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When the Los Angeles Lakers acquired Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans, most pundits assumed the team would finish with the best record in the Western Conference during the 2019-20 season.
Those insiders were correct, as the Lakers will be the No. 1 seed out West once the 2020 playoffs start. LeBron James and Davis have meshed even better than most expected, while head coach Frank Vogel has helped the Lakers become an elite defensive unit in his first year at the helm.
In any other season, the Lakers getting the No. 1 seed would be great. However, this 2019-20 campaign has been one for the history books. Games were suspended in March after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert contracted COVID-19. While the season has resumed at Walt Disney World, there are no fans in attendance and players are away from their families, which can be mentally and emotionally draining.
With that said, here are three reasons the Lakers getting the No. 1 seed isn't all it's cracked up to be.
1. No home-court advantage
With no fans in attendance, there's no home-court advantage in the 2020 playoffs. The Lakers won't be playing in front of a packed Staples Center crowd cheering for them all night and booing the opponents at every turn.
For Los Angeles to win the 2020 title, they will truly have to play like the best team every night since games will be at a neutral site. Sometimes in the playoffs, a home team can win a game despite playing poorly because of the energy the fans are giving them.
Unfortunately for the Lakers, they won't have that luxury in Orlando.
2. No. 8 seed has momentum coming in from beating No. 9
James said on Monday after defeating the Denver Nuggets that L.A. is not in “playoff mode,” which is fine since the team has time to prepare and get mentally ready.
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The problem is that whichever team the Lakers face in the first round of the playoffs, that squad is going to be on a roll and already playing with that playoff mindset. It's harder than it looks just to flip the switch once postseason games start and the Lakers only have a few players on the roster with playoff experience outside of LeBron.
As dominant as Davis was in New Orleans, it's worth mentioning that he only got out of the first round once. So while the Lakers will be favored to win their first-round series, it may not be that easy since their opponent is going to be coming in with a lot of positive energy and momentum.
3. Second round could be tough
The Lakers will face the winner of the Nos. 4 and 5 matchup in the second round of the playoffs if they take care of business in the first round. As it stands, Los Angeles would take on the winner of the Houston Rockets–Oklahoma City Thunder series, but that could change with the seeding games still being played.
A second-round series against James Harden and Russell Westbrook would be very tough. Even if the Lakers win, they would likely be exhausted heading into the Western Conference Finals and we have to remember that Davis is prone to injuries and LeBron is 35 years old.
After beating Denver on Monday, the Lakers improved to 52-18 on the season, which matches the team’s best 70-game start since 2009-10. That's the season the late great Kobe Bryant led Los Angeles to the title over the Boston Celtics in seven games.
Lakers fans are hoping this season nets the same outcome.
