The OKC Thunder are currently the top dogs in the West standings at 44-9 and are seen as the odds-on favorites to represent the conference in the 2025 NBA Finals.
That said, of late there has been somewhat of a surge in optimism regarding the Los Angeles Lakers' chances of contending for the conference crown themselves, particularly after the pre-trade deadline blockbuster that netted the franchise Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Anthony Davis.
ESPN's Shannon Sharpe has even gone as far as to "guarantee" that this new-look LA squad will coast to the championship round of this year's postseason if they somehow matchup against Oklahoma City in the Western Conference Finals.
Now, though this flaming-hot take has profoundly been ridiculed by various types of basketball and NBA experts, with First Take co-host Stephen A. Smith jokingly stating he "needs to be drug tested" for making such a claim, there are people out there who surprisingly seem to agree with Sharpe's take.
Former All-Star, Gilbert Arenas, appears to be one of them.
Gilbert Arenas goes even further with Lakers vs. Thunder prediction
Within the comment section of First Take's Instagram post of the NFL Hall of Famer's remarks, the now-retired ex-baller not only echoed Sharpe's prediction but double-downed on it by saying: "1000% we whooping OKC azz 🤦🏾♂️ luka did that by himself last year now add bron 🥴".
Arenas' logic is heavily based on last year's semifinal bout between the Thunder and Doncic's Mavericks, one that saw OKC bounced from the playoffs in six games.
However, the idea that the superstar managed to accomplish this series win alone is a complete and utter farce.
Though he certainly had himself an impressive series (averaged 24.7 points, 10.5 rebounds, 8.7 assists), the biggest problem Oklahoma City ran into throughout the second-round matchup was their inability to handle Dallas' frontcourt strength and vertical superiority.
The only regular rotation player who measured above 6-foot-9 that the Thunder had to have try and combat the two-headed monster of Daniel Gafford (6-foot-10) and Dereck Lively II (7-foot-1) was Chet Holmgren who, though may measure in at 7-foot-2, was completely manhandled due to his mere 207-pound frame.
As a result, the Mavs completely dominated OKC in key areas of the game such as on the boards (271 to 243) and with second-chance points (97 to 68).
Of course, this clear structural issue forced GM Sam Presti to make adding more size to the team's frontcourt a top priority this past summer, which, in turn, led them to sign highly coveted 7-foot, 249-pound center Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency.
His addition has drastically improved the Thunder's big-man punch in a multitude of ways, such as seeing the team rise from 26 in rebounds per game last season (42.0) to 14 (44.6) and become more of a factor in the second-chance points department where they've gone from ranking 27 per game (11.8) to 16 (14.3).
However, what's more impressive is that Oklahoma City has upped their production on these fronts without him and Holmgren playing extended minutes together all year, as the sophomore is only now just returning from a three-month, injury-induced hiatus.
Just imagine what this frontcourt will be able to accomplish once they get fully healthy and familiarized with one another!
Make no mistake about it, this new star Lakers tandem of Luka Doncic and LeBron James is undoubtedly exciting to think about, as they both are jack-of-all-trade types of talents who boast elite size, court-vision, and scoring abilities.
However, as NBA insider Brian Windhorst informed Shannon Sharpe following his eye-popping prediction, Los Angeles' roster "is terribly imbalanced," especially when it comes to their big man rotation, and that, if they were to face off against this Thunder team that sports two 7-footers, they'd likely be in serious "trouble."
Until Doncic and James show signs of absolute dominance and, frankly, play more than two games together (a stretch where they've gone just 1-1 against a tanking Utah Jazz team), no one should be tabbing them as a serious threat to the Thunder for the Western Conference title.