Cavs Insider Predicts LeBron James and Lakers to Miss NBA Finals This Season

While the Cleveland Cavaliers aren’t destined to play in the 2020 NBA Finals, former Cavaliers forward LeBron James is hoping to lead his Los Angeles Lakers team to a Western Conference title. However, in the opinion of one Cavs insider, James will come up short in that effort.

Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com offered his thoughts on how the 2019-20 NBA season is likely to unfold. He believes that the winner of the Western Conference won’t be the Lakers, but instead their Staples Center co-tenant, the Los Angeles Clippers.

“While there will be lots to debate and the race will be fierce, it’s tough to see any outcome but the most obvious: Lakers and Clippers battling for conference — and city — supremacy,” wrote Fedor.

Fedor predicts that the Lakers will finish as the fourth seed in the West and reach the conference finals by defeating his top seed selection, the Denver Nuggets. In picking the Clippers, he believes that they’ll dethrone the Golden State Warriors, who would miss the finals for the first time since 2014.

In the East, Fedor is predicting that the Philadelphia 76ers will defeat the Milwaukee Bucks in the conference finals, while the defending champion Toronto Raptors will fall in the first round to the Miami Heat. For the winner of the finals, his choice of the Clippers would mark a first-ever title for that franchise if it came true.

The Clippers began play in 1970 as the Buffalo Braves, beginning play in the same year as the Portland Trail Blazers and Cavaliers. One interesting Cavalier connection on this year’s edition of the Clippers is former head coach Tyronn Lue, who’s serving as an assistant to head coach Doc Rivers.

As for the Cavaliers, Fedor is predicting them to finish with the 13th best record among the 15 Eastern Conference squads. That’s not really a step up from their 19-63 record from last year, but it may be enough to ensure that they hold onto their top pick if they end the season among the bottom 10 teams in the league.