Who is the favourite to represent the West in the NBA Finals? The balance in the table is so great that, for now, the question remains completely open.
The leader Denver Nuggets lives its worst moment of the year, while two “bogeymen” are on the prowl.
According to ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins the Los Angeles Lakers are ahead of the Golden State Warriors in contention for the title of the West.
“The playoffs are the highest level of competition possible. And, in short, Golden State’s defense has been awful this season.” Perkins said.
“I know the Phoenix Suns are the majority favorite as they have the best team on paper. But when it comes to teams that really defend, I have the Lakers. They are my favorite right now in the conference.” he added.
The former pivot’s predict is certainly bold. The Angelinos, after all, should not even have a direct spot in the playoffs at the end of this Sunday.
The tendency is for the team to end the season in seventh place and, thus, need to face the play-in to guarantee the classification.
It would then go into the knockout stage against one of the best two in the West in the first round. But Perkins fears none of that.
“The Lakers have the best defense in the league these past few weeks. Also, the best player in the conference since the beginning of March is there: Anthony Davis.” Perkins said.
“And by the way, have you seen LeBron James? This guy just scored 30 points in the second half of a back-to-back game . So this team simply cannot be sidelined.” Perkins added.
The Warriors have a slightly better record than the Lakers and, therefore, depend only on themselves to reach the playoffs directly.
The trend is that it stays in the sixth position. More than that, he is the current champion of the league and winner of four of the last eight titles.
However, Perkins sees a very different team on the court than those who took the Larry O’Brien trophy.
