Los Angeles Lakers: Who should Laker fans root for, Rockets or Thunder?
By Jason Reed
The Los Angeles Lakers will play either the Houston Rockets or Oklahoma City Thunder.
After dropping Game 1 to the Portland Trail Blazers, the Los Angeles Lakers responded by winning four games in a row and conducting a gentleman’s sweep to win the team’s first playoff series since 2012.
The Lakers are now awaiting their fate on who they will be playing in round two of the NBA Playoffs. The team could have gotten that answer on Monday night if the Houston Rockets emerged victoriously, but the Oklahoma City Thunder prevailed, forcing a Game 7.
The Rockets and Thunder will now play a decisive Game 7 on Wednesday night to decide who will move on and face the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round of the playoffs. These are two polar opposite teams, as well, so the Lakers really do have two completely different outlooks.
That raises the question:
Who should the Los Angeles Lakers want to play in the second round?
We break this down in the latest episode of the Lake Show Life Podcast. When it comes down to it, the Oklahoma City Thunder looks to be the more favorable matchup.
However, as noted in the podcast, there is a possibility of the Lakers playing the Rockets and handling them very easily — in a similar manner to the Trail Blazers. While a series with the Rockets has more potential to go deep into Game 6 and 7, it also has more potential to yield four blowout wins.
Other topics discussed in the podcast include:
Alex Caruso’s emergence as the Los Angeles Lakers’ third star:
Yes, you read that right. Alex Caruso has been really good in the NBA Playoffs thus far and has emerged as the third most important player on the Los Angeles Lakers. He does not fill up the box scores on any given night but his defense in the backcourt is extremely important to this team.
Brandon Ingram wins Most Improved Player
Former Laker Brandon Ingram wins the Most Improved Player award this season after an all-star year. We discuss Ingram’s potential ceiling, whether or not he could have done this as a Laker and reflectively look back at the Anthony Davis trade and how it was great for both parties.
Next. 3 bigs in the draft to replace current bigs. dark
The next episode of the Lake Show Life Podcast will be posted on Thursday, September 3 once we know who the Lakers are playing in Round 2. If you like the podcast, be sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!