Lakers: 3 Teams they should want to face from the West in the playoffs

– Oklahoma City Thunder

After the Grizzlies, the next team the Lakers should want to face is the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder are currently slated to play the Utah Jazz as the 4/5 matchup. This could be a grueling matchup for the Thunder, as playing Utah is always a tough task.

For the Thunder, they could quite possibly be the biggest surprise of the season. This offseason, the Thunder traded Russell Westbrook and Paul George, as it appeared they were going to be going into a full rebuild.

However, some of the assets that they have brought back have meshed well and the Thunder has been one of the better teams in the Western Conference in the regular season.

Chris Paul is playing at a very high level after many thought he was going to be either traded from the Thunder or bought out of his contract. Instead, he has played like an All-Star and has the Thunder as a Top-5 seed in the West.

While the Thunder are a good team, they are one that has overachieved. The balance of the Thunder in the regular season has resulted in success, but they lack the star power to thrive in the playoffs.