#7 Los Angeles Lakers vs. #8 Golden State Warriors
Over the last five years, NBA fans have become accustomed to seeing LeBron James and Stephen Curry battle it out on the biggest stage that the NBA has to offer.
However, over the last ten NBA Finals matchups, the two superstars have faced off in four of them. In fact, there hasn’t been an NBA Finals that doesn’t feature either James or Curry since 2010.
It’s a little bit wild to think that the two most successful basketball players of the last decade will be going at it in the hopes of sneaking into the NBA Playoffs but hey, here we are.
The silver lining is that the loser of this game doesn’t automatically get eliminated. They would go on to face the winner of the Grizzlies vs. Spurs matchup in order to secure the eighth seed.
Now, while there is a real chance that Chef Curry goes bonkers, drops 50 and drills 10 threes to send the Lakers to a single-elimination game…..this is Lake Show Life after all so there’s no way I’m not having the Purple & Gold take this one.
The Lakers won the regular-season series over the Warriors 2-1 this year with, ironically, Anthony Davis only being present for the one game that they lost.
In their three matchups this season, the Lakers are holding Curry to just 42.3% from the field and 34.6% from beyond the arc, both of which are drastically below his season averages.
The Lakers smothering defense has been the catalyst in securing them their wins against the Warriors this season with them managing to hold Curry and Co. under 100 points in both victories although they average the 13th most points in the league with 113.6.
A team that has the best shooter of all time is bound to shoot a ton of threes, and the Warriors certainly do as they take the fifth-most triples in the entire league (38.7). The good news is, the Lakers defend the 3-point line extremely well and are allowing opponents to shoot just 32.2% from deep, good enough for the fourth-lowest mark in the league.
Also, keep in mind that the Lakers have the personnel to make things difficult on Curry.
As much as the rest of the league refuses to acknowledge it, Alex Caruso is one of the best perimeter defenders in all of the NBA. His 102.0 Defensive Rating is third in the entire league amongst players who have averaged 20 or more minutes, behind only Mike Conley and Rudy Gobert.
He’ll be able to make things tough for Curry at the point of attack and force him into tough shots and while we all know that there is no “bad shot” for a guy like him, being able to make it difficult is about as good as we can hope for.
Along with Caruso, the Lakers will be equipped with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and hopefully Dennis Schroder as well.
Caldwell-Pope is a guy whose defensive impact often goes unheralded but he’s become really great at fighting through and around screens, making the initial catch more difficult and forcing just a slight bit of hesitation as the offensive player goes for a jumper. That slight hesitation can be the difference between a wide-open shot and a possible close-out, which will be huge against a team like the Warriors.
Then there’s Schroder, who has about as much heart as any defender on the Lakers. He’s quick, makes sure his hands are always active and crafty in the way that he defends players at the point of attack.
All of the Los Angeles Lakers’ defensive prowess combined with a *fingers crossed* fully healthy James and Davis as help defenders and offensive machines should get the job done and secure that seventh seed.