Balls-Eye: Warriors to Beat Lakers Thrice in a Row?

Lakers always end up one step short of defeating the mighty Warriors. One loss in overtime, and another thrilling tiebreaker in the final seconds.

Games ended up being as close as it could have gotten. But can the Warriors thwart them for the 3rd time this season? Let us go ahead and try to analyze past games and give a substantial prediction.

One thing is evident. Lakers could not handle Durant well as he topped the scoreboard in the past two games. KD scored 29 points and 36 points. Another thing is that Durant's production increased with the absence of Curry.

Another thing that significantly contributed to Warriors' triumph is that they won the rebound battle in both matches. 62 - 45 in the first encounter followed by 70 - 60.

What made the rebound difference count?

Looking back on the 1st game, Steph Curry struggled outside until the overtime to hit two treys that decided the game. Pointing out that Warriors' main gunner barely delivered, it didn't turn out to be a killer blow as rebounding favored the Warriors that day.

What's the good thing about Lakers behind losses?

Keeping up with the Warriors is not that easy. They are fast and outside shooting frequently leads to a fatality. But still, Lakers kept up and even forced overtime though not winning both chances.

What's even more interesting is Lakers already know who to be careful with the most. Of course, they'll try harder to stop or at least limit Durant's effectivity.

Prediction

Warriors would win. Klay Thompson would suffice the need for outside explosion whilst KD would draw most of the defense onto him and would act as a key opener for the rest of the team's offense. KD's dominance would be Warriors' main trump card and would use it to lure the defense to the wrong suspected man of the night.