The reality is Milwaukee, the Clippers, and the Lakers are in their own exclusive universe right now with the other twenty-seven NBA teams looking from the outside in.
In the past week the Clippers have rolled Denver, Oklahoma City, and Houston without even breaking a sweat.
For the first time this season the Clippers are healthy and for good measure added Marcus Morris and Reggie Jackson at the deadline. The Clips are the deepest most well rounded team in the league and most capable from a defensive standpoint of defending either LeBron or Giannis.
Oklahoma City wants no part whatsoever of either LA team in the playoffs. Consider this when the LA teams most likely square off in the Western Conference Finals they will both be playing on their home court in the Staples Center. Jack Nicholson vs. Billy Crystal in the conference finals.
Putting aside my loyalty for the Thunder…as an NBA fan I can’t wait to see the Clippers vs. Lakers series at Staples. And right now I’d take the Clippers.
POWER POLL
1 LA Clippers
2 LA Lakers
3 Milwaukee Bucks
4 Boston Celtics
5 Toronto Raptors
6 Denver Nuggets
7 Houston Rockets
8 Miami Heat
9 Oklahoma City Thunder
10 Dallas Mavericks
11 Philadelphia 76’ers
12 Utah Jazz
The clips look downright scary right now… I was a Little bummed about the last two losses, we just need to avoid the clips in the first and potential 2nd round… My ideal matchup would be 4-5 hou-okc, and Lal in the 2nd round, we can at least compete with that team I believe.
The Clippers vs. Lakers if they both stay healthy should be awesome. I think OKC can hang with any team in the league other than the Super Three. How can Tucker keep Adams off the rim? I thought rim protection was a significant metric for GMs like Morey? I hope Donovan will only go eight or nine deep given how bad Ferguson is playing. Donovan has to get something out of Bazely, Nader, or Diallo in games against good teams. The NY Knicks are putrid, I do still like Barrett though if someone could remove him from that losing culture.
Clippers have the best roster to play playoff defense and when they bring their ‘attitude’ they are the best team, plus they’ll have eighteen fouls to throw at LeBron in every game. Given Kobe’s tragic exit—it only seems right LA is going to have the championship team this season.