Shaq: Lakers prefer playoff series vs. Suns over Warriors

Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) shoots against Los Angeles Lakers guard Russell Westbrook (0). Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Shaquille O'Neal: Lakers prefer playoff series vs. Suns over Warriors

Originally posted on Game 7 | By Charles Kruger | Last updated 2/17/22

The Los Angeles Lakers are 27-31 and sit ninth in the Western Conference.

By any objective measure, this group is one of the NBA’s bigger disappointments so far this season. Biven how the Lakers have played up to this point, you would think that they would be very nervous about a playoff showdown versus just about any squad ranked ahead of them.

Not so.

During a recent segment on TNT, Shaquille O’Neal revealed that there is one team L.A. isn’t at all afraid to face off against in the playoffs.

“I’ve heard from a powerful source inside the organization, they’re right where they want to be,” he said. “What I mean, they would rather play Phoenix in the first round than Golden State. Just telling you what I heard.”

That is a fascinating tidbit, obviously, because L.A. got crushed by the Suns in the playoffs last year. Not only that, but it was a particularly ugly series that saw a lot of dirty play and lingering bad blood.

In fact, just this season the hostility between these two squads was kicked into overdrive, and a few weeks back a prominent Suns player publicly bashed the Lakers as the worst team in the West.

The beef here is very, very real.

What makes the Lakers so confident they’ll be able to beat Phoenix this time around? It’s unclear.

Given that Los Angeles currently resides near the bottom of the West's playoff positioning and the Suns sit atop the conference, there is a very good chance the Lakers will get their wish.

What will they ultimately do when it happens? Time will tell.

This article first appeared on Game 7 and was syndicated with permission.

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