The Los Angeles Lakers went from a feisty playoff team to a legitimate title contender almost overnight after their successful trade deadline.
Not only did the Lakers retool around the edges by bringing in someone like Dorian Finney-Smith, but the team completely revamped its offense when they somehow acquired Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks. The Doncic trade is still being talked about to this day, and it sounds like general manager Nico Harrison still has no regrets about the deal despite protests from the Mavericks fanbase.
With Doncic on the roster, Los Angeles has every reason to feel confident in its title hopes and the superstar already acknowledged it’ll take everyone including himself to get there.
Former Lakers center Dwight Howard was a member of the last championship team and offered up a bold prediction for this year’s title, via D.J. Siddiqi of Basketball Insiders:
“The Lakers scare me because if LeBron is healthy in the playoffs, it’s going to be tough for teams to beat them in a seven-game series,” Howard told Basketball Insiders in an exclusive interview. “My mind is saying the Lakers are going to win this year. I see the Lakers against Cleveland.”
Howard explained why he picked the purple and gold over the Cavaliers, citing head coach JJ Redick and Doncic as his main reasons why he thinks they’ll win it all:
“I love how the Lakers are playing,” says Howard of his former team. “I love how JJ (Redick) has stayed mentally locked in the whole season, hasn’t allowed any nonsense to affect them. The Luka trade, it really took them over the top. I see them making a deep run in the playoffs. I don’t see a lot of teams beating them in a seven-game series.”
It’s hard to argue with Howard’s logic as Redick has shown he’s capable of maximizing the roster, while Doncic presents a litany of problems for opposing defenses. There’s also the fact that Los Angeles has LeBron James, one of the greatest playoff performers in NBA history and someone who knows his title window is closing.
While teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder and Boston Celtics are considered the favorites to win their respective conferences, the Lakers shouldn’t be overlooked once the postseason begins.
JJ Redick maps out how Lakers will prepare for Timberwolves series
JJ Redick will get a chance to coach in his first playoffs, and he mapped out how he and the Lakers will prepare for their upcoming series against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
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