The Oklahoma City Thunder and the Los Angeles Lakers are facing off for the first time since 2012 in the second round, beginning tonight.
Both teams have key players out to start this series, Luka Dončić and Jalen Williams. However, the Thunder have a considerable rest advantage (having a full week) after sweeping Phoenix. Compared to three days of rest for the Lakers after beating Houston in six games.
Here are three things to know heading into a Thunder-Lakers second-round matchup.
Thunder-Lakers Series Preview
1.) Lakers Vulnerability on Defense
In the first round, the Lakers held the Rockets to 98.7 points per game and finished with a defensive rating of 105.8, ranking fourth. Obviously, the Thunder are going to be a much tougher task — who boosted a 129 offensive rating in the first round, the best in the playoffs.
Now the Lakers forced an Houston offense that struggled mightily on that end in Round 1. With Oklahoma City being another notch above offensively, LA’s defense could look a lot more vulnerable, given their personnel. For most of the regular season, the Lakers’ defense struggled, finishing with a defensive rating of 116.4, ranking 19th in the league.
Another issue to watch for in this series is the Lakers’ inability to finish possessions defensively. In the first round, the Lakers had the second-lowest defensive rebounding percentage at 70.4%. The Thunder had the second-highest offensive rebounding percentage at 34.9%.
Stopping the Thunder’s ability to generate paint touches may be the Lakers’ biggest issue defensively. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the best in the league at getting to the paint. Expect JJ Redick to throw a variety of different coverages at Gilgeous-Alexander and the rest of the Thunder.
The Thunder’s shooting variance and whether Williams returns in the series could be major factors in the Lakers’ chances of slowing Oklahoma City’s offense. Going back to how easily the Thunder picked apart the Lakers’ defense in their matchups.
2.) Capitalize on Turnovers
The Thunder will need to keep their chaotic defense as their identity, and they’ll need to turn it into offense often.
The Lakers turned the ball over 17.7 times per game in the first round, the most among postseason teams — the Thunder, who have an all-time defense from the eye test and statistically thrive on continually forcing turnovers. We’re first in opponents’ turnover rate in the regular season and in the first round. Forced 16 opponent turnovers and were second in points off turnovers at 20.8 per game in the first round. Will need to be sharp and take advantage by turning that into offense.
Oklahoma City did well in clogging lanes, getting deflections, and generating steals — then converting in transition against Phoenix. And the Thunder will need to do the same against the Lakers to make it a short series.
3) Shai Gilgeous-Alexander vs. LeBron James
As the two headliners of the series, there’s not a lot of history between these two. This will be the first head-to-head playoff matchup between the two.
LeBron James is undoubtedly one of the best players in NBA history, despite being 41 and nearing the end of his career. He’s still dangerous and is still playing at a very high level.
James is leading the way for the Lakers this postseason, averaging 23.2 points, 8.3 assists, and 7.2 rebounds per game. With Dončić out, Oklahoma City can expect him to continue to lead LA and must be prepared, as he is still capable of being one of the best players in the NBA every night.
Gilgeous-Alexander, who’s about to win back-to-back MVPs, will be an extremely tough cover for the Lakers. Marcus Smart has already admitted that SGA is “the toughest player to guard in the league” before the start of the series.
SGA is coming off an incredible first round, averaging 33.8 points and eight assists per game on 55.1% shooting from the floor. The Lakers have no one to guard him, and they will throw heavy coverages and defend him collectively in the difficult task of containing him.
Main Image: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
