After another crazy offseason in the NBA, the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets seem to be on a crash course to meet in the Finals in 2022.
The Lakers’ roster underwent a complete overhaul this summer after the blockbuster acquisition of Russell Westbrook to pair with LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
While the Nets did not make a ton of moves, they did make some smart ones such as bringing in Patty Mills as well as re-signing Blake Griffin on a minimum contract to put alongside their own Big 3 of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden.
If both teams can stay healthy then they will be the favorites in their respective conferences to meet in the Finals. They will be meeting before then, however, as Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN is reporting that will be one of the Christmas Day games in 2021:
Plenty of discuss on The Jump at 3 PM ET today with unveiling of Christmas Day games, including, sources say: Trae Young and Atlanta Hawks returning to play the New York Knicks at MSG. Plus, battle of the East-West titans: The Brooklyn Nets vs. the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 17, 2021
Given the star power on both sides, this Christmas Day matchup comes as no surprise. It’s also no surprise that it will be the primetime game at 5 p.m. PT, the NBA announced.
There is also no shortage of storylines amongst the stars themselves with Westbrook being a former teammate of Durant and Harden and Irving being a former teammate of James’.
Additionally, James and Durant have long been in the debate for best player in the NBA but haven’t been able to stay healthy at the same time to answer it on the court. So the hope is that this will be the year all the stars stay healthy, leading to one of the most star-studded Christmas Day and potential Finals matchup ever.
Griffin unsure if Lakers’ new Big 3 will work out
While the intrigue of this matchup was already there on paper, players are already adding to it as Griffin really took a bit of a shot at the Lakers by stating he’s unsure if their new Big 3 will work out.
It’s fair to be skeptical until they take the court, although James and Davis alone has already proven to be the deadliest combo in the NBA today so the addition of Westbrook should only make them even more dangerous even if the fit isn’t perfect.
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