Portland Trail Blazers could be a real threat to the no. 1 Los Angeles Lakers suit, reports ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. Windhorst notes that the Lakers may not be ahead, after all, given the Blazers’ performance in seeded matches. According to Windhorst’s sources, experience and Damian Lillard make a crucial difference to the Blazers.
“[The Blazers] they have defensive problems, which is why they are 8-[seed] at the end of the day, “said a league scout.” From an overall talent and experience standpoint, I’m probably a 4 or 5 suit disguised as 8 “.
An Eastern Conference coach said: “They are just a team that scares you because of Lillard. When you’re the seed, you don’t like the idea of being scared in the first round. “
Windhorst says the Blazers have had more time to bring both Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins back onto the field, which is also to their advantage. On the other hand, the Lakers are facing the loss of home advantage: according to Windhorst, LeBron James struggled to get his head right in the bubble.
“It’s a completely different situation than any other situation I’ve been in in my career,” James said earlier this month. “I have no experience with having the # 1 seed inside a bubble … so this is a learning experience for all of us.”
You can read more here. The Blazers will face the Lakers on Tuesday 18 August at 6pm.
