2. Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns beat the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Playoffs last season and if they meet in the playoffs this year, with the Lakers looking how they look, history will repeat itself.
Now, some may argue that the Suns only won because Anthony Davis was injured. To be fair, that is probably true. AD presented serious matchup problems for the Suns last year and it was clear that the Lakers were a much different team when AD was on the court than when he was off the court.
That being said, as disappointing as some of the players were last season, the depth last year is probably better than the depth this year, especially defensively. The Lakers were a bad matchup because they had the combo of size and the ability to defend the perimeter. The team does not really have that this season.
Phoenix continues to roll as well. This is a team that already knew its identity (something that the Lakers do not have) and they are continuing to learn how to maximize their scheme and the pieces together.
The Suns beat last year’s Lakers team and I think we can all agree that last year’s Lakers team is better than this year’s team, so far. So why should we expect the Lakers to beat the Suns even with a healthy AD?