The undermanned Los Angeles Lakers went into a four-five matchup with the Houston Rockets during the first round of the NBA Playoffs and walked away victorious despite their underdog status. That fact is what fans will cling to for hope with the looming Oklahoma City Thunder series. However, JJ Redick has already been perfectly clear about just how much taller of a task this will be.
Redick compared the Thunder to some of the best teams in NBA history recently. While his team is unafraid of Oklahoma City, as they ready themselves to embrace the challenge, the Lakers coach did caution his guys about just how much harder this second-round matchup will be.
"The reality of their defense is that whatever moments we felt Houston pressuring, like the maximum amount of pressure they put on us, that's OKC's baseline. That's their floor. You're talking about a team that's their top five in every category that's disruptive bits."
Steals, blocks, turnovers, etc. — Redick thought the Thunder excelled in all those areas. The second-year bench boss even praised Oklahoma City for doing all of that largely without fouling. The Lakers coach certainly did his part to truly sell just how prepared his team must be for a daunting matchup.
Lakers will need to level up if they want to keep pace with the Thunder
Beating the Rockets was an encouraging sign that something did truly click for the Lakers in March of this regular season. The chemistry is high, the players have bought in, and Redick has done a great job of coaching his unit beyond what many believed possible following the Luka Doncic injury.
With Doncic still expected to miss time, being listed as out for Game 1 of the series on Tuesday, the Lakers will have a very small margin for error. It is unrealistic to expect anyone to be flawless. However, Los Angeles will need to walk as close to that line as possible to give themselves a chance.
Working in the Lakers' favor is the fact that Jalen Williams will also miss the beginning of this series. A hamstring strain has the Thunder star listed as out for Game 1.
Does that level an unequal playing field? No. To Redick's point, the Rockets' best day is the Thunder's every day.
Any let-up from the Lakers will be taken advantage of. Scoring droughts, poor defense, careless passes will all be exploited by the Thunder, if given the opportunity.
The defending champions hold that label for a reason. The Lakers cannot afford to take them lightly at any stage. They have already seen what the results look like when their level of play is not sufficient, and it was not pretty.
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