TheLakersare aware of the daunting task in front of them: defeat the reigning champion Thunder in their own building without their best player on the court.
On Tuesday in Game 1 at Paycom Arena, the Lakers seemingly had a golden opportunity to steal at least one game in this series.
They jumped out to an early lead. They heldreigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexanderunder 20 points for the first time in almost a year. They were winning theturnover battlemidway through the third quarter.
The Lakers were measured, tested, and through it all they revealed the truth about themselves.
They cannot hang with the Thunder.
The108–90 final scoredoesn’t even tell the full story.
It was the Lakers sixth straight loss against OKC over the past two seasons. The average margin of victory fell to 27 points. That’s a large gap between these two teams, and Game 1 might have been the best we’ve seen the Lakers play against them all season.
The formula for L.A. was always clear.
In order to beat the champs, the Lakers had to play near-perfect basketball. That meant protecting the ball, winning the possession game, and shooting the three at a high level while holding OKC under their average.
The Lakersfailed on all counts.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
