“The Team To Fear”: Los Angeles Lakers Guard Reveals Team’s Concerns Ahead Of NBA Playoffs

The Orlando bubble will finally commence next week. Eight games will be played before the playoffs, to determine the seeding. One team that is battling for a playoff spot is the Portland Trail Blazers. If they end up qualifying, some experts have picked them to be a  threat to favorites, the Los Angeles Lakers.

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith joined “Inside the Green Room” with Danny Green and Harrison Sanford and spoke about this. He said, “They should fear Portland more than anybody for their experience. (Damian Lillard) should have been First Team All NBA last year, he was absolutely sensational. Lillard is elite, he’s a superstar, he’s a big-time scorer and he has no fear. CJ McCollum ain’t shabby at all. That’s a dynamic backcourt.”

“That combined with Melo, if you get Nurkic back, with the pieces they have in place, because of their experience and the fact that the game (has) evolved to such a degree that it’s a guard-oriented game, I definitely think that Portland would be the team to fear.”

Can the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Portland Trail Blazers?

Green agreed with Smith. He said, “The team obviously doesn’t fear anybody but if we were to choose to have a first-round matchup, we’d probably lean towards away from Portland. They have more experience (than Memphis and New Orleans). They have Dame and CJ. Realistically, we probably see Portland as more of a threat because of their experience than the other two (Memphis and New Orleans).”

The return of Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins from injury is the biggest boost for Blazers’ playoff charge. The Pelicans have an easier schedule but the Blazers can cause some upsets as they make a push for the eighth seed.

If the Lakers face the Blazers in the first round of the playoffs, they will have a tough time. Without their third-best defender in Avery Bradley, the Lakers will struggle to contain Lillard. Alex Caruso will be under huge pressure in that matchup against the five-time All-Star. Fortunately for the Lakers, they still have their two superstars in LeBron James and Anthony Davis, for whom on paper, the Blazers don’t have an answer.

But Lillard has proven he can win games single-handedly. So the Lakers will have to be on their toes in a matchup against the Trail Blazers and cannot afford to let their guard down.