Los Angeles Lakers: Predicting the playoffs if they started today
Round One vs. the Memphis Grizzlies
Even though the Los Angeles Lakers have been blown out by the Grizzlies this season, having to play them in the first round might not be a bad thing considering the other options the Lakers could face if the regular season was extended.
The Portland Trailblazers, New Orleans Pelicans, and the San Antonio Spurs are all 3.5 games back of the Grizzlies for the eighth seed, and they all seem like tougher matchups in a series with the Lakers.
Damian Lillard has already proven this season he can take over a game against the Lakers, the New Orleans Pelicans have a more veteran laden roster very familiar with the Lakers, and the Spurs are lead by Greg Popovich and that always gives them a punchers chance in a playoff series. So, in other words, the Lakers should be rooting for the playoffs to start sooner rather than later.
Sure, the Grizzlies are stacked with tons of young talent, including the explosive rookie of the year front runner Ja Morant. Yet their roster just seems like it lacks the playoff experience to pull off one of the biggest playoff upsets of all-time.
The Grizzlies could sneak a game or two away from the Lakers if Los Angeles comes out flat and does not take them seriously enough. But considering this will be the Lakers’ first playoff appearance in six years and LeBron’s first appearance in the West they should come in ready and locked in.
In the regular season series, the Lakers were able to easily defeat the Grizzlies in the two games in Los Angeles. Yet in Memphis, it was a completely different story, and one of the games the Lakers got blown out and the other they won by one point.
In the Lakers’ defense, the game they got crushed was their third game in five days, but there is no excuse to lose to an inferior team by almost 20 points. To make matters worse, that bad loss was the Lakers’ second to last loss of the season and gave the Grizzlies their late-season confidence.
The Lakers beat them by twelve 8 days prior to that but losing to them like that in their last meeting with each other would make this playoff match up interesting.
Looking up and down the roster, the Lakers pretty much have an advantage at every position besides the point guard spot, but the Lakers should be able to figure out ways to stifle Morant in his first playoff series.
In this match up the Lakers are rewarded for having the best record in the West by having to play a team with little to no playoff experience. This should allow them to shake off their time away from the court and use this series as a warmup for the much tougher matchups down the road.
Morant proved in the NCAA tournament that he can shine when the lights are the brightest in a postseason scenario, and in a series, he could have one spectacular game to get a win for Memphis at home. However, due to their playoff inexperience the prediction for this series is a quick four game sweep by the Lakers.