In what was likely the most anticipated NBA game of the year, the Los Angeles Lakers came out victorious against Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors to claim the 7-seed in the Western Conference. 

Now, the Lakers’ path to the NBA Finals does not get any easier, as they now draw a matchup with the Phoenix Suns in the first-round, a team that has consistently been amongst the league’s best all season long. 

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The Suns won 2 of the 3 regular season meetings against the Lakers this season and while some of those wins came with the Lakers being short-handed due to injuries, the Suns are still a team that has a really good chance to win the Western Conference themselves. 

This Lakers-Suns first-round series is going to look a lot like a Western Conference Finals series because of both team’s title aspirations. Whoever manages to win this series will be sending a stern message throughout the rest of the Western Conference.

This is going to be a long, hard-fought series that could go either way, but let’s dive into my four bold predictions for the series, including who I see being able to narrowly edge out the other and make the Western Conference Semifinals.