Unfortunately for the Los Angeles Lakers, they find themselves on the outside looking in when it comes to the 2024 NBA Finals.
The Lakers have yet to return to the Finals since winning the 2020 NBA Championship, and now must watch the Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics square off for the title this year. Boston nearly sleepwalked through the Eastern Conference as they got to face off against injury-riddled teams like the Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana pacers while Dallas had to fend off the L.A. Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Celtics enter the Finals as the odds-on favorites to win it all, though the Mavericks shouldn’t be counted out as they’ve been a different team since acquiring P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford at the trade deadline. As much depth and talent as Boston has on their roster, Dallas has the best player in the series in Luka Doncic and a clutch shotmaker and scorer in Kyrie Irving.
Austin Reaves will surely be tuning into the Finals and in a true purple and gold fashion, chose the Mavericks to win the title this year.
“I gotta go Dallas just because I can’t choose Boston,” Reaves said.
Reaves is referring to the historic rivalry between the Celtics and Lakers, who have squared off numerous times in the past. Although Boston has the Finals head-to-head record, the two teams are tied for the most championships in the league with 17.
A Finals win for the Celtics would give them more titles than the Lakers, a reality that any fan in Los Angeles is surely hoping to avoid. Reaves hasn’t been with the Lakers for long, but seems to understand the importance of their decades-old rivalry with the Celtics.
Similar to the 2022 NBA Finals when Boston took on the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles will be rooting for their nemesis to lose. Dallas has the requisite pieces to conjure up another upset and it should be an electric matchup between two of the best teams in the league.
Lakers front office leaning towards upgrading supporting cast instead of chasing a third star
Throughout the playoffs, it’s been made apparent that the best teams have one or two stars and adequate role players as starters and off the bench. The Lakers face an offseason where they can go in a number of directions regarding their roster, but the front office is reportedly leaning toward upgrading the supporting cast versus chasing a third star to pair with LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
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