Doc Rivers Suggests LeBron James Led Lakers Are Even More Dangerous Than Last Year

The Lakers are showing exactly why they are the favorites to be champions this season. The 2020 NBA Champions have picked up right where they left off and are currently atop the Western Conference. While they have had some tough losses this season, this Lakers team is no joke.

Former LA Clippers head coach Doc Rivers is intimately familiar with the Lakers. After all, they had a budding rivalry last season. But now Rivers is part of the Philadelphia 76ers, who are preparing to face the Lakers on Wednesday. Rivers is looking forward to this matchup.

LeBron James and Anthony Davis are easily the best one-two punch in the NBA. The Lakers have reinforced the team around them with the likes of Dennis Schroder and Montrezl Harrell.

This team has the right balance of star power and depth, something they struggled to manage most of last season. This will be the biggest test for Rivers, whose 76ers are atop the Eastern Conference.

Lakers: Should they be worried about Philadelphia?

While the Lakers are showing why they were favorites, their losses are quite noteworthy. They do struggle against teams that are very good themselves. We saw this against the LA Clippers, the Portland Trail Blazers, and the San Antonio Spurs. The Lakers have run over most inferior teams they have faced.

Outside the Clippers, Philly is their biggest test yet. The team has found new life under Doc Rivers and have been playing very well. While they are coming off a shock loss to the Detroit Pistons, it was because they didn’t have Joel Embiid.

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Embiid on Davis and Simmons on LeBron would be some interesting matchups. Rivers is one of the most adept coaches in the NBA and could possibly pull a big win out for his team. However, LA Coach Frank Vogel will definitely be game-planning ahead of time for this matchup.