Shai Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t put up his usual eye-popping numbers in Game 1 of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s second-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers.
But heading into Thursday’s Game 2 of the series in Oklahoma City, the NBA’s reigning Most Valuable Player says he won’t mind if the Lakers keep throwing constant double teams his way like they did for much of Tuesday’s game that wound up a 108-90 victory for the Thunder.
“Ultimately it’s the easiest form of basketball,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I’d much rather do that than have to go one-on-one all night over somebody. My teammates on the back end playing four-on-three, it’s what you play for.”
Gilgeous-Alexander finished Game 1 with 18 points and seven turnovers.
It marked the first time Gilgeous-Alexander had been held to fewer than 20 points since Game 3 of last season’s Western Conference finals — a stretch of 81 appearances — so the Lakers’ tactics paid off in that regard.
But when you consider the Thunder still won by 18, how much did it really help?
“We have a lot of guys who can make smart reads,” said Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein. “We feel really comfortable when they’re trapping and just making the right reads out of that. … Multiple guys that if we catch it in the pocket, it’s an easy read for us. So it’s just making sure that we give Shai outlets.”
The Thunder also had plenty of success on the offensive glass, turning 12 offensive rebounds into 21 second-chance points.
“When they play like that, it’s one of the advantages that you have,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “They’re throwing two at Shai really early in possessions and, in order to do that, you get two guys on the ball and then you’ve got three guys off of bodies and rotating and that presents rebounding opportunities.
“We need to be aggressive if the ball comes out of traps, in shooting or attacking, and then when we do shoot, we’ve got to chase the ball in those situations because there’s rebounds to be had.”
The Lakers remain without star Luka Doncic, who said Wednesday he continues to improve but declined to put a timeline on his return. Doncic, who suffered a hamstring injury April 2 against Oklahoma City, said the initial timeline for his return was eight weeks. That’s roughly when the Western Conference finals will end.
LeBron James said his team must be better offensively after scoring just 90 points — the fewest for Los Angeles in a playoff game since the 2021 first round.
“When you play against great defense, you have to have guys that can attract multiple defenders on the floor at all times,” James said. “I felt like we had great shots. … We missed them. When you’re playing against the world champions, having a guy that averages 34 (points), six (rebounds) and eight or nine (assists), that’s special.
“So we have to be better at finding ways to get to the blender, finding ways to get to the paint. We know they’re a paint-swarming team, so we have to be better about getting to the paint, not turning the ball over and shooting with confidence.”
Lakers coach JJ Redick said forward Jarred Vanderbilt is “day to day” after dislocating his right pinkie finger in the first half of Tuesday’s game. The club listed him as doubtful for Game 2.
Vanderbilt has averaged 3.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 12 minutes during the postseason.
