After Steph Curry‘s historical 50-point game seven, we have yet another matchup featuring Curry and LeBron James. It’s been a while since we could look forward to these two matching up in the playoffs and not already knowing the outcome. This time around, one could argue it is James and the Lakers who have the better team around him and Curry is the one left carrying his Warriors to victories. This will be a fun one.
The Lakers and Warriors are nearly identical in plenty of metrics. They both average a little over 14 turnovers a game, both are shooting below 33 percent from three in the playoffs, and they both hold their opponents to under that same mark. With so many similar team flaws, this one will be up to more individual performances.
Warriors’ Keys to Victory
The Golden State Warriors had their work cut out in round one. The young Sacramento Kings took the reigning champions to seven games and it took a Curry masterclass to escape. Nonetheless, they won the series and moved on.
The first step to success will be the excellent play of Kevon Looney. Looney averaged only 9.6 rebounds in the Warriors’ three losses in round one. In their wins, Looney averaged 19.3(!) rebounds. The champs will need that Looney on a consistent basis. Not to mention, his matchup just got much tougher. Domantas Sabonis had a subpar series from someone who will crack an All-NBA team this season. Sabonis averaged just 16.4 points under 50 percent from the field. Anthony Davis has been arguably the best defender in the playoffs so far to go along with his sparks of offensive dominance. Davis is averaging 20.8 points, 13.7 rebounds, and 4.3(!) blocks per game in the playoffs. Looney will be ready and the Dubs will need it.
The next key lies with Klay Thompson. Thompson is shooting 36 percent on ten attempts per game from three. Hold on, that sounds amazing though right? There are two issues with it. One is that he is one of the best shooters ever. He needs to be at least 38 percent from downtown which is possible. The other is inconsistency. He had three games shooting over 44 percent but three games under 36 percent. If he can find himself around 38 percent for the series, the Warriors have that second scorer next to Curry.
Finally, Andrew Wiggins will need to be the defender that shut things down in Boston last June. The Lakers have so many guys who are able to go for 20 points. Rui Hachimura, Austin Reaves, and D’Angelo Russell are his main threats. Draymond Green and Looney will guard up on the front court of James and Davis.
Lakers Keys to Victories
The Lakers went from 13th seed to second round of the playoffs and it isn’t over yet. The trade deadline changed everything for the Lakers and with a huge summer coming up, hopefully, they realized the recipe of two stars and great role players is better than going for the third big star.
We said earlier that the team stats are so identical that it will come down to individuals, but this Lakers team has to shoot the ball better. Yes, they are just under the Warriors in three-point percentage, but this is the Warriors we are talking about. All it takes is Thompson to find his rhythm and this team can skyrocket that percentage up about three percent. Guys like Reaves and Russell will need to find the sweet touch from downtown consistently in this series to help even the field.
This is going to sound like the craziest key ever, but LeBron James needs to play better. Yes, the King has to step it up. He is averaging 22.2 points and 11.2 rebounds but is coming on under 20 percent from three. A lot of James’ three-point attempts have been him settling instead of putting his head down and getting to the rim. Whether it’s his foot or his age, his shooting has hurt the team at times. Not to mention, he is only averaging 5.2 assists on three turnovers a game. The Lakers will need the pre-foot injury James to show up. The guy who just turned 38 and was averaging 30 a game. Also, he needs to look like he gives a crap on defense before Davis burns himself out.
Finally, the Lakers starters might have to work some overtime this series. The Warriors starting five holds the top spot in offensive and defensive ratings among any playoff five-man lineup with at least 50 minutes. However, that’s nothing to stress over. The Lakers starting five holds an offensive rating of 113.2, good for eighth under the same parameters, and a defensive rating of 94, only second to Golden State. If their top guys are willing to run for over 40 minutes a game, they can find themselves in a good spot. They should want to anyway, its do or die time.
Final Thoughts and Predictions
This is shaping up to be a great series. The icing on the cake to all these great second-round series is part five of LeBron VS Curry. Both of these teams share the same strengths and weaknesses. Both of these teams have all-time greats on their squads and they got something to prove. With that being said, Steph Curry is arguably the best player in the world right now and is a good Klay Thompson series from being unstoppable. Warriors in Seven.
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