The stage is set. As the seventh seed in the Western Conference, the Los Angeles Lakers will participate in the NBA’s newly-implemented play-in tournament. The Lakers have two games of cushion as they will be taking on the Golden State Warriors for the right to be the seventh seed in the West.
If the Lakers lose that game then they have one more shot to officially make the playoffs, playing the winner of the Memphis Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs. The Lakers would then be the eighth seed if that is how the play-in tournament plays out.
It won’t even get to that point for the Los Angeles Lakers.
While anything can happen over two games, especially over one game, the Los Angeles Lakers do not have to worry about having to play a second game, let alone missing the playoffs altogether.
At first, the play-in tournament seemed like a disaster for the Lakers. However, with the upcoming matchups and other benefits, it became clear that the play-in tournament might actually be a blessing in disguise.
That blessing starts with a win over the Golden State Warriors, and a big one at that. The Los Angeles Lakers are going to beat the Warriors by double-figures and it will threaten 20 points.
Yes, Stephen Curry has been nuclear to finish out the season, but it doesn’t matter. Here is why.
1. The Los Angeles Lakers have the guys to throw at Steph Curry to slow him down
The Los Angeles Lakers are not going to straight-up stop Stephen Curry. To pretend like the Lakers are going to absolutely neutralize him and make him a non-factor is just silly. Curry is going to have a good game in the play-in games and he is going to have a good game every game in the NBA Playoffs.
However, the Lakers have the guys to keep Curry’s good game from turning into a great game. While it has been a headache at times, the Lakers are still one of the best defensive teams in the league and have great perimeter defenders.
Some may look at the numbers while the team was hurt as proof otherwise. But if you recall, the Lakers’ defense was not spectacular in the NBA bubble before the playoffs began. It is more about the guys that they have and not any potential struggles while the team was banged up.
Alex Caruso is one of the best perimeter defenders in the league and is extremely underrated. He is the perfect pesky defender to get under Curry’s skin and follow him around off-ball.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is solid a switcher onto Curry, Wesley Matthews has been very bad offensively but has been solid defensively and Dennis Schroder, although not elite, can hold his own.
Even the Lakers’ last member of the backcourt, Talen Horton-Tucker, is a great defender and he can really utilize his wingspan as a closeout defender on Curry.
The Warriors don’t have many more options to hurt the Lakers and the Lakers’ frontcourt is going to handle that as is. And when it comes to switching, the Lakers have some of the best defensive bigs in the league that won’t be exposed like other teams.
LeBron is great defensively when he wants, Anthony Davis is an All-Defense-caliber player and Andre Drummond is solid as the weak link.
2. The Golden State Warriors are going to get run over defensively
If the Los Angeles Lakers fall into the trap of getting into a three-point shooting contest with Curry and the Warriors then bad things will happen. We have seen this time and time again from the Lakers where the team will shoot so poorly from beyond the arc and keep shooting.
It does not happen often, but it does happen and this cannot be one of those games. The Lakers need to simplify the game plan and take what the Warriors are giving them. And in this case, that is just about everything down low.
Who is going to stop the Lakers’ front line? Sure, Draymond Green is pesky and has perhaps the most experienced player in the league in guarding LeBron James but he is not the prime version of himself and has not necessarily been overly successful guarding LeBron.
And even if he can slightly slow him down, there is absolutely no answer for Anthony Davis. Even someone like Montrezl Harrell will feast off the bench as the Warriors simply have no inside presence.
The Lakers should take every possible point that they are given in the paint as they dominate not just the inside scoring but the rebounding battle as well.
This is like the Lakers’ matchup against the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals last season but worse. The Heat did not have anyone as hot as Curry but they had more overall shooters than Curry and had a much better matchup on the frontline and were still exposed. That series, although six games, was not very close.
The only thing that can beat the Los Angeles Lakers in this game is the Lakers themselves. As long as they play their brand of basketball, this is a 15+ point win for LA.