The LA Lakers have been a one of the heavy favorites to win it all this season. From the start of the season until today, that hasn’t changed.

Before the NBA season was suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Lakers were one of the top two teams in the NBA with a 49-14 record and the first seed in the Western Conference.

Since entering the bubble, the best basketball team in Los Angeles led by LeBron James and Anthony Davis has shown vulnerability as they struggled to get it going in the latter part of the regular season, losing four games and only winning three out of the seven games they’ve played in.

Now, you may say that those losses are just minor setbacks and that they’ll be all right heading into the season. Well, that is a good point but this is not the time to struggle!

With the playoffs coming up very soon, and with three out of the four teams battling for the eighth seed playing at an extremely high level, the Lakers are in a very tough spot and they need to get it together right away.

This got me thinking, between the Memphis Grizzlies, Portland Trailblazers, Phoenix Suns and San Antonio Spurs. Which team has the best chance of knocking out the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs?

Here is my take on who do I think could bounce out the Lakers in the first round.

No. 4 – Memphis Grizzlies

The Memphis Grizzlies is no question a very tough young squad.

However, that compliment comes with a down side. They are very good, very hungry and very tough but the fact that they’re very young as well is a big factor because that also means they’re very inexperienced, evident with their 1-5 record in the bubble right now.

The only significant players on their roster that have playoff experience are Jonas Valančiūnas, Kyle Anderson and Justise Winslow.

Ja Morant has been excellent this year and is no doubt the Rookie of the Year. Jaren Jackson Jr and Brandon Clarke has proven themselves to be great pieces for a team to compete for a playoff spot. But despite their upsides, I don’t think they could put up a good fight against the Lakers. If they do secure the eighth seed despite their disappointing performance in the bubble, it will either be 4-0 or 4-1 in favor of the Lakers.

But if this squad would stick together and gather some experiences in the next few years, I don’t see them being near the bottom of the standings.

No. 3 – Phoenix Suns

This is very hard for me because I really want to see Devin Booker finally reach the playoffs and have a deep run in the playoffs this season.

Unfortunately, I don’t see the Phoenix Suns as a great match-up against the Lakers. Like the Grizzlies, if they do secure the eighth seed I think it’ll also be either a sweep or gentleman sweep for the Lakers.

D-Book and DeAndre Ayton have been spectacular in the bubble, leading the Suns to a 7-0 record and climbing the standings as the 10^th seed now behind the Portland Trailblazers with a 33-39 record.

I do think (and hope) they can surpass the Trailblazers and Memphis and lock in the eighth seed by the end of the week, but their hunger and young talents won’t be enough to rock King James, The Brow and the Lakers off the playoffs in the first round. They’d also have to win a play-in.

Ricky Rubio has some wealthy experience in playing in a high-pressure games in the playoffs during his time with the Utah Jazz. Kelly Oubre Jr has some experience as well with the Washington Wizards. Coach Monty Williams is the perfect man to lead the young Suns from the sidelines.

But if your two best players only have hunger and talent and no playoff experience, it’ll be close to impossible to beat a team as good as the Lakers.

But you can bet that if they do make it, I’ll be rooting for them despite being the underdog in the series.

No. 2 – San Antonio Spurs

Unlike the Grizzlies and the Suns, the San Antonio Spurs has talent, hunger and a ton of experience in their bag.

The Spurs are on the verge of breaking their 22-year playoff appearance streak this season.

All season long, San Antonio has struggled to compete in the very tough Western Conference but they’ve proven that despite being short with top tier talents, they won’t be going down without a fight and has kept their chances alive of making the playoffs with a 4-2 record in the bubble and sitting as the 11^th seed in the West with a 32-38 record.

They need everything to go perfectly for them to make the playoffs. First, they have to beat the Jazz in their final game of the season. Then, they need two out three teams to lose their final games: Memphis, Portland, and Phoenix.

Failing to reach the playoffs would mean it’ll be the end of their great 22-year streak, but if they do reach the playoffs, then the Lakers will have a tough assignment in the first round.

DeMar Derozan has fully adjusted to the system of the Spurs this season, averaging 22.1 points in 52.9 shooting in the field along with 5.5 rebounds and 5.6 assists. For sure he’d want to get revenge on James for losing to him multiple times in the playoffs during his time with the Toronto Raptors, so we can already expect him to play out of his mind if he does see the King on the court in the playoffs again.

LaMarcus Aldridge has proven before that he can be a guy the team can rely on during tough games and has a lot of playoff experience under his belt, not to mention the fact that he averaged 20 points in last year’s playoffs.

The Spurs also have young, talented and experienced guys on their squad like Derrick White and Dejounte Murray.

And of course, the biggest factor of all is the magic of the great Coach Gregg Popovich. How can you count out a team that has arguably the Greatest Coach of All-Time?

With all these factors, I can see San Antonio possibly pulling off one of the biggest upsets in NBA history if they do meet the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs.

No. 1 – Portland Trailblazers

The Portland Trailblazers will either take out the LA Lakers in the first round or lose in seven games.

Yep! I’m already calling it.

Damian Lillard and the Trailblazers turned it on in the bubble and it doesn’t look like they have plans to turn it down until they win the title this season.

Portland has won four out of the six games they’ve played behind the phenomenal performances of Lillard, CJ McCollum, the resurging Carmelo Anthony and Jusuf Nurkić.

Dame Dolla has proven in the past that he can will his team to a series win against some of the tough teams in the NBA with McCollum being the perfect sidekick for the Trailblazers.

Anthony has a lot of playoff experience in his Hall of Fame career and is surely hungry to make his triumphant return to the postseason. Nurkić, if he stays healthy, has proven to be the perfect Center for Portland.

The Trailblazers have the experience, the hunger and the talent to compete against the Lakers.

With guys like Nurkić, Hassan Whiteside and Zach Collins rotating to slow down Davis underneath and with Melo and Trevor Ariza being the veteran guys that could slow down James and with young guys veterans like Rodney Hood and Gary Trent Jr coming off the bench and scoring buckets, plus the fact that no one in the Lakers’ roster could stop Lillard and McCollum offensively.

It will surely be a series for the ages if these two teams meet in the first round.

And hey, I know that I’m not they only one that wants to see an Anthony-James duel in the playoffs this year, especially, with the fact that these two legends have only a couple years left before they hang up their jerseys and ride into the sunset.

Portland has all they need to win and I am rolling with them once that series happens. I’m with the legendary Charles Barkley on that bandwagon.