Gilbert Arenas: Lakers Would ‘Smack’ Thunder In Playoffs

Former NBA guard Gilbert Arenas has a podcast on which he’s known for saying some outlandish things.

But give Arenas credit — he keeps things interesting, and that’s the point of a podcast, no?

Anyway, Arenas has begun to make some predictions, and let’s just say he believes in the Los Angeles Lakers. Like, really believes. This despite the Lakers’ fairly uneven play for the majority of the season.

As for teams that stand a chance to be seeded higher in the playoffs? Well, Arenas doesn’t appear nearly as sold.

We know all this because Arenas predicted the Lakers would “smack” the higher-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder, if given the chance, in the first round of the playoffs.

The Thunder, of course, entered Monday as the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, a mere half-game behind the reigning champion Denver Nuggets.

But Arenas didn’t stop there. After dispatching the Thunder, the Lakers would then beat the “Flippers” in the second round, he insisted, in reference to the rival Los Angeles Clippers.

The Lakers (39-32) are currently in ninth in the West. If the playoffs started at this very moment, they would face the Golden State Warriors in the play-in tournament. 

That said, LA has indeed played better lately, having won three straight through Sunday. But that still only brings the Lakers to six wins in their past 10.

Again, this is just one’s man projection, but Arenas may be on to something. After all, the Lakers still have LeBron James and Anthony Davis, and they did advance to the West finals via the play-in tourney last season. James has historically been at his best when it means the most. The Thunder will be new to all this.

Granted, we don’t know if the teams will meet or if the Lakers can actually put together another playoff run after another rocky season. But for Arenas, it’s a not-so-terrible hot take. Some may tell you that alone is news.

For the first time since he started that podcast, I’m not in total disagreement with him.

— Sam Amico (@AmicoHoops) March 25, 2024