Should LeBron James and the LA Lakers be afraid of Play-In?

The play-in tournament is a new rule incorporated by the NBA from last year. The play-in tournament is where the 7, 8, 9, and 10th seed of each conference battle it out for the 7th and 8th playoff spot in their respective conferences.

Last year we only got to witness one play-in game between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Memphis Grizzlies in which the Blazers came on top. But this year we will see a full-on play-in tournament for the 7th and 8th playoff seed.

At the midway of the season, the Lakers were in the top 4 in their conference but due to nagging injuries and inconsistent play, the Lakers are now fighting for a playoff spot.

On the other hand, the Warriors were expected to be bottom dwellers of the western conference due to injuries and players departing but Stephen Curry has taken it upon himself to will his team in the playoffs. And by the looks of it, we may very well get to see Curry and LeBron go face to face for the 7th seed in the western conference playoffs.

First, let’s have a look at both of the squads. The Lakers have 2 all-stars on the floor with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, and this duo really plays well and feeds off each other. LeBron and AD understand each other playing styles and preferences on the court. Then onto the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors too have 2 all-stars on the floor in Stephen Curry and Draymond Green but it is more of Steph contributing on the offensive end whereas Draymond contributing on defense.

Now, this may seem like a perfect duo as well where one takes care of the offense and one takes care of the defense. But will this duo be effective against LeBron and Davis; who are great on both offense and defense?

As much as Stephen Curry can light up teams with his three-point shooting, there is an untapped power and energy inside James that he chooses to keep for the playoffs and then just kicks it in with going all-in.

We all have seen and witnessed what playoff LeBron is and what he is capable of. So I don’t think LeBron should be too worried while facing a Warriors team that isn’t at full strength. LeBron has a very good supporting cast in Anthony Davis, Montrezl Harrell, Dennis Schroeder, and Kyle Kuzma to name a few. Davis has the ability to take on much of the offensive load while Schroeder can be an excellent contributor as well. Harrell provides both offense and defense and Kuzma gives you a little bit of everything here and there. So I think the Lakers are in a good spot over the Golden State Warriors.

However, the Lakers are playing against a fully charged Stephen Curry who is having probably his best season so far and it would be foolish to count Curry out just yet. He only needs a sliver of space to knock down his shots and go on a 10 to 20 point run on his own. So I wouldn’t count them out either.

It is hard to predict who will win and who will lose as this the NBA, where amazing happens. All I know is the Lakers and the Warriors matchup is going to be insane.