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The Lakers were supposed to be the easy playoff matchup in the difficult Western Conference. They didn’t get the memo.
LeBron James’ Herculean effort led the shorthanded Lakers to a six-game series win over the Houston Rockets in the first round, setting up a conference semifinal series against the Oklahoma City Thunder that begins Tuesday.
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The Lakers season took a turn for the worst the last time the Lakers played in Oklahoma City, losing Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves to regular-season ending injuries. The demoralizing loss sent the Lakers into a three-game tail spin one month before the playoffs.
But where most saw concern, Lakers coach JJ Redick saw opportunity.
“I had no doubt in my mind that we could get the group back and build the belief and confidence and be able to execute and give ourselves an opportunity to win a playoff series,” Redick said. “And then go take on the world champions and be competitive in that.”
The Thunder have lived up to their championship billing; they were the only team to sweep their first-round playoff series. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 33.8 points on 55.1% shooting and eight assists in the first round against the Phoenix Suns. The Thunder played two games without All-NBA wing Jalen Williams, who injured his left hamstring in Game 2 and was week-to-week with a Grade 1 strain.
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Read more: ‘There’s no quit.’ Lakers’ leadership, resilience shines through in series-clinching win
Doncic’s Grade 2 left hamstring strain will likely keep him out at least for the beginning of the series.
Here’s how the teams match up (with regular-season statistics):
Key team stats
LAKERS:
Regular-season record: 53-29
Offensive rating (OFF RTG): 117.0 (10th)
Defensive rating (DEF RTG):115.5 (20th)
Net Rating (NET RTG)*: 1.5 (14th)
THUNDER:
Regular-season record: 64-18
Offensive rating (OFF RTG): 117.6 (7th)
Defensive rating (DEF RTG): 106.5 (1st)
Net Rating (NET RTG)*: 11.1 (1st)
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(*Net rating subtracts defensive rating from offensive rating for a projected margin of victory.)
Players to watch
LAKERS:
LeBron James: 20.9 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 7.2 apg, 51.5 fg%/31.7 3-pt….
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/early-look-lakers-thunder-match-110000954.html
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Publish date : 2026-05-03 11:00:00
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