National Basketball Association

Should The Lakers Fear The Blazers?

Updated Aug. 17, 2020 4:06 p.m. ET

After more than a month of practices, scrimmages and seeding games in the NBA's bubble, the playoffs have finally arrived.

For some teams, like the Los Angeles Lakers, most of those bubble games were merely a formality, as LeBron James & Co. locked up the Western Conference's top seed after three games.

For others, like the Portland Trail Blazers, every game had playoff implications. And wouldn't you know it, their reward is a first-round date with the Lakers.

The disparate bubble experiences, and performances, have pundits wondering how the first-round clash will shake out. While the Lakers are certainly the better team on paper, chemistry is a big question mark, as Stephen A. Smith pointed out on First Take.

"The reality is the Los Angeles Lakers can't make shots. They don't seem to be on the same page ... The Lakers that I picked from October to March, no doubt. That's the team that I picked to win the chip. I don't know who the hell these guys are that showed up in the bubble."

In 63 pre-bubble games, the Lakers averaged 114.2 points for and 106.9 points against per game. In eight games in Orlando, those numbers dropped to 106.4 points for and 113.4 points against.

On his radio show, Jay Williams echoed Smith's concerns.

"The last meaningful game the Lakers played was in March ... The question is: How long does it take the Lakers to get back on that roll and to find that rhythm again offensively?

Nick Wright isn't worried, however, and believes LeBron has the track record to prove he's a different challenge when the playoffs begin, including a 52-10 career record in the first round.

"He's been a brilliant playoff performer ... people have no ability to recall pre-seeding games, how dominant this Lakers team was."

Skip Bayless also sees the Lakers advancing, and making quick work of Damian Lillard and the Trail Blazers. Bayless' concerns lie with Lillard, and two particularly "scary" stats for the bubble MVP.

"He has the worst winning percentage of any single player in the NBA. That's not all his fault, but if we're talking 'superstar' he has a lot to do with that or not to do with it. And he also has the second-worst plus/minus in the playoffs of any player in the NBA since entering the league."

However things shake out, the oddsmakers at FOX Bet forecast the Blazers grabbing at least a game against the Lakers.

The Lakers winning the series 4-1 is set at +225, with a 4-2 Lakers victory next in line at +300. A sweep for the Lakers can be had at +333, while the best odds on a Trail Blazers series win are +1000 on a 4-3 triumph.

Game 1 is set to tip off on Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET.