It became clear during the second half of the regular season that the Los Angeles Lakers were a title contender. All they had to do was sneak in to the playoffs, or play-in.
Before you could blink, LeBron James and company steamrolled through the No. 2 seed Grizzles and the defending champion Warriors before running into an absolute buzzsaw in the Nuggets, who are the prohibitive favorites over the Heat to capture their first championship.
While the Lakers got swept by Denver, three of the losses were by two possessions or less. With a proper offseason, it stands to reason that Los Angeles will put up a better fight — and possibly even beat — the Nikola Jokic-led brigade in a potential rematch next season.