. That is my prediction. That's what I'm rolling with and I'm sticking to it."

Jokic will definitely give the Lakers plenty of problems with his elite playmaking and scoring. The question is - can he be stopped?

Lakers vs. Nuggets preview

Sports Brief earlier previewed the Lakers vs. Nuggets series, highlighting key players and previous matchups.

For the Lakers to advance to the NBA Finals, they will need LeBron James and Anthony Davis to be outstanding basketball.

The Nuggets will want Jokic and Jamal Murray to wreak havoc as they did in the second round of the playoffs.