As much as I love my Lakers, the only way we're beating Denver is if they are not playing their best. That certainly can happen, especially with a defending champion since the desire / urgency won't be the same as the prior year. I worry about the Lakers defensively, plus how they will compete on days which DeAngelo Russell does not play well.
As for Blake Griffin, I'll be curious how many votes he gets for the HOF the first year he becomes eligible. If he gets a good number, then there is a chance he will be inducted at some point. Those who do not think he was quite great enough to make it, be sure you are using NBA standards - not NFL or MLB (which are harder to get in). In the NBA, they will factor in your college career as well as your NBA career. They also do not hold it against guys who were injured a lot if they showed greatness while they played - think Bill Walton and Ralph Sampson. Blake had 6 healthy years and was an All-Star in every one of them. I don't know the number of eligible players with 6+ NBA All-Star selections not inducted, but guessing it is a very low number. I'm very confident he will be inducted, but really don't know the WHEN part.