5 reasons Los Angeles Lakers can still win 2021 NBA championship
By Kristen Wong
2. LA’s likely first-round opponent is inexperienced
The Lakers will probably play the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the playoffs, and after Sunday’s performance, Phoenix should be concerned.
Even though the Suns didn’t run much of their offense in that game and are currently seeded second and boast of a star-studded squad with the likes of Devin Booker and Chris Paul, besides Paul and Jae Crowder, their roster is definitively lacking in … well, any playoff experience. This will be Phoenix’s first playoff appearance since 2010, and many Suns players (Booker, Mikal Bridges, Deandre Ayton and Cameron Johnson) have never played in a playoff game before. Cam Payne has a few years of postseason games under his belt for the Oklahoma City Thunder, and Dario Saric also reached the playoffs with the Philadelphia 76ers four years ago, but out of all the playoff teams in the West, Phoenix’s roster is by far the greenest.
Enter LeBron and the Lakers. With a franchise record of 61 playoff appearances and 17 championships, very few teams have the consistency or the steel nerves of such an experience-laden team. Los Angeles’ inner city rivals, the Clippers, have been known to falter in early playoffs rounds, and even the No. 1-seeded Utah Jazz continue to get knocked out much sooner than they should be.
Regular season is one thing, but the playoffs are a different beast. Good thing this isn’t the Lakers’ first rodeo.