Head coach JJ Redick knew it could not precisely be easy crusing for the Los Angeles Lakers after the staff’s blockbuster Feb. 2 commerce to amass Luka Doncic.
Redick and the Lakers will get one other likelihood to work on the method when Los Angeles visits the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder on Sunday for the primary of consecutive video games between the groups.
“I do not suppose the expectation, a minimum of internally for us, was we will be the 2016-17 Warriors or this 12 months’s Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder. We did not anticipate that,” Redick mentioned of the actual fact his staff is being outscored when Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves are on the court docket on the identical time. “So the disjointedness of an in-season commerce is there.”
The Lakers appear to be on the right track, although, profitable three of their final 4. Sunday’s sport is the beginning of a difficult take a look at to shut the common season with Los Angeles taking part in 4 of the ultimate 5 video games on the street.
The Lakers (47-30) are coming off a 124-108 dwelling win over the New Orleans Pelicans, the place the Doncic-James-Reaves trio mixed for 92 factors. Doncic led the way in which with 35 factors and Reaves had 30 with six 3-pointers.
“These guys, I feel, are dedicated to creating it work with one another after they’re on the court docket,” Redick mentioned. “… They’re dedicated to creating it work when there are two of them on the court docket or considered one of them is on the court docket. It is a work in progress. All of us knew that was gonna be the case.”
That cohesion figures to be examined by the Thunder.
Whereas the Pelicans are next-to-last within the NBA in defensive score at 118.8, Oklahoma Metropolis (64-13) leads the league at 106.2.
“We’re gonna have three huge checks, come dwelling and have one other huge take a look at, after which play a extremely robust Portland staff,” mentioned Redick, whose staff additionally has visits to Dallas and Portland forward. “So if our spirit is true, I can reside with the end result. And I am fairly assured that the outcomes will probably be extra good than unhealthy.”
Whereas the Thunder’s standing as the highest seed within the Western Convention is safe with 5 video games left within the common season, the Lakers are nonetheless battling for place.
Los Angeles entered Saturday’s play a half sport forward of the Denver Nuggets for the third spot within the West and three 1/2 video games behind the Houston Rockets for the No. 2 seed.
The Thunder are coming off Friday’s 125-111 loss at Houston, which snapped their 11-game profitable streak and ended their likelihood at changing into the third staff in NBA historical past to win 70 or extra video games in a single season.
“I feel you’ll be able to be taught much more from a loss,” Oklahoma Metropolis’s Jalen Williams mentioned. “I feel (with) profitable, the feeling will get a bit numb to the purpose the place you are taking loads of issues as a right. Once you lose, you begin to consider all of the stuff that truly go into profitable a sport.”
Oklahoma Metropolis star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hasn’t been as environment friendly the final two video games, capturing 41.7 p.c from the sphere and 23.1 p.c from 3-point vary in Wednesday’s win over the Detroit Pistons and Friday’s loss to the Rockets.
Gilgeous-Alexander is capturing 51.9 p.c general and 37.1 p.c on 3-pointers this season. He additionally leads the NBA with 32.6 factors per sport.
In the one different assembly with the Lakers this season, a 101-93 Thunder win on Nov. 29 in Los Angeles, Gilgeous-Alexander scored 36.
–Discipline Degree Media