While the 2019-20 NBA season is just over one month old, teams have already begun to stake their claim as the league's best. In the Western Conference, it appears as if the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers have all emerged as legitimate contenders to represent the West in the NBA Finals
At least that's how Rockets guard Austin Rivers sees it:
“It’s gonna come down to one of us three in the Conference Finals,” Rivers said, via Kelly Iko of The Athletic. “[The Clippers] and the Lakers are going to be the team to beat. At least that’s how we feel. The only teams in our way.”
Rivers, of course, has both a past and a present with the Clippers, having spent parts of four seasons there during his career, including his two highest single-season scoring average years. Currently, his father, Doc, coaches the team. The two times the clubs have met this season saw Rivers log significant minutes off the bench, with Houston claiming the first matchup on Nov. 13 before the Clippers responded with a win of their own last Friday.
Despite including them in his three best clubs in the West argument, Rivers and the Rockets have yet to face off with the new-look Lakers this season. Still, it's not hard to see why they were included. At 15-2 entering play Tuesday, they boast the league's best mark, along with two of the game's premier players in LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
The two teams will finally lock horns on Jan. 18.
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