Draymond Green’s reasoning for why he’s ‘never counting the Lakers out’ in Western Conference playoff race

Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green is not counting out the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference playoff race this season.

Green is confident that the Warriors can take any team in the Western Conference this season, but he showed some respect for the Lakers and LeBron James as well.

The Warriors and Lakers have both gotten out to slow starts in the 2022-23 season, but Golden State is still over .500 at 14-13 through its first 27 games.

Why Draymond Green isn’t counting the Lakers out just yet

The Lakers have rebounded after a dreadful 2-10 start to the season, but they’ve lost three straight games heading into Sunday’s matchup with the Detroit Pistons.

It makes sense that Green isn’t counting out the Lakers, as Anthony Davis has been playing some of his best basketball of his career this season. The eight-time All-Star is averaging 27.5 points, 12.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.3 blocks per game while shooting 59.3 percent from the field.

Davis carried the Lakers for a stretch when James was out due to an adductor strain. When James and Davis are both healthy, the Lakers are certainly a dangerous team, and Green seems to know that.

Los Angeles won the NBA title during the 2019-20 season, but James and Davis have battled injuries since. The Lakers have made the playoffs just once since winning the title, and they haven’t won a playoff series in the last two seasons.

It just goes to show how much respect the two players have around the league, especially from a four-time NBA champion such as Green.

Green and the Warriors have seen firsthand how dominant James can be in the playoffs, as the team faced James in the NBA Finals in four straight seasons when he was with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

James and the Cavs erased a 3-1 deficit in the 2016 NBA Finals to spoil what was an amazing season by Golden State. The team had gone 73-9 in the regular season, the best record in NBA history.

Lakers fans are hoping that the team can turn things around and get into the mix in the playoffs this season. As long as James and Davis are on the floor, Los Angeles should have a real chance to make the playoffs and make some noise once it is there.