The Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors both had entertaining first round series but ended up being too much for their respective first round opponents. The seventh-seeded Lakers beat the second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies in six games, with a 40-point Game 6 win to close it out.
Meanwhile, the sixth-seeded Warriors were pushed to seven games against the third-seed Sacramento Kings. They won game seven by 20 points on Sunday and Stephen Curry dropped 50 points to send them into the second round.
Below we have provided a full breakdown of game one between the Lakers and Warriors, and we have included our best Lakers vs. Warriors predictions.
Even though both the Lakers and Warriors were lower seeds in their respective first round matchups, it is not a huge surprise that both were able to advance to the second round to face off with each other.
The Warriors have been winning games with their offense, averaging 115.9 points per game, the sixth-best offense in the playoffs. Defensively, they are allowing 113.7 points per game, the eighth-best defense in the playoffs.
On the other side, the Lakers’ success has come from their defense. They are allowing 104.7 points per game, the fifth best in the playoffs, while they are scoring an average of 112.2 points per game, the 10th best in the playoffs.
There is set to be a ton of star power in this matchup and it could very well go six or seven games. That being said, the Warriors have been solid at home in the playoffs so far, which makes our best bet for Game 1 a Warriors’ win which has (-198) odds on the money line.