Los Angeles Lakers: The first-round playoff matchup that is scary

It seems like a foregone conclusion that the Los Angeles Lakers will hold onto the first seed in the Western Conference, which should give the team an easy first-round matchup.

The Los Angeles Lakers have led the Western Conference for practically the entire season and there are no signs of the team slowing down. As long as they stay healthy and play their style of basketball, they should be able to hold onto their five-game led in the West with ease.

Typically, this creates an easy first-round matchup for the first seed against the eighth-seed. The eighth-seed is usually a team that is barely over .500 and in rare cases, we see an eighth-seed that takes the game to the first seed.

We saw a little bit of that last year when the Los Angeles Clippers took the Golden State Warriors to six games but even that series felt way out of grasp for the Clippers.

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Based on how the Lakers have played this season, especially against Western Conference foes, many expect an easy first round. Heck, the Lakers are 29-6 against the West and 21-2 against teams seeded seventh or lower.

However, there is one first-round matchup that the Los Angeles Lakers absolutely want to avoid. While they will still be the favorites and most likely will win the series, it presents arguably the highest chance of losing in the first round.

It is the New Orleans Pelicans, who are surging now that Zion Williamson in back in the fold and are 3.5 games back of the eighth seed. What makes the Pelicans a scary matchup?

Zion is the first answer. We have not seen a rookie this dominant right away since LeBron James as Zion is playing at an all-star level. Sure, the sample size is small, but we have no reason to expect him to get any worse moving forward.

Zion did not play in the first two matchups against the Pelicans but we will get a taste of that matchup on Tuesday when the two teams play. Zion absolutely adds a different dynamic to this Pelicans team, who should success much more in the paint after being severely mismatched down low in the first two matchups.

The Pelicans are more talented than they are given credit for as well. With Zion in the fold, the team essentially has two all-star-caliber players with Brandon Ingram, who is averaging 24.5 points per game this season.

Jrue Holiday is the third-best player on the team, is averaging 19.4 points, 6.8 assists and 1.7 steals and is easily one of the top-40 players in the league.

Alongside him in Lonzo Ball, who we know is not a lethal scorer, but already shows an experienced ability to run the offense as well as provide some of the best backcourt defense in the league alongside Holiday.

J.J. Redick is a veteran sharpshooter, Derrick Favors is a reliable pick and roll option and Josh Hart has emerged as a reliable bench guard.

The Los Angeles Lakers are more talented, but as we saw in the first game between these two teams if the Pelicans can get in rhythm than they can simply outshoot the Lakers into a deficit. With better frontcourt matchups with Zion and Favors, they should be better at containing Davis.

Of course, the counterpoint is that the Pelicans could easily shoot themselves out of a lead, too, and that the lack of playoff experience will come back to bite them.

But in the same vein, this will be an eighth seed that is even more determined than the traditional eighth seed, as Ingram, Ball, Hart and the entire franchise will be determined to beat their former team and Anthony Davis‘ new team.

Next. What the Lakers need to get past the Clippers. dark

The Los Angeles Lakers will still be the favorites, and rightfully so, but the New Orleans Pelicans are definitely the eighth seed that the Lakers don’t want to see in the first round.

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