In a roundtable discussion at ESPN.com, five writers were asked whether the Nuggets represent the biggest threat to derail a potential Lakers/Clippers showdown in the Western Conference Finals this spring. Of the five respondents, only Royce Young said yes, pointing to the “matchup nightmare” that Nikola Jokic represents, as well as Denver’s ability to both score and defend when the team is firing on all cylinders.
The other four ESPN reporters and analysts who participated in the roundtable weren’t quite as bullish on the Nuggets. Kevin Pelton identified Houston as a more realistic challenger, arguing that the Rockets‘ ability to play with quickness and space the floor makes them the team best suited to match up with the Lakers in a Western playoff series. Tim MacMahon suggested that the Rockets, despite some inconsistency, have the highest ceiling of any non-L.A. team.
Although MacMahon had praise for Houston, he and Kirk Goldsberry made a pick that would have been shocking six months ago, arguing that the Thunder are actually the most legitimate threat to an all-L.A. Western Finals. Goldsberry, who point out that Oklahoma City’s 29-10 record since December 15 is the West’s best during that stretch, also observed that the clutch-time lineup of Chris Paul, Dennis Schroder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, and Steven Adams has the best stats of any five-man unit in the NBA, outscoring opponents by 30 points per 100 possessions.
The Jazz, who are currently the No. 4 seed in the West, didn’t get quite as much love from ESPN’s panel, but Pelton and Young both identified Utah as the non-Lakers team that may match up best with the Clippers in a seven-game series.
The Mavericks probably aren’t ready to seriously challenge the Lakers or Clippers yet, but they may get a shot to upset the Clips in round one. Meanwhile, whichever team claims the No. 8 seed is on track for a matchup with the Lakers. Could any teams from the group of candidates that includes the Pelicans, Grizzlies, Kings, Spurs, or Trail Blazers realistically push LeBron James and Anthony Davis?
We want to know what you think. Which Western Conference team is the best bet to play spoiler and knock off one of the Los Angeles teams in the first two rounds, preventing a WCF showdown?
Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to share your thoughts!
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Hous v LA should provide some indication of his theory holds up. But Hou can beat anyone if Harden shoots 45%/35%.
Unfortunately for OKC, the only time Chris Paul got to the WCF was with Houston. And his injury in game 5 cost them a shot at advancing to the Finals.
Well, that and 27 straight missed 3s
You are in absolutely no position to talk bad about CP3. The Thunder having the same record as Houston is comical and very telling of how toxic Westbrooks style is.
And the only time Hadens rockets got the the WCF was a epic come back from 3-1 down against the Clippers…that Harden rode the bench on…thank you Josh Smith
The other time oh yea…27 missed threes and blowing a 3-2 lead…because you didn’t have CP3…
Good luck in the 1st round against Denver’s bigs…
Can you imagine the rockets if they wouldn’t have traded harrel and Lou Williams to clippers in sign and trade when rockets could’ve signed paul outright in free agency.. morey not so smart in his win now moves.. giving up all those picks in future
They Ultimately got shamet, Harrell, Lou Williams and Beverly in that trade..
They wouldn’t have been able to sign Chris Paul in free agency without the necessary cap space. They only way was in a trade.
Morey knows so much more about these things than any average fan out there. Questioning his intelligence is pure ignorance.
Hou v LAL WCF
My main concern with the Lakers is A.D. thinking he’s a three point shooter now.. .. He needs to dominate down low not sit back on the three-point line and Chuck three-pointers I’m starting to think he’s a scared to bang and get hit down low.. the lakers need to use there size to dominate these teams
Agreed, Im hoping its part design at this point to keep the risk of inj down and he turns it up playoffs-
His drop step to the baseline is almost unstoppable yet you only see it once every 2 games-
My only other fear is Rondo getting so many minutes-
Hopefully its also design to keep LBJ s playmaking down but Vogel seems really into him and and the idea “Playoff Rondo”….Im not as sold although I respect his whole career
I like the Markieff pickup.. I don’t like rondo getting minutes at the expense of Caruso. Caruso does the little things that championship squads need.. when rondo and kuzma are on floor together, the defense is non existent
No one else in the west is capable of beating these teams. This is happening and its going to be a great series.
Played in Wyoming.
Coronavirus
haha yes
Came here to say this lmao
Portland and NOLA are both serious threats with that 8th seed spot.
I think Nurkic will return shortly and they also have Whiteside having those two will be massive for AD then on LBJ you can try Ariza and Melo. But offensively they will have a hard time trying to stop Lillard and McCollum who can just catch fire. Bradley and Green seem most likely to mark these two and if that’s going to be the case we could be in for a long high scoring series.
With the pelicans they have Favours who can do a job defensively on AD and on LBJ they have both Ingram and Zion. Outside of that they have Lonzo Jrue and Josh Hart who are all really good defensively too. What makes them hard to stop offensively won’t be Zion cause AD can handle him and it won’t be Ingram cause LBJ will take him but it’ll be Jrue that Veteran leader who can step up and score 30 and Zo who has really improved his shooting. Plus the second unit they have is a lot better than the Lakers second unit and when Bron and AD are out the pelicans can really catch up quick.
As a Laker fan I can def say id prefer not to see NOLA who I think could beat us or Por who could make it a difficult 6 or 7 –
And to think this is the 8 seed is crazy, West is gaining GSW and full NOLA next year as well- Tough sledding for everyone…Lets Go Memphis!
Grizzlies are a good team.. they are getting jackson back.. not scared of pelicans at all.. they find ways to lose games as all young teams do..blazers if they can get hot, Lillard is a killer.. but may be too little too late
LOL sure teams that haven’t sniffed .500 and are 8 games under right now will give the Lakers trouble. Nurkic is a good player but he is not the difference between a 10 teams in the standings. Playoff Bron is a different animal and won’t be taking much time on the bench. Lakers are winning their 1st round series in 5 games at worst.
Famous last words of the tragically arrogant. Best of luck.
I can’t even bother reading something written by a person who actually thinks that Ben Simmons is even close to being the player that Russell Westbrook is. Let alone thinking that Simmons is better, which is completely laughable.
It ain’t gonna happen but it would be monumentally hilarious if CP3 leads the Thunder to the finals, or even the semis.
Lakers are in the WCF for sure & Denver should be the other rival, really can’t see how Clips can even compete against Denver, Jokic would be unstoppable, he would eat them alive all day long!
I think Denver has promise however there depth took a hit When they made the trade with Minnesota and they haven’t been playing well since
I think people are really sleeping on the Mavericks only team to not lose 3 consecutive games plus porzingis is getting better each game could be another sleeper season for the Mavs
Coronavirus was the biggest threat to both
The Lakers are just that much better than everyone else.. But if I had to pick which team would be a threat it would be the Grizzlies and the Celtics.. Only because they both are very young and full of energy.. Otherwise nobody comes close..