The Los Angeles Lakers narrowly escaped the Staples Center with a victory over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night in large part because of LeBron James’ clutch three-point shot over the guy who does them best, Stephen Curry.
The Warriors are heading into a matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies to determine who the eighth seed in the West will be while the Lakers are penciled in as the seventh seed and will take on the Phoenix Suns.
Phoenix has to be a bit irate with the result of the play-in game as they are making their first playoff appearance in a decade and have to play the defending champions who are only this low-seeded because of injuries.
What makes it worse is that the Phoenix Suns match up terribly against the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Los Angeles Lakers not only have the two best players in this series but they also have a significant matchup advantage as well. That bodes great for the Los Angeles Lakers.
There might be some doubt around the Lakers following the play-in game against the Warriors, especially with how bad they looked in the first half. However, at the end of the day, this matchup disparity will ultimately lead to a first-round series win for LA.
Let’s break down why this is such a terrible matchup for Phoenix.