1. The Trail Blazers cannot stop the Los Angeles Lakers from scoring with LeBron James and Anthony Davis
LeBron James and Anthony Davis are the most talented superstar duo in the league right now and are arguably the most talented overall duo since Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal played together in LA.
Yes, I think AD is better than Dwyane Wade was during the Miami Heat run and that LeBron and AD edge out the duo of Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry. But I digress.
One of the things that make LeBron and Davis so good together is that they present one of the most unstoppable plays in basketball right now: the pick and roll between the two. Watching these two operate under the pick and roll this season has been beautiful and it will continue in the playoffs and the Blazers have nothing to stop it.
It takes a lot to even consider stopping a six-eight forward who is physically menacing but can distribute like an elite point guard coming off of a screen and either driving to the basket or dishing it to one of the best finishers around the rim of this generation.
The Blazers’ only chance in stopping this defensively is camping Hassan Whiteside in the paint and hoping that he can slow the Lakers down but with only one legitimate big defender, and the fact that LeBron and AD are so talented at finishing around the rim, the Blazers are going to struggle, a lot, in simply containing these two.