Keeler: Lakers fans at Ball Arena admit it: Nikola Jokic scares them to death. “The Nuggets could beat us.”

If you ripped the names and logos off the front of the jerseys and looked just at blind resumes, the Nuggets take this bad boy in five games.

“I get the chills with that, man,” Rudy Perez told me as he took a reflective sip off his can of Modelo an hour before Game 1 between Denver and the Los Angeles Lakers. “Because this could happen. The (Nuggets) could beat us.”

Perez wore a nervous look and a gold Lakers replica jersey with Magic Johnson’s iconic ‘32’ on the back. Rudy’s lived in Denver the last three decades, but he was born in California. And he’s never been able to let one of his first loves, the Lakers, completely go, truth be told.

“People have (said to me), ‘Yeah, we’re gonna win,’” Perez said. He lofted his beer. “Get 17 of (these) in them, then they’ll talk.”

Get 17 in them during a two-hour window, they’ll be in the hospital.

“Oh, they’re polite so far,” Perez laughed when asked about the, ahem, love he got from Nuggets fans early Tuesday evening. He raised his can again. “But get a few more of these in them, and it’ll be the worst things ever.”

So much history. So much … well, hate.

The Lakers faithful in Colorado? Hey, they get it. National brand. Generational dominance. Eternal dream-killers. Magic. Worthy. Kobe. King James. A 7-0 series record vs. Denver in the postseason, all-time.

When you’re the Yankees of the West Coast, there’s no middle ground. No grey area. No lukewarm fuzzies. Love. Hate. Pick a side, pal.

“It’s our greatness,” Perez continued. “I mean, when you win so many championships and you’re the one on top of the totem pole, everyone hates the top. Until they’re there.”

They were here again Tuesday night for Game 1, but in somewhat lesser numbers than usual, given that Chopper Circle’s become one of the Lakers’ favorite home-away-from-home neighborhoods. Ball Arena officials pegged the number of purple shirts in the crowd during the first period in the hundreds instead of the thousands while the top-seeded Nuggets were storming to an early 34-19 lead.

“I think when people who are fans of the Lakers say, ‘Lakers in six,’ it’s more of a hope thing,” chuckled Nelson Castro, a Los Angeles fan who calls Broomfield home. “If it goes seven, we’re not winning that Game 7 in Denver. There’s just no way. I think the longer this series goes, the more it favors Denver.”

Castro grew up in the South Gate region of L.A., roughly 10 miles from Crypto.com Arena. He met his future wife Sarah in New York and moved to the metro during the pandemic, launching a “Colorado Lakers Fans” Facebook group shortly thereafter. And he ain’t too proud to admit it: Given the lack of height on the Lakers bench, Nuggets center Nikola Jokic scares him witless.

“I think (the Lakers) need to get Game 1,” Castro offered before the contest tipped off. “I think their chances drop by 40% if they don’t take Game 1. That’s when (the Lakers) are the most rested. One thing that’s going for Denver as well is the schedule for the games, where it’s every other night. That does not bode well for the Lakers.”

A lot of ink and oxygen has gone into the fact that the Lake Show had never dropped a postseason series to the Nuggs. But what gets mentioned less often — in fact, almost not at all — is that the better seed between the two franchises has gone 6-1 in those postseason meetings. And the ’23 Western Conference Finals are the first time since 1979 that the Nuggets have the stronger seed and the home court against L.A.. Bonus: The West’s top dog is 5-0 whenever the Nuggs and Lakers have met in the playoffs.

When told about that last stat, Perez got the chills again.

“You know what? I’m putting up a good front to all my friends and everything,” he said, taking another quiet sip. “But the Nuggets have a real good chance of taking this one.”

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