Los Angeles Lakers: Portland Trail Blazers will present a challenge

The Los Angeles Lakers will finally know who they will be playing in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, as they will face the Portland Trail Blazers.

As we get ready for the start of the NBA Playoffs, the Los Angeles Lakers will now finally know who they will be facing. Unfortunately for the Lakers, they will have an extremely tough test in the first round, as they will be facing the Portland Trail Blazers.

Usually, the one seed against the eight seed is a walk in the park for most teams. However, these Trail Blazers are not your normal eight seed. Due to injuries, the Trail Blazers didn’t have the season that they were hoping.

Just last year, the Trail Blazers were in the Western Conference Finals, as they are going to be a big threat to the Lakers. With the Trail Blazers getting healthy finally, they were able to grab the last spot in the Western Conference from the Memphis Grizzlies.

For the Trail Blazers, it all starts with Damian Lillard. Since the NBA has restarted, Lillard has been on a mission to get his team into the playoffs and he’s carried them there. For the Lakers, the matchup against an elite guard like Lillard isn’t a great one.

Not having a great defensive guard like Avery Bradley will hurt the Lakers in this series, as you have to pick up and pressure Lillard any time he crosses halfcourt. Covering Lillard will be a big challenge, but one that the defensive minded Lakers will have to be up for.

In addition to Lillard, the Trail Blazers also have Carmelo Anthony, who is playing at a high level for them. Seeing Anthony and James playing against each other in the playoffs at this stage of the career will be a fun storyline to monitor.

While this is just a eight against a one in the first round, it should be a fun series to watch and a challenging one to play for the Lakers.