Lakers Get Demolished by the Defending NBA Champions in First Season Matchup
The Oklahoma City Thunder have started the season on a roll with a 12-1 record after destroying the Lakers in a 121-92 victory. Any questions the defending champs had about continuing their success this season have been answered. The Lakers, coming in, have been playing like a top-three team in the Western Conference. The Thunder showed exactly why the Lakers need more than just LeBron James to compete with them. Luka Doncic had no chance and sat out the whole fourth quarter from the beginning. It was a blowout. Oklahoma City’s depth, defensive cohesion, and unselfish play once again proved why they remain the team to beat in the West.
The Thunder have been having all this success despite their second-best player, Jalen Williams, being out. The Lakers were forced to have 20 turnovers by the best defensive team in the league. That Thunder defense held the Lakers to just 92 points, well below their season average of 116 coming into the game. This defensive performance was also without arguably their best defender, Lu Dort. Luka only scored 19 points, while Austin Reaves only had 13 points. The Lakers shot 40% from the field. The team needed a dependable secondary playmaker and scoring threat to alleviate the pressure on Doncic against a top-tier defense.
While the Lakers were preparing for the game against the Thunder, they had some great news: LeBron was close to a return. He practiced with their G League affiliate earlier that day. His absence, as both a primary playmaker and a secondary scorer, was keenly felt in the Thunder's loss. What was frustrating to watch was the lack of aggressiveness and urgency in DeAndre Ayton's six points and five rebounds. If the Lakers have any chance of competing in the West, he needs to step up, or eventually, he might have to step out of that Laker uniform. Time is not on this roster's side. With key games coming up, if he does not step up his game, the Lakers might have to bench him for Jaxson Hayes, whose connection with Luka is much better. Having Lebron out there will reignite this team and make them seem more like a contender than they did this game.
