National Basketball Association

Lakers: Predicting How LA Will Fare Against The Pacific Division

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Here’s our breakdown on how the Lakers’ will fare against their Pacific Division rivals next season

The Los Angeles Lakers once reigned atop the Pacific Division of the NBA for what seemed like an eternity, so it seems odd to see them dwelling at the bottom for as long as they have.

Of all the teams that have ever called the Pacific division home, once including the Portland Trailblazers and Seattle Supersonics, the Lakers have won the most division titles with 23 under their belt.

While it is strange to see the Purple and Gold struggling in the division, there’s no doubt that division games bring out the best in all parties. Queue last year’s impressive victory against the Golden State Warriors.

The Pacific Division isn’t the strongest in the NBA but it does contain the playoff mainstay Los Angeles Clippers (which sounds even more weird to say!), and the former NBA Champion Warriors.

The Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns round out the rest of the division. It remains to be seen what the individual records of these teams will be, but it’s always fun to predict how they will do against each other.

Here’s my prediction for how the D’Angelo Russell and company will fare against all the other teams in the Pacific Division next season.

2016-17 Scheduled Games

November 6, 2016 – Suns @ LAL

December 9, 2016 – Suns @ LAL

February 15, 2017 – LAL @ Suns

March 9, 2017 – LAL @ Suns

The Los Angeles Lakers & Phoenix Suns actually have a pretty deep and storied history together. It includes game-winners, buzzer beaters, playoff series, triple-overtime games and everything else you can think of. Simply put, it’s safe to say that unlike the Kings, there is a definite rivalry here. Anyone that says otherwise is lying to you.

The Suns got some help this summer by signing a few players from their own history. Longtime Phoenix favorites Jared Dudley & Leandro Barbosa both decided to rejoin the team they once called home.

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Although ESPN recently predicted the Lakers to finish last in the Western Conference standings, I believe that Phoenix is one of the teams that may have been over-ranked/overrated. The Suns, much like the Kings, don’t really have a clear direction for the team. And the Suns, unlike the Lakers, only have one potential future star in shooting guard Devin Booker.

Overall, I believe that the two clubs will split the season series at two games a piece. While the Lakers do have more talent, the Suns still have access to what has been the Lakers kryptonite for years.

That kryptonite being speedy, slashing point guards. Over the last decade, the Purple and Gold have been torched by point guards from Steve Nash, Chris Paul, Tony Parker, etc. Last year, the team even made Brandon Knight look like a Hall-of-Famer.

Until they show that their defense can finally change this, I expect it to continue.

Verdict: Series Split 2-2

Next: Lakers vs Sacramento Kings

2016-17 Scheduled Games

November 10, 2016 – LAL @ Kings

December 12, 2016 – LAL @ Kings

February 14, 2017 – Kings @ LAL

April 7, 2017 – Kings @ LAL

Let’s face it, the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings aren’t exactly rivals. The only real rivalry basis they have is the fact that they both reside in the Pacific Division. But if you follow the logic of Laker Legend Kobe Bryant, a rivalry isn’t a rivalry if the same team keeps winning.

That’s the situation here with Sacramento and Los Angeles. Every time Chris Webber led his Kings into the Playoffs to face Bryant’s Lakers, the Kings fell short. And since then, they haven’t even matched up in the post season again.

The Kings have a fair amount of talent on this year’s roster. Matt Barnes, Aaron Afflalo, & Ty Lawson all signed this summer to join blossoming big man DeMarcus Cousins.

However, the Kings are in a world of disarray. From the front office to the coaching staff, no one seems to know the direction this team is headed.

Last year, the Kings were able to best the Lakers on sheer talent alone. Don’t expect that to be the case this year though. Between the development of their young core, the new coaching staff, and the veteran additions, the Lakers should have more than enough to overwhelm the Kings and regain control of this match up.

These two teams will meet four times this season and I expect the Lakers to win at least three of those meetings. Head coach Luke Walton is a coach that will surely preach the philosophy of winning the games you are supposed to win. And there’s no doubt that from now on, the Lakers are ‘supposed’ to beat the Kings.

Verdict: Lakers 3-1

Next: Battle of L.A. - Lakers vs Los Angeles Clippers

2016-17 Scheduled Games

December 25, 2016 – Clippers @ LAL

January 14, 2017 – LAL @ Clippers

March 21, 2017 – Clippers @ LAL

April 1, 2017 – LAL @ Clippers

This match up is a little bit more personal for the Los Angeles Lakers and their fans. The Los Angeles Clippers currently hold an 11 game winning streak over the Purpler and Gold. The little brothers aren’t so little anymore because the big brothers haven’t beaten them since 2013.

Simply put, the Clippers are for real. So there’s no point in wishing it wasn’t real or complaining about the David Stern debacle anymore. Yes, we know what could have been….

The Lakers haven’t beaten the Clippers in three years for a reason. Although they’ve yet to reach the promise land, the Clips continue to get better and more formidable each year. Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and even Olympic gold medalist DeAndre Jordan seem to have fun beating up on the Lakers. The sad news is, I’m pretty sure that there’s nothing the Lake Show will be able to do about it this season.

The Clippers are just too good and they’ve gotten better this summer by adding NBA champion Marreese Speights and former Lakers’ forward Brandon Bass. With Paul and head coach Doc Rivers at the helm, there’s no reason to believe that the Clippers will be coming back down to earth anytime soon.

I do expect the Lakers to steal one game from the Clips this season. The most likely candidate being the game on Christmas Day. Otherwise, look for the other games to be brutal beat downs from the boys down the hall.

Verdict: Clippers 3-1

Next: Lakers v Golden State Warriors

2016-17 Scheduled Games

November 4, 2016 – Warriors @ LAL

November 23, 2016 – Lakers @ Warriors

November 25, 2016 – Warriors @ LAL

April 12, 2017 – LAL @ Warriors

On March 6, 2016, the Los Angeles Lakers upset the reigning world champion Golden State Warriors and I had predicted it right before the game started. The day just had an “Any Given Sunday” type feel. And I believed that if the Lakers were going to beat the Warriors at any time last season, it was going to be in that game.

However, let’s be clear about this season. There WILL NOT be any “Any Given Sunday” moments between these two teams. The only good thing about the lone victory last year vs the Warriors is that it gave us a possible glimpse of what we hope the offense will look like under Luke Walton. Otherwise, it should be forgotten.

The Stephen Curry led Warriors won an All-time NBA record 73 games last season. That’s an 89% winning percentage. Although they failed to win a consecutive NBA title, they landed the greatest consolation prize of all time when they acquired All-Star forward Kevin Durant via free agency.

On paper, the Warriors have one of the greatest rosters in NBA history. The potential for this club is through the roof. There are some who even went as far as to give them the NBA title before the season has even started.

While no one knows exactly how many games the “Super-Friends” will win, we do know that they won’t lose very many games at all. Furthermore, it’s easy to predict that of the few games the Warriors manage to lose, none of them will be to the Lakers. I expect the Warriors to sweep this series.

Verdict: Warriors 4-0

How do you think the Lakers’ will fare next season in the Wild Wild West? Let us know on Twitter @TheLakeShowLife or in the comments below!

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