The No. 1 seed in the NBA’s Western Conference, the Los Angeles Lakers, will take on the eighth seed Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of the playoffs, starting with Game 1 on Tuesday night. The Western Conference is tough, and this series is a testament to that.
There is a lot of buzz around this series, with some believing that Portland is going to give Los Angeles some trouble. Damian Lillard has played some of his best basketball inside the Orlando bubble.
Lakers’ Run for a Championship
With this Lakers team, anything less than a championship is going to be a disappointment. LeBron James will be going for his fourth NBA title and his first one in Los Angeles.
This series will be about his success. Portland is going to have trouble finding someone to guard him. They don’t have a go-to defender for this assignment with Trevor Ariza sitting out.
Portland coach Terry Stotts discussed the difficulties of facing James.
“It’s challenging anytime you get to the playoffs,” he said. “You’re always trying to game plan for a great player, whether it’s LeBron or somebody else. There are great players in the playoffs.
“You want to make it as difficult as possible, make him work for his points, make him work for his assists, and he’s going to hurt you; that’s one of the things that makes him great.”
Anthony Davis needs to show up every game in the postseason. During the season, he could score over 40 one night while following that with an eight-point performance. They will need his best to get by in this series.
Trail Blazers Try for the Upset
It would be major news if this Portland team can knock out Los Angeles in the first round. If they are going to do it, Lillard has to be everything he has been lately, and more.
Lillard will have to put up some major numbers as the leader of this offense. The Lakers will attempt to make sure it is never “Dame Time” in this series.
One of the great storylines for this team is the comeback of Carmelo Anthony. He has come in and hit huge shots when they matter the most.
Anthony came into the league at the same time as James, having many battles over the years.
“This is just another opportunity for me,” Anthony said. “We’ve had our times, our battles. The positive thing is that we’re able to do that, compete on this level in Year 17.”
Prediction
Portland will cause some issues for the Lakers, but LeBron and company keep hearing the same thing in the media. I don’t think it happens in the first game.
The spread is only set for -5.5 for the Lakers, and they have a moneyline of -240. I am going to take the 5.5 points and bet the Lakers cover the spread.
Lillard and the Trail Blazers will take at least one game in this series, but the Lakers will come out strong on Tuesday night.