The Los Angeles Lakers' Game 1 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder wasn't without its positive takeaways for LA. First and foremost, the Lakers did a good job defending reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. SGA tallied a season-high seven turnovers in Game 1, to go along with a season-low 18 points.
Lakers head coach JJ Redick decided to double-team Gilgeous-Alexander from the opening tip, forcing someone else on OKC to win the game. That "someone else" ended up being Chet Holmgren, who finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds.
Thunder guard Jared McCain also stepped up, scoring 12 points off the bench on 4-of-5 from 3. Oklahoma City's bench outscored the Lakers' bench 34 to 15 on the night.
Game 1 silver linings for Lakers: SGA struggles, Rui Hachimura thrives
Beyond Gilgeous-Alexander looking mortal in Game 1, the Lakers can also celebrate another strong outing from Rui Hachimura, who finished with 18 points on 3-of-6 from 3, providing the only real scoring support behind an overburdened LeBron James, who dropped 27 points on 12-of-17 from the field.
LeBron was phenomenal, adding six assists to just two turnovers, and Hachimura might end up being James' Robin for this entire series, especially with the way Austin Reaves looked in Game 1. It was an ugly night for Reaves: eight points on 3-of-16 shooting and a team-high four turnovers.
If Reaves doesn't shake off the rust in this series, Luka Doncic's absence will loom even larger for the Lakers, and this could be a sweep. That being said, LA's handling of SGA was promising, and it makes you wonder if the Lakers might have figured something out defensively that will give them a shot to steal Game 2 and/or hold down home court advantage in Games 3 and 4.
Thunder don't need God-mode SGA to dominate Lakers
The bad news for LA is that OKC can still beat them even if Gilgeous-Alexander isn't playing well offensively. Despite SGA's off-night in Game 1, the Thunder shot 49% from the floor and 43% from 3. Once you contain Shai, someone else steps up on the perimeter, whether that's Ajay Mitchell or a bench sniper like McCain.
The Lakers' margin for error is laughably slim in this series. With the exception of Reaves' stinker, LA played well in Game 1. The Lakers played smart defensively and weren't horrible from 3 (33%, 10-of-30). But they didn't play near-perfect basketball, and that's what it's going to take to vanquish the defending champs.
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