Thunder vs. Lakers playoff series second round preview
Let’s take a look at the Thunder vs. Lakers, a fascinating second-round playoff matchup where LeBron James will test Oklahoma City’s defense.
On Tuesday, May 5, shortly before Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Oklahoma City Thunder was decided, Lakers head coach J.J. Redick sat on the bench, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.
He will need to film several more times throughout this series.
Because even though the Lakers led for most of the first quarter, they held on for the first three quarters, missed foul calls and buzzer beaters, and even though they were down by just five points going into halftime, it wasn’t enough to keep everything from falling apart in a 108-90 loss.
Redick’s game plan was solid. LeBron James had 27 points, six assists, and four rebounds. Four of the Lakers’ five starters scored in double figures. None of it was enough.
Not against this Thunder team. Redick said it himself when he told reporters before the game, “It was terrible against this team.”
Admittedly, Austin Reeves had a very, very tough night. And LA as a whole struggled from beyond the arc, shooting just 33% from long range. But it was clear the Lakers were simply outplayed by a well-balanced team and were exhausted. They lost 39-25 in the final 18 minutes. There was no answer for Chet Holmgren, and by the final frame the offense looked completely bogged down by OKC’s physical defense, which led to too many easy buckets as the Lakers allowed 20 points off 18 turnovers.
“It seems like when you make a few mental mistakes, you take advantage of all of them,” Reeves told reporters.
All of this highlights one simple sentiment that is reverberating throughout the NBA discussion world. That means the Lakers have no chance of winning this series. Not without Luka Doncic.
“When you play against great defenses, you always want a guy who can get multiple defenders on the floor,” James told reporters. “…When you play against world champions, it’s special to have a guy who’s an average of 34, 35 years old.”
But Doncic’s rehabilitation has been slow since he has been sidelined since April 2 with a Grade 2 right hamstring injury, but even if he returns at some point this series, how effective can he really be? That’s not to say he won’t play well, because he likely will. Doncic has played his best ball in the playoffs in previous series where his team has trailed (see: 2020 and 2021 against the Clippers, 2024 NBA Finals vs. Celtics), and there’s a good chance that will be the case in this series as well.
The Lakers did a lot of things right in Game 1, holding Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to a season-low 18 points and three free throws and forcing seven ball turnovers, the most since last season’s Finals. They had an open shot, but it just didn’t fall. The offense came out hot early in the game and did enough to gradually fight back, but was unable to maintain a consistent effort on both ends of the floor throughout the game. Every time the Lakers scored, OKC responded with an even bigger score. The Thunder showed how deep their roster is as their bench outscored LA 34-15.
“There were some breakdowns in the game plan,” James told reporters. “They’re going to test you. They’re going to test you to see how many times they can blow up your game plan, and we had a few times. Against a team like this, it’s almost too much.”
There are a lot of areas the Lakers need to clean up heading into Game 2 and beyond. Reaves can play better and Doncic can return before it’s too late, but there’s a good chance it won’t matter much beyond a game or two.
This means that there is a huge difference between them and the winning team.
