Los Angeles Lakers: 5 Reasons why the Blazers can win a playoff series

The Portland Trail Blazers could shock the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Los Angeles Lakers have been all over the NBA news cycle as of late. Now the hot takes have joined the weather in Orlando! Two NBA analysts have named the Portland Trail Blazers as a potential team to upset the Lakers in the first round if they meet. Lake Show Life shows the reasons why you can’t call them crazy.

Los Angeles Lakers fans, the NBA is officially back in business! This is the week when the teams start scrimmages on Wednesday, July 22nd (Meaning the Lake Show Life Lessons post-game reports are back!). The scrimmages start the fast track to the NBA season which officially resumes on July 30 with the Lakers playing the Los Angeles Clippers on TNT.

The Los Angeles Lakers are a lock for the first seed in the Western Conference barring some unforeseen major problems (Also read: Falling off a cliff!). Bottom line, with the Lakers coasting with a 5.5 game lead over the Clippers with eight games left, they would have to implode and the Clippers would still need help. For example.

• The Lakers would have to lose on restart night to their Staples Center rivals Clippers. 
• Finish the season 1-7 or tank the season or lose all of the remaining games.
• Then the Los Angeles Clippers would have to go 7-1 or run the table at 8-0.

With that highly unlikely scenario out of the way, the narrative has shifted to the first-round opponent for the Los Angeles Lakers. It seems that the Lakers have quite a list of potential first-round opponents. Out of the 22 teams in the Orlando bubble, 13 teams are from the Western Conference. Here’s how this works out.

• The NBA invited all the teams that were within six games of the eighth seed to Orlando.
• With the Memphis Grizzlies hanging on to the final spot, five teams have a mathematical chance to make the playoffs.
• If the ninth seed finishes within four games of the eighth seed then they still have a chance. How you ask?
• There’s a playoff where the ninth seed would have to beat the eighth seed in back-to-back games to advance as the new eighth seed.

The story begins with one of those five teams chasing Memphis for a potential first-round matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers, the Portland Trail Blazers.

The interesting story that got lost in all of the planning for the reset was the Portland Trail Blazers was the only team to vote against the league resuming in Orlando. A potential theory for the playoff format is Damian Lillard’s public comments about not wanting to play without a chance for the postseason. Then Charles Barkley made things interesting.

Granted Charles Barkley is a favorite of Lake Show Life (Especially this writer!) because he always finds ways to find content to cover in a complete sports purgatory! Charles Barkley covers the entire spectrum from LeBron James’ point guard duties to open invitations!

• Lakers Rumors: How close Charles Barkley came to being a Laker! 
• Lakers Rumors: The time Kobe Bryant cussed out Charles Barkley!
• Los Angeles Lakers: Is Charles Barkley right about LeBron James?
• Los Angeles Lakers: Charles Barkley invites LeBron James to the TNT Studios for one night!
• Los Angeles Lakers: Barkley is right, Blazers can beat LA!

In any other instance, the Lake Show life staff would consider this one of Charles Barkley’s “GUUUURRAAAAANNNNTEEESSSS!” Considering that he believed that Portland would make the NBA Finals last year, most will roll their eyes at this prediction.

But he’s not the only NBA analyst that believes in the flavor of the Portland Trail Blazers Kool-Aid. A couple of weeks prior, Jay Williams was on ESPN talking about the same possibilities.

Granted this entire discussion could be a moot point considering where the Portland Trail Blazers are sitting in the standings.

Memphis Grizzlies:        32-33
Portland Trail Blazers:  29-37
New Orleans Pelicans: 28-36
Sacramento Kings:        28-36
San Antonio Spurs:       27-36 
Phoenix Suns:                26-39

Let’s take the Spurs and the Suns out of the equation. San Antonio will be without LaMarcus Aldridge for the rest of the season (Shoulder surgery) and Phoenix is just not good enough.

Looking at the board above, the Blazers were 29-37 when the season stopped, leaving them 3.5 games back of the Memphis Grizzlies for the eighth playoff spot in the Western Conference. However, they are a game in the loss column behind the Pelicans and Kings.

Conspiracy theorists believe the NBA wants the New Orleans Pelicans to have the chance to face the Grizzlies in a play-in game for the final seed instead of Portland for TV ratings. Most NBA fans and Lakers’ websites believe that all LeBron James and Anthony Davis have to show up and breathe and it will be a sweep. No.

Lake Show Life sees a possible upset if the Los Angeles Lakers play the Portland Trail Blazers in the postseason. Let’s look at the reasons why.