After easily finishing off the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs over a week ago, the Oklahoma City Thunder finally gets to continue the trek towards another Larry O’Brien Trophy on Tuesday night as the Thunder hosts LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals.
James and the Lakers enter this game as heavy underdogs, mostly due to Luka Doncic’s hamstring injury. Even if Doncic were available, though, the Thunder would still be a solid favorite. OKC dominated the Lakers in the regular season, winning all 4 meetings by an average of 29 points. While I don’t take too much stock in regular-season matchups, it’s hard to ignore those results.
OKC’s defensively-minded playstyle collides with LA’s reliance on offense to win games. The Lakers have proven to be turnover-prone often, and if the Thunder smells even a hint of weakness, defenders will flock to it like ants to a pile of sugar. Chet Holmgren finished second in the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year voting, and Luguentz Dort, Cason Wallace, and Alex Caruso are three of the top on-ball defenders in the league.
Even if OKC’s defense doesn’t score immediately off turnovers, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is one of the league’s most dangerous scorers, and his playmaking ability has continually increased, opening up more opportunities for his teammates. As long as OKC locks in early on defense and plays together as one, the Thunder should kick off this round of the Playoffs with a big win.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 7:30 PM CT
Location: Paycom Center
Television: NBA on NBC
Radio: WWLS 98.1FM OKC The Sports Animal
Twitter: Follow @ZacharyLowNBA for live tweets and discussion during the game
Game Notes: Oklahoma City Thunder Official Game Notes, Los Angeles Lakers Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Ajay Mitchell
- SF: Luguentz Dort
- PF: Chet Holmgren
- C: Isaiah Hartenstein
Lakers
- PG: Austin Reaves
- SG: Marcus Smart
- SF: Rui Hachimura
- PF: LeBron James
- C: Deandre Ayton
Injury Report
Thunder
- Thomas Sorber (right ACL surgical recovery) is OUT.
- Jalen Williams (right hamstring injury management) is OUT.
Lakers
- Luka Doncic (strained left hamstring) is OUT.
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 34-29 against the Lakers (18-13 at home, 16-16 on the road) in the regular season and 6-5 (5-1 at home, 1-4 on the road) in the Playoffs.
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the season series against the Lakers 8 times, lost 7 times, and tied it twice.
- The Thunder went 4-0 against the Lakers in the regular season (2-0 at home, 2-0 on the road).