‘Not your typical eight seed.’ LeBron James and Los Angeles Lakers won’t let guard down vs. Portland Trail Blazers

LeBron James went to Los Angeles two years ago in part to jump head-on into the Hollywood scene, but more importantly to lead the Lakers to a championship.

A season after missing the playoffs altogether his first time around, James and the Lakers are now the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. Typically, that means facing what amounts to a warmup against a No. 8 seed that really has no chance to contend.

In this case, however, the Lakers find themselves up against the Portland Trail Blazers, the talk of the seeding games and a team many believe could give Los Angeles a run for its money. The Blazers, who reached the Western Conference finals last season while the Lakers sat at home, have been bolstered by the return of center Jusuf Nurkic and certainly look like a better team than they did in March.

In agreement on these points is James.

“I’m not going in as a one seed versus an eight seed,” James told reporters Monday. “I’m going in as Lakers vs. Portland.”

The reason some believe Portland is a threat to the Lakers has as much to do with the latter’s shortcomings as it does the former’s play since the restart.

The Lakers went 3-5 in the reseeding games but won the only game that truly mattered to them. In the opener, the Lakers clinched the No. 1 seed with a 103-101 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. With nothing left to play for, the Lakers lost five of their final seven games and often looked bad in the process. With seemingly the rest of the NBA putting up crazy point totals, the Lakers were held under 100 points three times.

Outside shooting has been an issue for the Lakers. The Blazers’ defense, lit up for much of the seeding session, tends to allow shooters to get good looks. If the Lakers can’t hit those shots, then the Blazers, led by Damian Lillard, certainly will have a chance to steal some games, if not the series.

However, all of that analysis ignores the fact that the best player on the court will be James. His main running mate is All-Star Anthony Davis, arguably the best big man in the game.

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) handles the ball against Indiana Pacers forward Doug McDermott (20) during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Aug. 8, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.AP

The Lakers know that Portland will do whatever it can to try to prevent James and Davis from dominating each game. For Lakers opponents, slowing down that duo usually involves using double teams to get the ball out of their hands and dare someone else to beat them.

“We didn’t shoot the ball extremely well in the seeding games,” Davis said. “But if we find our rhythm offensively where we’re making shots, then the double teaming has to stop.”

Lakers coach Frank Vogel said he believes the team is progressing in the right direction.

“Our spacing needed to improve and it has over the past week or so and in these last two practices,” Vogel said.

Portland has had no issues with spacing or hitting shots. The quartet of Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, Carmelo Anthony and Gary Trent has been magnificent at the bubble.

As soon as the Blazers closed out Memphis on Saturday, the Lakers began preparing for how to handle what James called the best offense at the bubble.

“You have to get stops,” James said. “You have to get multiple stops. You can’t try to outscore them because they can score with the best.”

While studying the Blazers in Orlando, the Lakers saw a much different team than the one that defeated them on Jan. 31 in Los Angeles. On that night, when the Lakers were honoring Kobe Bryant, Lillard scored 48 points and Hassan Whiteside had 30 points and 13 rebounds. The Lakers committed 18 turnovers compared with just five for the Blazers, who were without Nurkic and Zach Collins.

Nurkic, who missed the entire season before returning to the bubble, will present a challenge for the Lakers to contend with inside. Collins, however, is out for Game 1 with an ankle injury.

“Obviously, their team looks a lot different from before the hiatus,” Davis said. “But we’ve had time to prepare and plan for them.”

Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers warms up before the game against the L.A. Clippers at The Arena at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on July 30, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) Getty Images

According to James, containing Portland starts with handling what he called the “two-headed monster,” Lillard and McCollum.

“We have to have 10 eyes on them at a time,” James said.

Hurting the Lakers in this series will be the loss of point guard Anthony Bradley, one of the better backcourt defenders in the league.

“Avery is one of the best perimeter defenders in the game,” Vogel said. “So, certainly he would be missed in a series like this. But I have great confidence in the guys we have in the bubble with us.”

Also, point guard Rajon Rondo has been out with a broken thumb. He could be available at some point in the series, Vogel said, but it’s doubtful he will be ready for Game 1.

Matchups aside, the Lakers have been the best team in the West and clearly should be the big favorites in this series. Becoming only the sixth No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 8 is not on the Lakers’ agenda.

That would be disastrous for a team that had it rolling in March before the COVID-19 pandemic halted play in the NBA.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope said the delay mentally impacted the Lakers.

“We really wanted to get back at it,” he said. “And now that it’s here, we still got the same mindset that we did during the regular season. We’re here for one thing. Our mission is to try to get to that championship and win it.”

Step 1 is to dispatch of the Blazers, something the Lakers don’t consider a given.

“I won’t be going in with my guard down,” James said.

— Aaron Fentress | afentress@Oregonian.com | @AaronJFentress (Twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook).

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