Los Angeles Lakers: Breaking down the potential first-round matchups

Los Angeles Lakers: Matchup five – San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs took a big hit that may keep them out of the playoffs altogether, losing center LaMarcus Aldridge for the remainder of the season due to shoulder surgery. They are currently 27-36, placing them at twelfth in the Western Conference standings.

The Lakers lead the season series 3-0, with their last win being on February 4 in a blowout win in Los Angeles.

The Lakers are overwhelmingly better in every position apart from point guard, where Dejounte Murray has the edge over Avery Bradley. The loss of LaMarcus Aldridge puts the Spurs in an incredibly tough spot, where Trey Lyles and Jakob Poeltl will have to match up with Anthony Davis and Javale McGee.

The Spurs play at around the league average pace of play, don’t shoot three-point shots at an extremely high volume, have a relatively average offense and one of the league’s worst defenses. All of those stats are bound to go down with the loss of their second-best player and DeMar DeRozan’s running mate.

The Spurs do not force many turnovers on the defensive side either, and they happen to be the second-worst offensive rebounding team in the league. The Lakers will control the glass in a series against San Antonio and give them nightmares defensively, especially in whatever limited offense they will be running through DeMar DeRozan and Dejounte Murray.

While Greg Popovich may be one of the greatest coaches in the history of basketball, he will not be able to work any miracles with this team, and a sweep of the Spurs should be expected if this series were to be the one that the Lakers found themselves in.