Recently, former President of Basketball Operations, Magic Johnson, talked about who the better team is between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Clippers.
With the All-Star break officially over, the second half of the season is ready to get underway for the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers will be heading into the second half of the season with the best record in the Western Conference. Only the Milwaukee Bucks in the East have a better record overall so far.
Despite having some other good teams in the Western Conference, many believe that the West will come down to the Clippers against the Lakers. Since the offseason, the two teams have been battling to put together the best roster possible.
Recently, Magic Johnson talked about the rosters for each of the teams, here’s what he said via Mark Medina.
"“If you look at man-for-man, (the Clippers are) probably better than (the Lakers) in terms of the bench,” Johnson said. “But Anthony Davis and LeBron James, to me they are going to be the key and they are going to have to dominate in that series. Then we’re going to need that third scorer.”"
Johnson brings up the point that the Clippers have more depth than the Lakers as of now. After they got Marcus Morris at the trade deadline and will reportedly have Reggie Jackson coming over now as well, it is hard to argue that.
What might give the Lakers the edge is their two superstars. LeBron James and Anthony Davis are both having MVP caliber seasons, and come playoff time the Lakers will be relying on those two heavily.
While depth is good for the regular season, come playoff time, it’s all about the superstars. The Clippers will likely shorten their rotation in the playoffs, and guys like Jackson, who is a good addition, likely won’t be much of a factor.
As both teams gear up for the playoffs, we certainly hope we get to see the Clippers and the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. Considering how aggressive the Clippers have been trying to improve their team, they are clearly gearing up to make a run at the Lakers in the West.