NBA: The Only Way Lakers Can Beat Clippers To 2020 Title, Windhorst Explains

The Los Angeles Clippers and city rivals Los Angeles Lakers have been installed as the top two pre-season favorites to win the 2020 NBA championship after they made high profile additions to their rosters in the offseason. The debate is likely to continue well into the regular season but the experts are currently giving Doc Rivers’ team the edge over the purple and gold.

The Clippers were the big winners in the offseason as they landed reigning NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard in free agency and MVP contender Paul George via trade from Oklahoma City Thunder. Meanwhile, the Lakers added Anthony Davis to the roster that already has LeBron James making them one of the best teams in the league.

Kevin Durant left the Golden State Warriors to join the Brooklyn Nets along with Boston Celtic’s Kyrie Irving, but the former is expected to miss almost if not the entire 2019-20 season, which lowers their chance of being contenders from the East. The Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers and Houston Rockets are the teams in the running to make a deep run in the playoffs while many believe writing off the Warriors, who have made the last five finals is a mistake.

However, the debate about who among the Clippers and Lakers have the best chance is going to be one of the most discussed topics going into the new season. The Clippers have been tipped as the better team owing to their defense with Leonard and George but ESPN’s Brian Windhorst has added to that argument and delved deeper into why Rivers’ team is far superior compared to their city rivals.

The NBA expert believes the depth the Clippers possess is something that will help them during the course of the regular season and allow most of their players to be at their peak when they arrive for the playoffs. Meanwhile, he believes the Lakers do not have the luxury of a talented bench and thus will have to have a perfect regular season while managing the workload in order to be in contention when they arrive at the summit clash in the Western Conference.

“Yes [there is a big gap], because I think that the Clippers depth is spectacular, now they have to stay healthy. I was talking to a guy who’s been around the NBA for decades. I feel like I’m gonna be talking about this exact analogy for the next eight months,” Windhorst said, talking on ESPN’s “The Jump”.

“The Lakers can win the title this year, but they have to run the perfect race. They have to get out not too fast, not too slot; no injuries, stay in the path, save your energy for the end, they can do it, but it’s gotta be perfect. Their margin for error was narrower."

“You look at the Clippers, they still have this core you mentioned. When they go to their bench, they go to two of the best bench guys in the league. (…) We don’t even remember Landry Shamet, JaMychal Green, they are too deep at every position that I just don’t think the Lakers are there. I wouldn’t grade the Clippers way ahead in terms of titles odds, but I think the Clippers are a better team,” he added.