The Los Angeles Lakers will play in the playoffs tomorrow after a seven-year hiatus. Despite being the number one seed, they face one of the toughest teams in the Portland Trail Blazers. Though Lakers star LeBron James is ready, he knows they have a big challenge ahead, and he has acknowledged the same.

During an interview, James started by praising Portland’s dynamic duo, Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum.

“They have a two-headed monster in Dame and CJ. It starts and ends with those guys. They control the tempo and pace. They do all the ball-handling and are the rock of that franchise. That playoff experience they have and the chemistry between the two of them; we have to have ten eyes on them at a time. Two eyes just guarding the ball, another eight throughout every possession. They’re that dangerous.”

LeBron James says Portland isn’t the typical eighth seed

LeBron then talked about the rest of the starting lineup and how everyone is contributing to the team’s success.

“They have a Hall of Famer in Carmelo Anthony who can erupt at any point in the game. So you have to always key on him and have that respect factor because you know what he’s capable of doing. I believe Nurkic and Zach coming back from injury has helped them out a lot as well.” 

The Blazers went 6-2 in the Bubble after great scoring displays by Lillard and the team. So LeBron knows the key to beating them is by defending well.

“They are the best scoring team in the bubble. You have to try to get multiple stops and you can’t try to outscore them. They’re not your typical eighth seed. I don’t think they would’ve been the eighth seed if they were healthy all year. I’m not going in as a 1 seed Vs 8 seed. I’m going in with it’s the Lakers vs Portland.”

The Lakers need LeBron James and Anthony Davis to step up after an unimpressive seeding games campaign. LeBron is a proven playoff performer and has never lost in the first round. In a tough matchup like this, he will have to lead from the front as the Lakers attempt to beat the hottest team.