![]() Do you think that is fair, and if so, why? 7 seed in over 30 years to be favored against a second-seeded team, the Suns. According to ESPN Stats & Info, the Lakers are the first No. Marc Gasol may replace him if they decide they need more spacing or defense, or they may just go to AD at the five as their main backup like last postseason if they decide they need to speed/space things up.ĥ. I think the Suns are small enough for Harrell to potentially work against second units, although you obviously worry about his defense against a basketball genius like Chris Paul. played against Phoenix, the Davis/Drummond frontcourt can have success against the Suns.Īs far as their backup options, however, I would expect to see more of Davis at the five at times, and my guess is they’ll give Montrezl Harrell a look first as their primary backup center. Frank Vogel’s tendency has been to force teams to make the Lakers adjust, not preemptively change their identity to match up with another team. #LA LAKERS SILVER SCREEN AND ROLL SERIES#I would expect the Lakers to start the series big. Ha! As you can tell by the answer above, I’m addressing these in order, but I’m glad you noticed that switch flip too. What frontcourt combinations do you expect the Lakers to use against the Suns? We saw the Lakers start Davis and Andre Drummond together versus the Warriors before sliding Davis to the five extensively in the third quarter. But again, at this point in the season, who is? Barring their condition worsening, I think the Lakers have enough to get it done in the first round. how much of it is health-related is unknowable, but I don’t think he’s at 100 percent either. How much of that is his ongoing, up-and-down fit with Drummond and Montrezl Harrell vs. Still, watching him against the Warriors, he really did seem to need the team to go small to get the extra space necessary to make a difference offensively. Just like LeBron, AD has continually maintained that he’s fine. How healthy is Anthony Davis entering this series? Maybe his are worse than most and maybe they’re not, but we won’t really know until he takes the floor for this series. But to be fair, who in the NBA is at this point? Everyone is dealing with bumps and bruises. I think he has enough to play and make a difference against the Suns, but I definitely don’t think he’s 100 percent. I’m not a doctor, but by the eye test, I don’t think he has his usual pop right now. Now, for what it’s worth - and despite reports to the contrary - he has said he’s fine, but as I wrote in that story, I wouldn’t expect him to put a target on any of his limbs before a series against Jae Crowder. How close would you say he is to 100 percent, and how big of a concern is his ankle entering this series? On Wednesday, it looked like he had some issues imposing his will in the first half before finding a rhythm in the second. LeBron James appeared to be returning to form from his high ankle sprain before tweaking it in the Lakers’ regular-season finale against the Pelicans. I think for a team that hasn’t had a lot of time to build cohesion and chemistry, it was a potentially big moment to band together and show how good it can be when it turns it on. Their defense was good for most of the night, but their offensive execution and overall engagement went up in the second half. They seemed to be galvanized by halftime speeches from veterans Markieff Morris and Jared Dudley and came out in the second half ready to focus with the necessary intensity to take that game. I think that game may have woken the Lakers up. What were your biggest takeaways from the Lakers’ play-in win over the Warriors on Wednesday? Phoenix went 2-1 against the Lakers during the regular season, though Los Angeles was not fully healthy for any of those games.Īhead of Game 1, here’s what Faigen had to say about the matchup.ġ. Los Angeles defeated the eighth-seeded Golden State Warriors in their play-in game on Wednesday to advance to face the Suns.Īhead of Sunday’s game, we caught up with Silver Screen and Roll beat writer and editor-in-chief Harrison Faigen about the latest on the Lakers, including the health status of LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Los Angeles’ potential matchups against the Suns and his prediction to win the series. The Suns, who finished with the second-best record in the West, will make their first postseason appearance since 2009-10 against the seventh-seeded Lakers, who won the NBA championship last season. The Phoenix Suns face the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 of the first round of the Western Conference playoffs on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |