Los Angeles Lakers fans were hoping for a big surprise in Game 1 of the Purple and Gold’s second-round NBA playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday. But instead, everything went according to plan, at least for the Thunder.
In the early minutes, the Lakers were very competitive. They kept pace with Oklahoma City and trailed by only five at the end of the first quarter. But the defending world champions went up by 10 early in the second quarter, and from that point on, Los Angeles was never able to mount a serious challenge, as it fell in a 108-90 defeat.
Los Angeles’ defense wasn’t terrible in this game. The Thunder scored a modest number of points, and L.A. was able to hold Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning league MVP, to 18 points while forcing him into seven turnovers by trapping him on the perimeter. But the Lakers were weak offensively — they made just 41.7% of their field-goal attempts and one-third of their 30 3-point tries while attempting an anemic 13 free throws. Perhaps the biggest concern for them coming into this series was turnovers, and they gave up the ball 18 times, which led to 20 Oklahoma City points.
Game 2 will be at Paycom Center on Thursday, and if the Lakers are to have any shot at winning this series, they will absolutely have to win that contest.
Rui Hachimura: B-plus
Hachimura was one Laker not named LeBron James who did a good job of supplying offense in this game. He scored 18 points and shot 7-of-13 from the field and 3-of-6 from 3-point range. However, he went scoreless in the second quarter when the game got away from his team.
In 37 minutes, he also contributed two rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block.
Marcus Smart: B-minus
Smart was aggressive offensively in this game. He consistently looked to shoot the basketball, both from distance and from short range off the dribble. Unfortunately, he wasn’t hitting his shots consistently.
He was just 4-of-15 overall and 2-of-8 from downtown, and he ended up with 12 points in 32 minutes. Otherwise, he made a decent impact with seven assists, four rebounds and four steals. But the Lakers will need efficient scoring from the veteran guard throughout this series.
Deandre Ayton: B
Ayton did a nice job offensively early with 10 points in the first 15 minutes of the game. But his 10th point would be his last in this game. He missed all five of his shot attempts in the second half and finished 5-of-11 overall from the field, and he didn’t attempt a single free throw.
In 27 minutes, he had 11 rebounds, two assists and one block. But on the other side, Chet Holmgren scored 24 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked three shots, and Ayton got his fourth foul with 7:53 left in the third quarter, which forced him to sit for the rest of the period.
Los Angeles needs a better overall effort from Ayton, especially offensively, and it needs him to play the physical interior defense he gave it throughout its first-round series versus the Houston Rockets.
Austin Reaves: D
The Lakers need Reaves to play like the All-Star level performer he was during the regular season. Instead, he had trouble putting the ball through the hoop on Tuesday.
He didn’t score his first basket until just before the midway point of the second quarter. Overall, he was just 3-of-16 from the field and missed all five of his 3-point attempts, limiting him to eight points. Reaves did contribute five rebounds and six assists, but L.A. needs as much offensive production as it can get to put a sizable dent in the Thunder’s airtight defense.
LeBron James: B-plus
James helped the Lakers stay competitive early with 12 points in the first quarter. He ended up with 27 points on 12-of-17 shooting and made half of his six attempts from beyond the arc, and he also logged four rebounds, six assists and one steal.
One expects James to produce at his usual level throughout this series. But no matter his age, he cannot do it by himself, and others will need to carry their weight offensively.
Luke Kennard: D-plus
Kennard needs to be a spark plug in this series, but in Game 1, he was more like a dying battery. In 29 minutes off the bench, he attempted only four shots and made one of them, giving him a modest seven points. He did grab five rebounds and add one assist and one steal, but he needs to return to delivering the hot shooting he provided early in the series versus Houston.
Jaxson Hayes: B-minus
There wasn’t a lot wrong with Hayes’ effort in this game. He drew fouls near the basket, and he obtained six rebounds in 16 minutes. But the Lakers needed more than the three points on 1-of-3 shooting that he ended up with, and they could’ve also used more rim protection and overall defense from him, as he didn’t block a single shot.
Jake LaRavia: D
As has been the case all too often, LaRavia gave Los Angeles next to nothing in Game 1. He took two shot attempts, making one of them, and in 14 minutes, he had three points, one rebound, one steal and one block.
Jarred Vanderbilt: Incomplete
Vanderbilt played six minutes and had two points and one rebound. With 5:51 left in the second quarter, Vanderbilt tried to block an Isaiah Hartenstein dunk and ended up hurting his hand. He immediately headed back to the locker room and was ruled out for the rest of the game with a finger injury.
Dalton Knecht, Adou Thiero, Nick Smith Jr., Bronny James: Incomplete
All four men played the final two minutes of this game, and all of them went scoreless. Smith had one rebound and the younger James had one assist.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers player grades: L.A. gets rolled by Thunder in Game 1
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
