Western Conference Finals vs. the Los Angeles Clippers
- (Matchup could be either Clippers, Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, or Dallas Mavericks)
There are four teams the Lakers could possibly meet in a Western Conference Finals matchup if the seeds ended up this way with the Clippers, Nuggets, Rockets, and Mavericks all being on the opposite side of the bracket. But there has been one team the Lakers have had their eye on all year and who they will most likely end up facing, and that is their in-house rival Clippers.
This matchup would arguably be the toughest one the Lakers will have to face regardless if it is the Clippers, Nuggets, Rockets, or the Mavericks. The Lakers have had more trouble with all those teams during the regular season, than any of the teams they would have to face in the first couple of rounds.
Obviously the Clippers have given the Lakers the most fits out of any team in that group because they have only beaten the Clippers once out of three tries, and the Clippers have the best star to match up to LeBron James, with the physicality and defensive strength of Kawhi Leonard at their disposal.
The toughest part about facing the Clippers would be their perimeter defense, and their ability to run multiple great defenders at James, with Leonard, Paul George, and Patrick Beverly all having the ability to defend him in spurts.
Like the previous series, this matchup could ultimately come down to home court advantage, because if this series is played in the Staples Center, the Lakers would have the crowd on their side every game regardless of the logo on the floor. It would be the first time in an NBA playoff series that the home team’s star player might be booed at the free-throw line or in opening introductions.
If this series is played with fans in the Staples Center, it could be hard for the Clippers to overcome playing in a hostile environment for 7 straight games, assuming the series goes that long.
Everyone knows about the matchups on the perimeter between Leonard/George and James, yet this series could once again come down to how well Davis plays, because the Clippers lack a solid traditional Center to slow him down. Montrez Harrell is great on defense for his size, but at 6’8″ he can’t be the guy they rely on to shut down Davis on a consistent basis all series.
In the three games these teams played, Davis averaged 26.6 points per game, but in the one game they were able to win, he scored 30 and was a +12 for the game. This pretty much points to Davis having to be dominant in the series, if the Lakers do want to take down a Clippers team that might be the deepest in the league.
Since these two teams are so evenly matched, and the Clippers were able to overcome the Lakers’ home court advantage in the regular-season series, it easy to see this matchup going seven games. Yet considering the Los Angeles Lakers advantage they might receive from the Staples crowd and their size advantage down low, the prediction is the Lakers win the series in a very close game seven.