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Former LA Lakers star Metta World Peace had some bold picks for this year’s NBA playoffs. On Twitter, the 2010 NBA Champion claimed that he saw the likes of the LA Lakers and the Milwaukee Bucks as this year’s two finalists.
While the Bucks are still Eastern Conference royalty in the sense that they are second in their conference, the LA Lakers are merely play-in hopefuls and are currently 10th in the Western Conference. However, that is hardly the extent of the peculiar predictions that Metta World Peace came up with.
He believes that while the Lakers and Bucks should reach the Finals, the likes of the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks will also make it, at least as far as the Conference Semifinals. World Peace posted the following on his Twitter account:
got @Bucks vs @Lakers in finals. @pacers, @knicks @Bucks part of the semi finals.
Hence, while LeBron James and the Lakers have not been anywhere close to looking like title hopefuls, Metta World Peace certainly believes that things are going to change in the postseason.
The Lakers, apart from still looking some distance away from their best, also have a range of returning players.
Jarred Vanderbilt and Jalen-Hood Schafino will be returning soon, while Christian Wood is also nearing a return. The Milwaukee Bucks on the other hand, have used most of the season thus far to develop chemistry between their two superstars and seem to have found their feet.
Metta World Peace's bizarre Milwaukee Bucks-LA Lakers NBA Finals prediction
Of course, a range of teams and their fans are going to be disappointed after looking at Metta World Peace’s predictions. Boston Celtics for example, have easily been the most impressive team in the NBA Regular Season and are the majority’s favorite to win their first championship since 2008.
The Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks and LA Clippers are all bona fide contenders who are also bound to make things interesting in the postseason. This all makes it seem bizarre to have someone at 10th seed over the above teams for the NBA Finals.
While the LA Lakers have shown flashes of brilliance, which included winning the In-Season tournament, there are issues as well.
The Lakers have lacked consistency and will be hoping that their stars can remain fit for the rest of the season. The Milwaukee Bucks have found it difficult to contain teams and fans will undoubtedly be concerned about how well they can hold up in a seven-game series.
Regardless, both teams have the talent to make it happen, although Metta World Peace might as well have let personal bias play a major role.
He himself won his only ring with the Lakers back in 2010. Of course, much will depend on LeBron James, who will be expected to lead the charge considering it might be his final opportunity to get his fifth ring.
Guess the Bulls players in this quiz and it's not going to be easy!
