Few are faulting the Los Angeles Lakers for trailing the Oklahoma City Thunder 2-0 in their second-round series. Los Angeles is playing without Luka Doncic and Oklahoma City is the 64-win defending NBA champions, even if they are playing without All-NBA and All-Defense honoree Jalen Williams.
The one issue that the Lakers themselves seem to agree is preventable, however, is the lackluster effort that they've been putting forth against the Thunder.
LeBron James kept it simple when he called the Lakers out by saying: "We can’t sustain energy and effort for 48 minutes." Per Law Murray of The Athletic, Rui Hachimura echoed the sentiment when he criticized Los Angeles for taking their foot off the pedal when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was off the court, stating that, "We gotta keep the intensity."
First round standout Luke Kennard said much of the same, imploring the Lakers to not allow the ebbs and flows of the game, including questionable foul calls, to impact the effort they're giving.
“We need to stay in the game, keep our head in the game, be poised and under control. Obviously, it’s a game of runs; we know that. We can’t let calls or mistakes, turnovers, affect how we play and how we game plan and how we execute. That’s on us to give effort, just be ready at all times.”
If the Lakers are going to turn this series around and avoid a second-round exit, then the message appears to be clear: They can't allow anything to dictate their effort or intensity.
Lakers openly acknowledge failure to give consistent effort vs. Thunder
It's easy to say that the Lakers are massive underdogs with Doncic sidelined and they therefore shouldn't be held to the standard of upsetting the Thunder. If series were meant to be decided on paper, however, then they wouldn't be played at all.
Los Angeles is the team, after all, that defeated the 52-win Houston Rockets despite playing three games without both Doncic and Austin Reaves.
Their progress was derailed to an extent when they committed 18 turnovers and mustered just 37 second-half points during Game 1 against the Thunder. Thankfully, the Lakers bounced back by leading Oklahoma City 58-57 at halftime during Game 2.
Unfortunately, on a night when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander mustered "just" 22 points and two assists, they were outscored 68-49 during a second half during which they appeared lifeless on defense.
Thankfully, Lakers' biggest flaws are correctable
There's no guaranteeing that consistent effort and intensity will prove sufficient in Game 3 and beyond. What it can do, however, is provide the Lakers with a platform upon which they can build their strategy to avoid their streaky tendencies.
For as simple as it may seem, a team with two star-caliber players in James and Reaves should at least give itself a chance to win by limiting mistakes and playing with a dependable level of effort.
That starts with Los Angeles addressing the fact that it's committed 38 turnovers between the first two games of the series. It continues with not letting their guard down depending on who is or isn't on the court and playing with a degree of defensive intensity that becomes a part of the team's identity rather than a negotiable strength.
If the Lakers can limit their mistakes and commit to winning the effort battle, then upsetting the Thunder will become a significantly more realistic goal.
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