Former Lakers Legend Believes LA Could Upset Top-Seeded Team in Western Conference Playoffs

A Lakers legend believes LA can topple a top-seeded team in the Western Conference Playoffs.

The Los Angeles Lakers got a huge win against the Atlanta Hawks last night, moving their chance to avoid the play-in tournament by a small margin. As it stands, the team might have to claw their way to make a deep postseason run. 

Despite the up-and-down-season the Lakers have, a former LA legend believes that the team can take down a much higher-seeded team.

"The Lakers or the Warriors could beat the Thunder in the first round."

- Shaq

(Via @NBAonTNT / h/t @ClutchPoints ) pic.twitter.com/EKOWvbZHkx

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) March 15, 2024

Former Laker legend Shaquille O'Neal often has hot takes, and he has stated that LA or the Warriors are likely the ones that can take down the Oklahoma City Thunder. 

The Lakers are currently 2-1 against OKC this season, so they could technically have a good blueprint on how to take down the current Western Conference first-place giants. 

The Lakers would need everyone firing on all cylinders to beat the Thunder. Anthony Davis left Saturday's game against the Warriors after being accidentally hit in the eye. The result was LA dropping the game 128-121.

The team rebounded plenty last night against the Hawks, which saw the win secured on great performances by D'Angelo Russell, Davis, and James. All three will need to band together if they are to challenge the Thunder and other teams awaiting them in the Western Conference Playoffs. 

Shaq believes in how dangerous the Lakers can be, and so do we. However, the team dropping games they should be winning does not inspire much confidence. It will just be up to the team to get hot when it counts.