Magic Johnson: Clippers Deeper Than Lakers; LeBron, Anthony Davis Will Be Key

Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson said he expects the Lakers to meet the rival Los Angeles Clippers in the 2020 Western Conference Finals.

Mark Medina of USA Today provided comments Wednesday from the five-time NBA champion and former Lakers president of basketball operations about that potential marquee matchup.

"If you look at man-for-man, (the Clippers are) probably better than (the Lakers) in terms of the bench," Johnson said. "But Anthony Davis and LeBron James, to me they are going to be the key and they are going to have to dominate in that series. Then we're going to need that third scorer."

Although he didn't make a definitive prediction for that series, he expects Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks will be waiting in the NBA Finals for the winner of the battle of L.A.

The Lakers (41-12) and Clippers (37-18) sit in first and third in the West, respectively. The Denver Nuggets (38-17) are sandwiched between.

Conference seeding could receive a significant shake-up in the season's second half, though. The Lakers are four games clear of the Nuggets for the top seed, but the difference between Denver and the seventh-seeded Dallas Mavericks is just five games. So there's plenty of room for movement.

The oddsmakers still view the L.A. teams as the clear favorites, though.

James, Davis and the Lakers (+110) hold a slight edge over Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and the Clippers (+175), but that's followed by a significant drop to the Houston Rockets (+700) and Nuggets (+900), according to Caesars Palace.

Johnson said the Lakers are "playing the best out of anybody," and he anticipates "LeBron and Anthony will figure it out in the playoffs," per Medina.

Kyle Kuzma is next on the team's scoring list at 12.6 points per game, but he's shooting just 43.7 percent from the field and 33.2 percent on threes. Nobody else is averaging in double figures.

Danny Green, who owns 124 games of playoff experience and won championships with the San Antonio Spurs and Toronto Raptors, is an obvious candidate to support the star duo.

The Clippers have four players beyond Leonard and George averaging in double digits, including the recently acquired Marcus Morris Sr. That could prove crucial in a head-to-head meeting.

Both teams still have a lot of work to do before that coveted matchup becomes reality, though.