The Lakers and the Dodgers are headed into their respective playoffs at around the same time today. The Lakers are playing the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals tonight at 6 p.m. The Dodgers will go head to head with the Milwaukee Brewers starting at 7 p.m.
Matthew Moreno is managing editor of Dodger Blue and Lakers Nation. He says, “Obviously, the Dodgers decided to go with Walker Buehler [as starting pitcher] in game one over Clayton Kershaw, just like they did last year. ... That’s something to watch. And then on the other side with the Brewers, it’s going to be similar to when the Dodgers played them in 2018 in the NLCS [National League Championship Series], where they are probably going to lean heavily on their bullpen.”
He continues, “If the Dodgers can take an early lead, I think it will bode well for them. If not, it could get a little interesting. And this year with the expanded postseason, the wild card series being a best of three, the first game carries even more weight than it normally would.”
Tania Ganguli, who covers the Lakers for the LA Times, says we can expect the Lakers to continue with how they’ve been performing throughout the season that’s been played in the bubble.
“The Lakers are going to try to assert their dominance in a way they have been throughout these playoffs. They’re not the greatest jump shooting team, and I think that’s what the Heat will rely on and try to work with defensively. But they have a lot of other ways they can dominate their opponents, and Lebron James and Anthony Davis are at the center of that.”