The Los Angeles Lakers will take on the Phoenix Suns after defeating the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night. LA is a dangerous No. 7 seed as they were competing for first place in the West until Anthony Davis fell to injury midway through the regular season.
Now, healthy and hungry, the Lakers play the Suns in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. This is a series stacked with stars and could go the distance, as these teams match up well against each other. Even though the Lakers are the lower-ranked team, they shouldn't be slept on, as they have the star power to beat the Suns.
LeBron James is still very much LeBron James, Anthony Davis is arguably the best player in the league, and Los Angeles has the depth to go the distance with anybody. With that said, here are three reasons why the Lakers will beat the Suns in the NBA Playoffs.
LeBron James
Does this need any explanation at this point? LeBron has been a top player in the NBA since his rookie year back in 2003. At 36 years old, James doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon. He claims his ankle injury will never 100% heal, but he seemed like his normal self during Wednesday night's game against the Warriors.
The Suns don't necessarily have anyone that can defend James (though, who does?) and he's a very capable defender. It's possible he sticks to Devin Booker throughout the series and locks down the Suns' best scorer. If so, Phoenix could be in trouble.
Anthony Davis
The pleasure of having arguably the best two players in the league on the same team is that the Lakers constantly have favorable matchups. Davis can play inside and out, guard all five positions, and is just a nightmare for opposing defenses. Deandre Ayton will do his best to slow down Davis, but it likely won't be enough.
Luckily for the Suns, Ayton has the ability to guard the perimeter a bit. However, Davis can move like a point guard. Davis has to be double-teamed to truly slow him down and the Suns just don't have the manpower to do so consistently.
The Lakers defense and championship experience
The Lakers are one of the best defensive teams in the league. Dennis Schroder is a solid perimeter defender, LeBron and Davis can lockdown nearly every position, Andre Drummond is a great rim protector, and Montrezl Harrell is a great defender off of the bench when he's in the rotation.
The Suns' offense is their strength, but the Los Angeles Lakers match them in nearly every aspect. The Lakers should be able to force Phoenix to play their style of basketball with stellar defense, forcing turnovers, and running their offense through James and Davis.
At the end of the day, the series between the Suns and the Lakers should be a fun one to watch. It may go six or seven games deep, which if that's the case, the Lakers should be able to move onto the second round. They have the championship experience from last year's NBA Finals appearance to push themselves through adversity. The Lakers will lean on James and Davis whenever it gets tough and they should be able to lead their team to the promise land.
Follow Us
Subscribe