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Los Angeles Lakers: The path to the Finals with 1-16 playoff seeding

By Jason Reed

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 06: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers is guarded by Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks during the third quarter at Staples Center on March 06, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 06: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers is guarded by Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks during the third quarter at Staples Center on March 06, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers
(Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers /

Round 2: Los Angeles Lakers (2) vs. Houston Rockets (10)

As the second-seeded team behind the Milwaukee Bucks, the Los Angeles Lakers would get the winner of the seventh seed versus the 10th seed in the second round of the playoffs. Both of those teams are Western Conference teams — the Houston Rockets and Utah Jazz.

If the league stays with the traditional conference-based playoffs then chances are the Lakers would see one of the two teams in the playoffs, anyway. The most likely outcome would be the Utah Jazz in the second round, as they would play the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round.

In this instance, though, we have the lower-seeded Rockets moving on to face the Lakers in the second round. While the Rockets have had an up and down season and the pairing of Russell Westbrook and James Harden is not perfect, I think they have the star power to get past the Jazz in seven games.

Westbrook was playing his best basketball in quite some time after the team traded Clint Capela as it opened up the lane for him to do what he does best: barrel to the rim and finish. His energy tempo and rebounding ability really played up without Capela.

We have also seen how the Rockets have exposed Rudy Gobert in the past. This is a matchup nightmare for the Jazz as they can create mismatches on Gobert and draw him away from the basket, taking away his biggest strength.

As for the series against the Lakers, while the Rockets are a scary team to play this early as they are unlike any other team in the league, the Lakers will be able to figure them out in a seven-game series. I think it goes to six games, but the Lakers have the size and the ability to spread the floor to handle the Rockets’ quirky play style.

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