3 reasons why the Los Angeles Lakers would beat the Clippers in a series

The Los Angeles Lakers’ team chemistry

Team chemistry is an underrated component of any championship contender. The chemistry of recent title teams like the Toronto Raptors and the Golden State Warriors was a culmination of their key players having a high volume of on-court reps together.

The Lakers and the Clippers both lack the continuity of many of the other playoff teams. Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, and Anthony Davis moved teams the offseason, while LeBron James moved the offseason prior.

However, the Lakers have had far more lineup continuity in the 2019-20 season than the Clippers. The ideal Lakers starting lineup (Avery Bradley, Danny Green, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and JaVale McGee) have played together for 31 out of a tracked 57 games so far this season. Meanwhile, the ideal Clippers starting lineup (Patrick Beverley, Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, Marcus Morris, and Ivica Zubac) have played together for just 7 games.

Yes, part of that is a by-product of the Marcus Morris trade happening near the deadline. However, the Clippers were struggling with on-court continuity even before the deal happened, as evidenced by their most common 2019-20 starting lineup only playing 17 games together.

The difference in player continuity for a newly assembled team has a significant impact on overall team chemistry, and by extension, success. Just ask the 2010-11 Miami Heat when they lost in six games to a significantly less talented team that happened to have superior on-court chemistry.

When the rosters are so evenly matched on paper, I’m pretty comfortable in largely attributing the 5.5-game lead the Lakers have over the Clippers to team chemistry. In a brutal playoff series, where every minor advantage can and will be exploited, the on-court chemistry the Lakers have developed by virtue of playing more games together could be the difference between the two organizations.