Not feeling good about the West in terms of giving Lakers any competition. Houston doesn't look like they're holding up well against OKC. Clippers look like frauds out there.
Maybe the Jazz? But they haven't even sniffed the West Finals in forever their inexperienced-ness will show.
It might have to be the Celtics who can stop them, but they gotta go through the brutal Eastern Conference powered teams.
I thought Houston might have a chance. Lakers aren't a great three point shooting team and with the volume of threes Houston takes that could be tough to keep up with even with Davis scoring 40 a game. The problem there (other than it's ugly basketball and I don't like it) is when the threes stop going in. No lead is ever safe.
You guys keep underestimating Luka.
2018: He was good in Europe, but can he do it in the NBA?
2019: He was good last season, but can he do it again this season now that opposing teams know his game?
2020: He was good thus far in the regular season, but can he do it in the playoffs?
I mean, what's left for him to prove to you guys? If you ask me, Luka is the next Larry/Magic/LeBron. These are the players I'd compare him to. Magic won Finals MVP as a rookie. Larry reached the ECF as a rookie. Sure, Luka is younger than Magic-Bird were during their 2nd season, but he's been playing pro basketball at the highest possible level in Europe since the age of 16! The kid won the European Championship at the age of 18. He was the second best player on his team at the time behind Goran Dragic. He won the Euroleague regular season MVP and the Euroleague Final 4 MVP at the age of 19! Just because you guys couldn't care less about european basketball, it doesn't mean that his achievements were less spectacular. Nobody has ever done these things in the past. Nobody! Yes, he's only 21 years old. So what? The kid is playing winning basketball.
Imo, the Mavs are the 3rd favorites to win the West. If they beat the Clips, they'll become 2nd favorites. LeBron is a GOAT candidate, but he ain't getting any younger. Luka is the new LeBron. I don't think he'll win it all this year, but it's definitely a possibility. At the very least, it's way more likely that Luka beats Bron than it is for Harden and Westbrook to beat him.
