The NBA regular season is nearly complete, with all eyes on the playoffs. Only a few matchups are known at the moment, as there’s one night of the regular season left and several play-in games that are yet to take place. The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the teams waiting to see who their opponent will be. Having secured the No. 3 seed, the Lakers have two potential opponents in the first round.
It will be either the Minnesota Timberwolves or the Golden State Warriors. Everything rides on the Warriors’ final regular season game against the Los Angeles Clippers. If the Clippers win, Los Angeles will face the Timberwolves. If the Warriors win, it will be the Warriors. What do the Lakers prefer? It’s always a good idea to avoid Stephen Curry, particularly in the playoffs. But according to Paul Pierce, it’s not just Curry who could cause problems. Luka Doncic shouldn’t want to see two other Golden State stars in the first round.
Appearing on SPEAK this week, Pierce explained why Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green could cause a lot of problems for Doncic in a potential series.
I think Luka’s worried about Draymond AND Jimmy Butler. Two guys who can guard him. And then he’s gonna have to guard on the other end. They’re going to put him in some tough situations. I’m just saying, that’s the only worry though.
Pierce admits that the Lakers “have been playing well” and “they look good”. But facing the Warriors, and especially Curry, is a big worry for the Lakers’ odds to make it to the next round.
Luka Doncic has had mixed results against Warriors this season
Doncic faced the Warriors three times during the regular season; twice while with the Dallas Mavericks and once with the Lakers. He dropped 31/8/6 and 45/11/13 stat lines in the first two games, but Golden State hadn’t acquired Butler at that point, and Doncic was on the Mavs.
In his one game against Green and Butler while with the Lakers, he only scored 19 points on 6-17 shooting. Los Angeles lost that game 123-116 at home. Green and Butler didn’t do much on offense in that game, but they did their job defensively on Doncic.
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