EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – Winning the West is nice. The Lakers have done it 32 times in their 72-year history.

But as anyone in their organization will tell you, from team governor Jeanie Buss to interns in their first week, winning championships is the Lakers’ only goal. 

 They have 16 of them and are a mere four wins from catching the long-hated Boston Celtics — a slow, steady pursuit that has taken more than half a century to catch up to the dominant team of the early NBA days.

The Lakers begin the NBA Finals on Wednesday against the Miami Heat, a surprising matchup for anyone who had the Lakers playing the Milwaukee Bucks, or the Clippers playing Milwaukee, or any derivation that didn’t include the East’s fifth seeded team. 

It’s understandable if you had Miami winning only one playoff round. Or even losing right away. The Heat had a choppy regular season — good enough to make the playoffs but nothing truly remarkable.

All Miami has done over the last six weeks is take out the first, third and fourth seeds in the East with a zone defense that causes teams to stumble if they can’t make outside shots.

Here’s a look at how it will play out when the Lakers and Heat face each other.

Starting Frontcourt

Lakers

LeBron James made sure the Lakers got to the Finals for the first time since 2010 with a 38-point, 16-rebound, 10-assist game that knocked out Denver. He seems driven to win a fourth championship. Beyond driven, actually.

Anthony Davis was absolutely dominant against Denver, averaging 31.2 points while shooting 54.9 percent. The price the Lakers paid for him last year — three young players and three first-round draft picks — seems ridiculously cheap at this point.

Here’s where it gets interesting. Coach Frank Vogel started center Dwight Howard in the last two games of the West finals. It worked well, to say the least, with Howard racking up solid stats and frustrating Denver All-Star Nikola Jokic. It won’t be surprising if Vogel again starts Howard over JaVale McGee.

Heat

Veteran Jimmy Butler announced his presence against heavily favored Milwaukee with a 40-point game that set the tone for that playoff series. His defense has been exemplary, as always, in the playoffs, though his offense was a little off against Boston in the East finals.

Bam Adebayo had a breakout year in the regular season and only got better when playoffs began. The 14th pick in the 2017 draft, Adebayo sent Boston home with a 32-point, 14-rebound effort in Game 6 of the East finals.

Jae Crowder was an underrated late-season pickup from Memphis. He’s tough to move down low defensively and has shown bursts of scoring in the postseason.

Edge: Lakers

Starting Backcourt

Lakers

Danny Green had a subpar series against Denver, shooting only 29 percent while averaging 7.4 points. He and James are trying to win a championship with their third different team, a rare feat in NBA history.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored only two points in the series clincher against Denver, ending a solid run since going 0-for-9 in the playoff opener against Portland. He’ll see a lot of open looks against Miami’s zone and needs to convert his three-point shots. He’s been doing it so far in the playoffs, shooting 42.1 percent behind the arc.

Heat

Goran Dragic had a forgettable 2018-19 season. He played only 36 games because of a knee injury and averaged 13.7 points. The downside of his career was apparently visible to everyone except him. The 34-year-old bounced back remarkably this season and has been borderline unstoppable in the playoffs, averaging 20.9 points and 4.7 assists.

Duncan Robinson is one of the NBA’s best three-point shooters in only his second NBA season. He doesn’t offer much on defense, but the Lakers better track him behind the arc, where he was fourth in three-point accuracy (44.6 percent) and threes per game (3.7) during the regular season.

Edge: Heat

Reserves

Lakers

Rajon Rondo has given the Lakers a major lift since returning from a broken thumb. Alex Caruso is turning into one of the West’s top perimeter defenders and can uncork a dunk on you if you’re not careful. Kyle Kuzma has been a little quiet lately but has scoring ability on any given night.

Heat

Miami basically uses only two bench players. Rookie Tyler Herro is a double-digit lock for points every game and broke out with 37 in Game 4 against Boston. Andre Iguodala, a three-time champion, still offers solid defense at age 36 but not much in the scoring department.

Edge: Lakers

Intangibles

Miami should be happy to just be here. A nice blend of youth and experience, the Heat’s surge to get this far bodes well for the future, especially with a hefty amount of cash to spend on free agency this year and potentially next year as well.

The Lakers were supposed to face the Clippers in the West finals and then Milwaukee for the championship. Those teams folded earlier than expected, leaving the Lakers all alone as clear title favorites. They’ve delivered with convincing series wins over Portland, Houston and Denver, all in only five games. I wouldn’t bet against them.

Edge: Lakers

Prediction

The Lakers are overwhelming favorites in Vegas. It’s not surprising. James and Davis have proven to be a double dose of trouble for every team they’ve faced. Lakers in five.