Kentavious Caldwell-Pope makes surprising admission about Nuggets-Lakers playoff series

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope left the Denver Nuggets this offseason, signing a three-year, $66M deal with the Orlando Magic. His departure came with a bit of a truth-telling session during a recent sit-down on "The Draymond Green Show," during which Caldwell-Pope specifically discussed the Nuggets' 2023-24 playoffs and the first-round matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Among the many comments made by Caldwell-Pope was one that's bound to grab the attention of a few Lakers fans. After the Nuggets swept the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals just one year earlier, the two teams met again in the 2024 NBA playoffs. While the Nuggets defeated the Lakers in five games, that series included two buzzer-beaters by Jamal Murray and was much closer than the 4-1 result indicates.

It appears the Nuggets felt that way also, as Caldwell-Pope told Green that the Nuggets had "no gas" and "felt like the Lakers should" have beaten them.

While the comments are eye-opening, it's not a complete shocker considering how close the series was to being 2-2 heading into Game 5 instead of 3-1 in favor of Denver. But even after that series, and the Nuggets dropping the first two games in the next round against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Denver rallied to reel off three straight wins and looked well-positioned to advance to the West finals again.

In the end, Caldwell-Pope's comments about the Nuggets having no gas proved true, as they dropped the final two games against the Timberwolves, including a 45-point loss in Game 6 on the road.