With the Lakers down 0-3 in the Western Conference Semifinals, head coach JJ Redick is likely already reflecting on what went wrong in the series. While the Thunder are just clearly the better team (7-0 in the playoffs so far), the Lakers haven’t done themselves any favors with their frequent, costly mistakes on the floor.
Tonight, it was the same story it’s been for the past three games: the Lakers fight hard but fail to keep up with the defending NBA champions. For head coach JJ Redick, who has let his frustration show in the series, the Thunder’s latest victory (131-108) is a testament to their talent and strength as a unit.
“They’ve kicked our a** 3 straight games,” said Redick. “They’re an incredible basketball team.”
Even though the Lakers were 0-4 against the Thunder in the regular season, Redick approached the series like he does any other, looking for ways to maximize their own advantages and exploit OKC’s vulnerabilities. The only problem is that the Thunder don’t have any vulnerabilities. They run 10 players deep with a balanced rotation that can adjust for any problem.
“Typically, you can poke holes in a team in a playoff series,” said Redick. “There’s a good chance they might have a temporary solution, or we can maybe adjust a little bit. This team, in-game, because of their personnel, can just adjust like that. Do they need shooting on the floor? Great. They need multiple wing defenders on the floor? Great. They need big defenders on the floor? Great. They’re just a terrific basketball team. I said that before the series to prepare us for them. I still think we can beat them, but we gotta be better.”
The worst part is, this game was winnable for the Lakers. They were leading after two quarters and had all the momentum coming out of halftime. But once the Thunder tightened up on defense, and their stars started getting hot, the Lakers could not contain what followed. They simply have too many weapons, like rising guard AJ Mitchell, who finished with a team-high 24 points, four rebounds, 10 assists, three steals, and zero blocks on 58.8% shooting from the field.
“Third straight game, we were right there after two quarters,” Redick added. “Tried different lineups, different coverages, still lost those minutes again. We’ve got to be better, but I’m not giving up on the series. We’re gonna go try to win on Monday, and we’re gonna try to extend the series, and we’re gonna try to take this thing back to OKC.”
NBA legend LeBron James also expressed his feelings after the game, and it’s clear his focus is still on Game 4. He finished with 19 points, six rebounds, eight assists, one steal, and zero rebounds in 36 minutes, but it was hardly enough to make a difference against this team. Still, he’s not giving up just yet.
“I’m not angry or disappointed,” said James. “Obviously, you’re disappointed in being down 3-0, but we still have life, and that’s all you can ask for, and we have to be better on Monday.”
Ultimately, the Lakers will not concede defeat until they are officially out of the race. Even without Luka Doncic, the Lakers are still playing to win this series against the NBA’s best team. The path to victory is narrow, but it’s not impossible, and it starts with winning Game 4 on Monday.
