The Los Angeles Lakers (49-14) had a nice weekend this past weekend. They beat the Bucks (53-12), and they beat the Clippers (44-20)
Those are the teams they’ll have to beat in the postseason.
“It does feel like there’s three teams and everybody else: Lakers, Clippers, Bucks,” NBA on TNT host Adam Lefkoe said on The DA Show. “The fact that in the last seven days they’ve beaten two of them kind of shows you a lot. The Lakers feel a little bit like destiny right now, and LeBron is leading the way.”
James, who is averaging 25.7 points, 10.6 assists and 7.9 rebounds, is in a two-horse race with Giannis Antetokounmpo for MVP. The Bucks hope to avenge last season’s playoff meltdown, when they squandered a 2-0 lead to the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Lefkoe is worried about Milwaukee come playoff time.
“Oh, of course,” he said. “We’ve seen these teams over the years in all of sports. The Raptors have really held down that mantle for about a decade. I remember when the Bengals and Andy Dalton, it didn’t matter what they did during the regular season. [They lost] in the playoffs. We’ve had that with Bill O’Brien a little bit and the Texans where the pressure just mounts.”
Not everyone can be Dwyane Wade, who won an NBA title in his third season. When you win early, there’s no pressure.
“Well, the Bucks haven’t won early,” Lefkoe said. “No matter what they do, the retort is, ‘But the playoffs.’ So for me, until they get over it, it’ll hang there – because I saw what the Lakers did to the Bucks this past week. I’ve seen how teams pack it in against Giannis and it gets to a half-court game, and like the Patriots in the playoffs, the refs are calling it different. I think until I really, really see it, oh yeah, it’s a huge concern.”