Dwight Howard makes bold prediction about Lakers' fate in playoffs

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There is a fair amount of intrigue and excitement surrounding the Los Angeles Lakers as they near the start of their first-round playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves. It is the first time since 2012 that they will begin a playoff series at Crypto.com Arena, and after claiming the third seed in the Western Conference, they seem to have a real shot at winning the NBA championship.

They will have weaknesses and issues to overcome, such as their thin center rotation, lack of guard depth and inability to consistently control their defensive backboards. But their three-headed monster of LeBron James, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves is a scary obstacle that opposing teams will have trouble dealing with.

Former Laker Dwight Howard, who was recently voted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, feels the Lakers will indeed win it all this year.

Via Basketball Insiders:

“The Lakers scare me because if LeBron is healthy in the playoffs, it’s going to be tough for teams to beat them in a seven-game series,” Howard told Basketball Insiders in an exclusive interview. “My mind is saying the Lakers are going to win this year. I see the Lakers against Cleveland.”

The eight-time All-Star and three-time Defensive Player of the Year gave rookie head coach JJ Redick credit for guiding the team through a season that featured a lot of change and upheaval.

“I love how the Lakers are playing,” says Howard of his former team. “I love how JJ (Redick) has stayed mentally locked in the whole season, hasn’t allowed any nonsense to affect them. The Luka trade, it really took them over the top. I see them making a deep run in the playoffs. I don’t see a lot of teams beating them in a seven-game series.”

Many agree that the best team in the Western Conference, if not the entire league, right now is the Oklahoma City Thunder, and for good reason. They won 68 games this season and had a massive 12.7 net rating, and they boast superstar guard Shai Glilgeous-Alexander, the league's leading scorer who is expected to win the MVP award.

But Howard made a big claim about the Thunder while naming one team that could give L.A. some issues in the playoffs.

“The only team I see giving them trouble is Denver — and they can beat Denver,” says Howard. “OKC is afraid of them, they can beat OKC. I see no problems with OKC.”

The Lakers, of course, have had lots of trouble with the Denver Nuggets over the last two years. From January 2023 until November 2024, they lost 13 of 14 games to the Nuggets before winning two of their last three versus Nikola Jokić and crew.

They will start the 2025 NBA Playoffs against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday. It could perhaps be the start of a magical run for a franchise that has already won 17 world championships and is looking to tie the defending champion Boston Celtics by getting its 18th.

This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Dwight Howard makes bold prediction about Lakers' fate in playoffs

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