Lake Show Life
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3 reasons why the Los Angeles Lakers will easily get past the Clippers

By Jason Reed

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - SEPTEMBER 12: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers during the second quarter against the Houston Rockets in Game Five of the Western Conference Second Round during the 2020 NBA Playoffs at AdventHealth Arena at the ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on September 12, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - SEPTEMBER 12: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers during the second quarter against the Houston Rockets in Game Five of the Western Conference Second Round during the 2020 NBA Playoffs at AdventHealth Arena at the ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on September 12, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers
(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers /

3. The Los Angeles Lakers are deeper

Any Clipper fan that has found this article and has gotten this far will not believe this as this has been touted as the Clippers’ biggest advantage all season. The Clippers are a deep basketball team, but the Lakers are deeper.

First of all, the Lakers have the advantage in the superstar matchup. LeBron James and Anthony Davis are as unstoppable as we have been hyping all year and we have seen that firsthand. When one guy doesn’t have it all the other steps in and has a massive game. LeBron is playing fantastic defense and Anthony Davis is doing his thing.

The Clippers do have the fifth-best player in this series in Patrick Beverley, but he has not been all that special in the playoffs, although I would not doubt him. However, the Lakers still have the depth advantage.

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If you quickly glance at the depth chart then you will see that the Rockets have the scoring advantage as they have four players outside of George and Leonard averaging in double figures.

However, both Reggie Jackson and Lou Williams are awful defensively (and Doc Rivers has not managed that), Marcus Morris has not been good defensively and Montrezl Harrell is not playing anywhere close to the level he played in the regular season.

Meanwhile, Kyle Kuzma has been wildly efficient in recent games (and has been better on defense, but still not great), Rajon Rondo has given the team a nice jolt off the bench, Markieff Morris has been the better Morris brother, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has stepped up and is shooting 39.6 percent from deep and Alex Caruso has been elite on defense.

Clipper fans might think Caruso is just a meme but he is not. He ranks ninth in defensive box plus-minus in the playoffs among players with at least 200 minutes played (Paul George ranks 40th, by the way) and is 22nd with his 107 defensive rating (Kawhi has a 106, George a 110).

Did we mention Paul George? He is averaging fewer win shares per 48 minutes than Kyle Kuzma and Alex Caruso.

The Los Angeles Lakers bench has been fantastic, and look, the Lakers have the best player in the playoff this year (Davis ranks first in win-shares per 48 minutes). If they continue playing like they are playing then the Lakers have this in the bag.

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If they play poorly then it will obviously be an issue and I will eat crow. However, the way both teams are trending, I think the ball really is in the Lakers’ court.

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