Los Angeles Lakers: Breaking down the potential first-round matchups
Los Angeles Lakers: Matchup six – Phoenix Suns
Devin Booker has, so far, not lived up to his promise of never missing the playoffs again. He and his Phoenix Suns also don’t seem to be in prime position to make the playoffs this year. At the time of this article, they sit at 26-39, which is good enough for thirteenth in the conference.
The Lakers currently lead the season series 3-0, with the last game being postponed when the season was suspended. Their last victory was on February 10, in a 25 point rout at Staples Center.
The Lakers have the advantage in three separate spots in the starting five comparison. Devin Booker is very clearly above Avery Bradley, while Mikal Bridges and Danny Green are relatively even. Javale McGee’s defensive contributions once again push him over the top when being compared to Aron Baynes.
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The Suns’ pace of play is good enough for ninth in the league currently but is not too far off from where the Lakers stand (eleventh). They rank in the middle of the pack in terms of offensive rating but are in the bottom ten teams in basketball when looking at the defensive side of things.
They are not an amazing rebounding team, but they are not terrible either, just about average. They also do not shoot the three at an incredibly high rate, and overall they are one of the bottom ten to twelve teams in basketball.
Phoenix plays hard, but they are exactly what they look like. A young team, with promising players, but they’re just not there yet in any way whatsoever. They rank anywhere from 18-23 in numerous categories and have the 21st best record in the league.
The Suns very likely won’t be playing in this year’s playoffs yet again. Regardless, if they did make it by some stroke of luck, they’d be a likely four-game sweep candidate for sure. I just can’t imagine a scenario in which the Lakers drop a playoff game to this team.
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That’s how the Los Angeles Lakers stack up to the six new potential playoff matchups. Do you agree? Leave your opinion in the comments and let’s discuss.