Lakers and Clippers Fight to Survive Longer in LA

The Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers are in the playoffs this season and LA fans are ready to see who lasts longer.

It is the NBA playoffs and that means it is time for intense basketball, close-call games and rowdy fans. Both the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers are competing in the playoffs this season as well as for the title of the better LA team.

The Lakers only had a 0.3% chance of competing in the playoffs this postseason while the Clippers were expected to be there after staying around seed five and seed six towards the end of the regular season.

As both LA teams fight for the finish, it will be exciting to see who comes up on top. Obviously, Lebron James and Anthony Davis are fan favorites for the Lakers franchise, but the team has not been in the best position after their low chances of being considered, and point guard D’Angelo Russell has been on and off his game. However, rising Laker star Austin Reaves has been pulling through for the team and carrying a handful of their guys on his back as he dominates his first playoff season.

In an interview with Spectrum SportsNet, James praised Reaves’ skill and said, “I knew from the first practice that he wasn’t going to be a two-way player for long…I know the type of players that fit with my game, and I knew Austin would be that.”

In February, the Lakers sent Russell Westbrook to the Clippers and much of Westbrook’s fan base followed him to the neighboring L.A. team. Drama has heightened between fans and players since a source told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin on NBA Today that trading Westbrook was necessary to remove “a vampire from the locker room.”

The Clippers have been consistent with their game time with stars Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and now Westbrook, but their overall success may depend on how they result in the first series against the Phoenix Suns.

CSUDH student Jarmiah Gerges said to predict the results, the Suns do need to be taken into consideration. “Lebron wants it,” Gerges said. “But if the Clippers beat the Suns, I don’t know if there’s any stopping the Clippers.”

Another student on campus, Cindy Mojica, said she is rooting for the Lakers to win compared to the Clippers because she and her family have been Lakers fans since she was a baby.

Another avid Laker fan, Ross Jasso, said, “Reaves is their secret weapon. I don’t think the Lakers will make it all the way, but I think they have a strong chance of making it further than the Clippers.”

In a Twitter poll of 353 votes titled “Who is making it further in the playoffs? LA Lakers and LA Clippers?” 67% voted for the Clippers while 33% voted that the Lakers could pull it off.

In the fight for L.A. playoff territory, it will depend on how both teams will approach the upcoming games. The 0.3% chance of the Lakers making it to the playoffs might be the only chance they need to stay alive longer in L.A. than the Clippers.