During their expected path back to glory over the last couple of months, the Los Angeles Lakers hit a roadblock in March. They went through a stretch where they lost seven of 10 games, partly due to injuries LeBron James and Rui Hachimura suffered, and their defense, which looked so airtight in February, now appeared to be in tatters.
When March began, some were picking the Lakers, newly armed with Luka Doncic, to reach the NBA Finals. But more recently, people have been more hesitant to pick them to go that far.
Yet former NBA player Marcus Morris Sr. still believes in the Purple and Gold. He revealed on ESPN's "First Take" that they're his pick to reach the championship series this summer.
"I got [the Lakers] coming out the West, let's be frank," Morris said. "Adding Luka Doncic really changed it. LeBron can really come off the ball. Austin Reaves is playing really, really well… And now he (Doncic) adds arguably the greatest player to ever play the game, arguably the highest-IQ player to ever play the game. And they have the guys behind them."
"I got [the Lakers] coming out of the West, let's be frank. ... I wouldn't even say OKC was next. I would say the Clippers, I would go as far to say the Warriors over OKC. What has [the Thunder] done outside of the regular season?"
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 3, 2025
—Marcus Morris Sr.pic.twitter.com/io9bjvWaP3
Although their defense is still problematic and their offense is slow and clunky at times, the Lakers have rebounded to win four of their last six games. They hold third place in the tightly packed Western Conference, and if they win enough of their five remaining regular-season games, they could very well finish with the third seed.
If they are to live up to Morris' prognostication, they may have to finish third, not just to have home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs or to give themselves an easier matchup there but to also avoid the Oklahoma City Thunder until the Western Conference Finals.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Former NBA player picks the Lakers to reach the NBA Finals this season
