The Los Angeles Lakers were blown out by the Thunder 108-90 in Game 1 as Oklahoma City exploited the ball-handling and playmaking issues without Luka Doncic. LA had 18 turnovers, which allowed the Thunder to score 20 points. The Blazers were 30th in turnovers during the regular season with 17.3 per game. OKC created 16.0 takeaways every night, and they immediately crushed the purple and gold in the second round playoff opener.
The Rockets struggled to exploit this flaw in the first round. They finally did in Game 4, but it was too late. LA was already up 3-0 and finished out the series in six games. Oklahoma City wasn’t going to make the same mistake.
The Thunder are loaded with strong perimeter defenders. They are always hounding the ball and putting pressure on creators. The Lakers simply don’t have enough, and the problem was made even worse by an awful game from Austin Reaves.
Thunder exploit Lakers’ ball-handling woes without Luka Doncic in Game 1
Reaves was not good enough in the series opener. He finished with eight points, five rebounds, six assists, and one block in 36 minutes of action. AR had four turnovers and made just three of his 16 field goal attempts. It was an ugly night, but he was far from the only Laker.
Luke Kennard, Jaxson Hayes, and Jake LaRavia combined for seven turnovers in 59 minutes of action. That was the Lakers’ bench after Jared Vanderbilt was injured. They need more from the reserves to have any shot against the deepest team in the NBA.
Lakers fans hoping for Luka Doncic’s return may be disappointed. The latest update says he is not running or doing contact work. That likely puts him at least one week away. With the games happening every other day, getting Doncic back is far from a guarantee.
Head coach JJ Redick has difficult decisions to make. He needs his team to take better care of the ball. Does he trim the rotation? Put the ball in the hands of LeBron more? The Thunder’s defense and depth make these calls even harder. Redick can’t go with a six-man rotation and expect to defeat OKC. The Thunder’s depth will destroy LA.
It starts with Reaves improving. He has to be the Lakers’ second-best player in this series. LeBron had 27 efficient points. The 41-year-old is ready to be Los Angeles’ superstar. He needs Reaves to step up if they are going to have any shot.
The Lakers can’t turn the ball over 18 times. They need James, Reaves, Smart, and Kennard to do the playmaking. Those players can’t combine for ten turnovers against the defending champs. Role players are going to turn it over, which will put LA in a dangerous territory.
The Los Angeles Lakers saw their ball-handling and playmaking issues without Luka Doncic put on full display in the Game 1 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. If the champs get out in transition and get easy buckets, they will dominate LA. This has to stop. Sadly, the purple and gold just don’t have enough talent to make it happen.
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