The Los Angeles Lakers will face the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Semifinals, with Game 1 scheduled for Tuesday evening, according to a May 5 statement from head coach JJ Redick. The Lakers enter the series as underdogs, with Luka Doncic still sidelined and after losing all four regular season games against the Thunder.
Redick said he remains focused on preparing his team to compete despite these challenges. He identified limiting Oklahoma City’s extended scoring runs as a critical factor for success. “Well we couldn’t learn a lot from three of those games because we were god awful,” Redick said about their previous matchups. “I think bigger picture, just a general thing with them is they’re really good at runs. Part of that is how good their defense is, their ability to create turnovers, the live-ball turnovers really kill you. They don’t get out in transition a ton, but when they do they’re the best in the NBA in terms of [points per possession].”
Redick explained his strategy involves being more proactive with timeouts to disrupt Thunder momentum: “Limiting their runs, I know Rick Carlisle is like the master of that, the quick timeout. I’ve already told my players and my staff like I’ve gotta be more diligent than I normally am…I don’t think you have the luxury of worrying about that, because the game can get away from you so quick because of how explosive they are when they go on their runs…mitigating the 12-15 point runs is really important.”
The Thunder have demonstrated an ability to quickly change games by converting defensive stops into fast-break points and building large leads within minutes. While Redick acknowledged it may not be possible to stop every run, he emphasized that minimizing turnovers and calling timely timeouts could help keep games close enough for late-game execution to make a difference.
Lakers guard Marcus Smart also commented on defending Thunder MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: “Number one,” Smart said when asked who was toughest to defend after practice Monday. “He does a really good job of getting to the free throw line and he’s mastered it…It’s tough, but it can be done. It’s just gonna take a lot of effort from everybody and we gotta stay together.”
