Phoenix Suns: Deandre Ayton
The Phoenix Suns are a really good basketball team and quite frankly, are the best story in the NBA this season. Obviously, I want to see the Lakers win the NBA Championship but if I had to pick any other team in the league to win it would be the Suns.
Yes, they are division ‘rivals’ but the story is too good to ignore. The Suns have been right on the precipice of winning it all so many times in franchise history and Chris Paul would get his ring to cement his Hall of Fame career. It is a great story.
That story would probably come to an end if they came up against a full-strength Los Angeles Lakers team, who would expose Deandre Ayton and the lack of depth behind him.
The Lakers have great size and are one of the best teams in the league at driving to the basket and picking up fouls on the center. It is no secret that LeBron gets some favorable calls. He, Anthony Davis, Andre Drummond and Montrezl Harrell should be going after Ayton early in the game.
Get him in foul trouble. Force him out of the game and then take advantage of the massive size difference the Lakers have.
The Suns are not a high-paced team and while they are great in the half-court, so are the Lakers. They can only beat the Lakers in a seven-game series playing this way if Ayton plays great; the Lakers are going to look to keep that from happening.