Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers

Insofar as the series against Oklahoma City is concerned, there's not been all that much to get excited about. Even when the Lakers manage to play well, they're still getting overrun by a deeper, more talented Thunder squad. 

One exception has been the play of Adou Thiero. It's not that he's put up huge numbers in relatively short minutes—though eight rebounds in 13 minutes of Game 2 action certainly ain't bad—but what he's bringing to the floor in terms of additional burst and athleticism. Relative to his teammates, the explosiveness is incredible. Thiero is incredibly raw from a basketball perspective, but if he can figure out how to bring it together, finding some niche as an offensive player while developing a greater awareness defensively, the Lakers will have something in their second rounder. 

It's nice to have some hope around a young player. JJ Redick will almost surely play Thiero somewhere in that 10-15 minutes of real time against real players first because his other options aren't great -- Jarred Vanderbilt is injured, and isn't exactly a favorite of JJ's anyway -- and Jake LaRavia has been pretty bad. But more than that, the value of 15 minutes for Thiero (and by extension the Lakers) is far greater. This experience will serve him well when the Lakers return to the playoffs, and Thiero is (hopefully) a more regular part of the rotation. 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky 

5-Hour ENERGY

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It's not the effort, it's (at least part) the execution (though not in everything) and the opponent that explains why the Lakers are down 3-0 heading into Monday's Game 4 with the Thunder. 

No NBA team has come back from a 3-0 deficit, and it feels... unlikely... that the Lakers will be the first. Game 4 becomes a referendum on professional pride. How hard do the Lakers try to cut? How effectively do they set a screen? Rotate on D? Put a body on someone to box out? Now, they could do all of those things and still lose by a comfortable margin, but that's a lot better than just rolling over and just counting down the moments until the offseason arrives. 

And individual Lakers, starting with Austin Reaves and Deandre Ayton, have plenty to play for. 

So we'll see what happens. 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 2: Problems in the paint. 

SEGMENT 3: Problems with Austin Reaves. 

5-Hour ENERGY

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Well, at least they didn't lose by 18. 

Instead, after a strong first half the Lakers were again overwhelmed in the second, and lost Game 3 to the visiting Thunder, 131-108. This time, it was the team's stars that simply couldn't get it going. Both Austin Reaves and LeBron James struggled -- Austin was 5-13 from the floor, and LeBron was 7-19, and while they had 17 assists between them, they also combined for eight turnovers. Put simply, the Lakers have very little chance of winning when only one of those guys is off. That percentage drops to zero when both of them struggle. 

For Reaves, the problems realy came in the third quarter, when the assists he'd piled up in the first two quarters (eight overall, with only one TO) became a string of turnovers. The Lakers, who were hot from the floor in the first half, went very cold. 

The third quarter became a parade of turnovers, and that was basically that. A two point lead at the half became an 11-point deficit going into the fourth. 

The Lakers have done an admirable job competing in a series they have no realistic chance of winning. Saturday feltlike the first time they genuinely folded (not quit) against OKC's relentless pressure. Credit the Thunder for never letting off the gas. Teams will occasionally let the foot off the pedal up a couple games in a series they're controlling. OKC doesn't do that. Nor do they get any drop off when the subs come in. 

We'll see what happens Monday in Game 4, but unless they can raise their level or OKC lets off the gas, things may not get back to OKC. 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

5-Hour ENERGY

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When analysts note the big plans for LA's upcoming offseason, it's often in the context of opening up large amounts of cap space for Rob Pelinka and Co. to fill with a host of players that complement Luka Dončić. When people talk about maximizing the amount of money available, it means chucking virtually everything that can be tossed overboard. That's all the expiring contracts, and maybe some dead weight on the roster. 

Of course, every player that they cut ties with must be replaced in one way or another. The problem becomes figuring out whether the players available are better than the guys in house. Not so tough with stars, but role players? That's tricky. 

Take Rui Hachimura. For the last three seasons, he's been solidly above 40 percent from 3-point range. In the playoffs, he consistently elevates his shooting, to the point he's got the best 3-point percentage in NBA postseason history. Rui also has a nifty, and useful, midrange game, and some athleticism that has benefitted LA. Of course, Rui also is a lousy rebounder, and dishes about eight assists a year. His defense is improving, but will never be confused for some DPOY candidate out there. 

He makes about $19 million, and is probably in line to make somewhere between $15-20 a year going forward. Is he worth keeping? Would the Lakers do better on the market? Could they replace Rui's shooting with a player that fits a little better with the roster they envision building around Luka? 

Tough questions, for sure. 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky 

5-Hour ENERGY

KALSHI

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On the one hand, the Lakers played very hard, and they made a good game of Thursday's Game 2 in Oklahoma City. 

On the other, in the end, the Lakers still lost by 18. Again. Final score, 125-107. 

The game was more competitive than the final score would indicate, but the final score still indicates the Thunder won pretty comfortably. For the Lakers, there were some genuine bright spots. LeBron James again had an efficient evening, finishing with 23 points on 9-18 shooting. Rui Hachimura's playoff shooting heater continued, hitting four of his seven 3-point attempts. Deandre Ayton had 10 rebounds. And critically, Austin Reaves bounced back with a 31-point, six assist effort, and hit three of his six triples. It wasn't perfect -- 5 TOs including a couple particularly ugly ones -- but overall this was a fine effort against a brutally tough Thunder defense. 

LA again did a good job on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but once again OKC's bench was excellent. That's depth the Lakers simply can't compete with. 

All in all, the first two games went as expected. The Lakers are playing hard, doing a lot of things well, but aren't nearly equipped to deal with the Thunder. 

We'll see what they can do Saturday in Game 3. 

SEGMENT 1: The Lakers fight, still lose. 

5-Hour ENERGY

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Ok, everyone knows what happened in Game 1. The Lakers weren't necessarily bad, but they weren't nearly good enough, either. So what has to change for Game 2? 

For starters, Austin Reaves doesn't just have to be better, he needs to be much, much, MUCH better. But what else? With Jarred Vanderbilt almost surely sidelined and even Luke Kennard now on the injury list, the Lakers are going to have to get creative with how they do stuff. If Kennard plays, JJ Redick might be wise to figure out how to get Kennard more shots. Like, a lot more. It won't be easy, given how effective OKC is in switching, moving around screens and basically disrupting anything teams want to to, but one path for the Lakers would be eight or nine triples hoisted by Kennard, making five or six. He's capable!

Can the Lakers keep Deandre Ayton activated? And what about the rest of the rotation? JJ Redick has said he may need to get weird, and this could be the night. Maybe dust off Dalton Knecht to try and add some offense and athleticism? What about Adou Thiero for some hops on the wing? 

None of this is the sort of thing teams confident in their core plan would trot out, but the Lakers likely don't qualify as that type of team. 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky 

5-Hour ENERGY

KALSHI

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Lakers fans hoping for a miracle got some disappointing news Wednesday when Luka Donćić met the media in Oklahoma City, and poured some cold water on the prospect of returning in this series. It's not gonna happen. Luka didn't say it explicitly, but made clear that the timeline for the injury when it happened was eight weeks. The hope was to speed it up with the PRP and fancy treatments, but it's the very start of week five. 

That's simply not enough time. So no miracles. 

Meanwhile, Jarred Vanderbilt isn't expected to play on Thursday with the gross , and now Luke Kennard is on the injury report with a neck problem. So the depth, already an issue, is going to be even more of a problem. 

Finally, we ask a simple question with a very complicated answer: Is Game 2 the most important one of his career? 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky 

SEGMENT 1: The Lakers won't be seeing Luka Doncic this series, and also have other issues. 

SEGMENT 2: Is this the most important game of Austin's career? 

SEGMENT 3: What can get better from A.R. in Game 2? 

5-Hour ENERGY

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The Lakers already had a depth problem in their matchup against the Thunder, something that was very clear in Tuesday's Game 1 loss. Oklahoma City has far more players they can deploy confidently over the course of a game, with a deeper variety of skill sets to choose from. And now things get a little worse for LA, as Jarred Vanderbilt is expected to miss time after suffering a dislocated pinkie finger on his right hand. He had it wrapped up on Wednesday after reportedly receiving stitches, since the bone pierced the skin post-dislocation. 

Ewwww. 

Assuming Vando can't play, the Lakers lose some of their flexibility in the frontcourt, and even though he wasn't likely to play big minutes, his absence means everyone else has to play more... which only makes the depth disparity worse. 

So where do they go from here? 

And oh, the microscope on Austin Reaves is going to be INSANE in Game 2.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky 

5-Hour ENERGY

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The Lakers as a team weren't particularly bad (individual players, most importantly Austin Reaves, certainly were) but that's not necessarily all that encouraging, because in the end they lost 108-90 in a game they hung in for a while but never really had even an ounce of real control. 

And to make it worse, the Thunder didn't seem to do anything special, either. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander didn't go off. They didn't pile up a huge point total. The Lakers defense was pretty active. But all of this illustrates the issues the Lakers knew they'd be facing, namely that the Thunder are a better, deeper team. 

The Lakers simply have no margin for error, and they errored too much in Game 1. 

And now to Austin Reaves: 

He was bad. Really bad. He was able to get himself in the lane and put some pressure on the Thunder, but overall there were far too many turnovers (four) and far too few buckets (three field goals, on 16 attempts). And unlike how it went in his return against Houston where Reaves was terrible from the floor (4-16), A.R. was unable to supplement the bad shooting with volume from the line. Reaves only shot two free throws. (As a team, they only shot 13, which isn't going to get it done.) Would the Lakers have won with Reaves scoring more than eight points? Maybe not. But they had absolutely no chance with him playing this poorly. 

"He didn't play well, but he's going to bounce back. He's a great player," JJ Redick said after. 

Lakers fans aren't so sure. 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky 

SEGMENT 1: Lakers hang for a while, but still lose by 18. 

SEGMENT 2: Reaves has a terrible game. 

SEGMENT 3: OKC's gonna be tough to crack. 

5-Hour ENERGY

KALSHI

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In Part I of our preview of the Lakers vs. Oklahoma City, we asked Rylan Styles, host of Locked On Thunder, to break down the strengths and (relative) weaknesses of the Thunder. 

How does missing Jalen Williams impact things? When they lose, why does it happen? Where might the Lakers look to attack? 

In Part II, we take Rylan's questions about the Lakers. How do they operate without Luka? What does he think JJ Redick will do defensively, from a scheme standpoint? Particularly as it relates to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander? Do the Lakers try to shut down SGA, and make anyone else beat them? Do they let SGA go crazy, but try to limit everyone else? 

The Thunder are a team that thrives on turnovers. The Lakers tend to turn it over. We discuss. 

Bottom line, it's another demonstration of why the Thunder are such heavy favorites in this series. It's not that the Lakers can't compete against good teams, even without Luka. They can, and have, as recently as the first round of the playoffs. But Oklahoma City isn't your ordinary good team, and the strengths and weaknesses of the Lakers align very poorly with OKC's. 

But as they say, this is why they play the games! 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky, with guest Ryan Styles!

5-Hour ENERGY

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