The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the hottest teams in the league over 19 games, as they’re 15-4 in that span. Even before acquiring Luka Doncic in the trade from the Dallas Mavericks, it looked like they were turning the corner on the season, and things can get even better now. With Doncic in the fold, many people think that there’s a chance that the Lakers can get to the NBA Finals, but ESPN’s Brian Windhorst is telling everyone not to forget one team.
“I’m not gonna disregard the Oklahoma City Thunder,” Windhorst said. “I know a lot of people want to do it, I’m just not gonna do it. They are my favorites to win the West.”
Despite how much respect he has for the Thunder, Windhorst did note that the Lakers have the best defense in the league since January 15, and their next few games could tell us a lot about how this team will look down the stretch of the season.
The Lakers could be a good matchup for the Thunder, and Doncic has a history of beating them in the playoffs last season. It’s safe to say that the Thunder are extremely better this time around, and it’s been hard for almost any team to beat them this season.
With the Thunder getting healthy and getting Chet Holmgren back, they will be a team many probably don’t want to face in the playoffs. Nonetheless, the Lakers have shown over the past few weeks that they’re not afraid of anyone, and they have a player in Doncic that can take over the game at any moment.
The favorites coming out of the West should still be the Thunder, but there are some teams, such as the Lakers, who can surprise a lot of people and end up going to the Finals, similar to what the Mavericks did last season.
The post The OKC reason Brian Windhorst pumps the breaks on Lakers’ NBA Finals chatter appeared first on ClutchPoints.
