The Los Angeles Lakers have a tough first playoff challenger in the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Los Angeles Lakers‘ road to the NBA Title is rough. If all goes as expected, the Lakers are going to have to defeat the red-hot Portland Trail Blazers in the first round, the unique and talented Houston Rockets in the second round and the biggest challenger in the West, the Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference Finals.
Then, if the Milwaukee Bucks make the NBA Finals the Lakers will have to dethrone the likely league MVP (who also should be the third player ever to win MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season).
It is not an easy road.
If you are a constant reader here at Lake Show Life then you know the danger that the Portland Trail Blazers bring. The Blazers are one of the most over-qualified eighth seeds in modern history and were the second-hottest team (behind the Phoenix Suns) in the NBA bubble.
I personally have been touting throughout this bubble experience that if the Lakers do not get their shooting right then they could easily be shocked by a team like the Blazers. While I do not think it is the likely outcome, it definitely is an outcome.
But what about the other side of the coin? Sure, the Lakers could be shocked if they play poor basketball (which they were earlier in the bubble), but can they sweep the Blazers? That is also a possibility.
While it is more likely that the Blazers at least steal one game from the Lakers, here are the three main reasons why a sweep could be in the cards.