In the latest episode of “The Bill Simmons Podcast,” Simmons explained why the Los Angeles Lakers are the wildcard team to win this year’s NBA championship. Naturally, LeBron James and Luka Doncic being on the roster has something to do with it.
“The thing that I really noticed that people talked about before they made the trade was just 48 minutes of Luka and LeBron or Luka or LeBron, but you always have somebody out there who just has this crazy IQ and that’s a really good offensive player. I’ve never wavered from thinking Luka was going to be awesome on this team. I just thought it was scary last night,” said Simmons.
Are the Lakers true contenders?
Aside from employing two of the best playmakers on their team, the podcast host also believes they’re built well enough to thrive in the postseason.
“They just have size and physicality that I think you saw against the Celtics; they bullied the Celtics. Now, a slightly different team, but when you have Rui, LeBron and Luka all together, that’s 800 pounds of dudes,” Simmons added.
The Lakers are currently sitting fourth in the Western Conference with a 34-21 record. Since Doncic’s arrival, they’ve won three out of their last five games, with the Slovenian superstar looking more comfortable in the Lakers uniform with every possession.
Saturday’s victory against the Denver Nuggets was by far the 25-year-old’s best performance with his new team, and it was an encouraging sign moving forward — he had 32 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in a 123-100 victory to snap Denver’s nine-game winning streak.
Simmons praises JJ Redick
JJ Redick, who the “Podfather” described as a great coach, is another factor that makes Simmons believe that the Lakers have a shot at winning the title. This was a complete 180-degree turn from what he said in the offseason when he not only mentioned that L.A. had no chance of making it past the play-in bracket but also that he didn’t believe in Redick. Four months of basketball have changed Mr. Simmons’ mind.
“When you’re the top 5 or top 3 on defense, that’s not flukey. I think JJ [Redick] is legitimately a good coach and I thought what they did last night to Joker was terrible because they made him terrible. I just think that at some point, it’s math. Last night, LeBron and Luka had 59, 19 and 12. If you get numbers like that from your best two guys, you’re gonna be heard from a couple playoff runs. So if I was a Lakers fan, I’d be excited,” Bill said.
Some Lakers fans will say that this is Simmons’ — a longtime and well-known Boston Celtics fan — way of reverse-jinxing the purple and gold, while others believe everything he said is valid. Whatever it is, only time will tell whether he was right.
