Many reasons explain why the Lakers are trailing their best-of-seven second-round playoff series against the Thunder.
TheThunder’s depth has overwhelmed the Lakers, evident by the 82-39 combined margin the Thunder’s reserves outscored the Lakers’ inGame 1andGame 2.
Or the fact the Thunder outscored the Lakers by 22 points across the 33 minutes thatThunder superstar and reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t play in the first two games.
California's top news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.
The Lakers have struggled taking care of the ball: The Thunder averaged 23 points off the Lakers’ 19.5 turnovers in the first two games.
The Thunder also averaged 19 second-chance points despite only grabbing nine offensive rebounds per game — highlighting how efficient they were with an extra scoring opportunity.
These are the areas the Lakers were better during the first round, especially toward the end of theirseries victory over the Rockets.
And were significantly better throughout the regular season.
But the Thunder also exploited an old Lakers’ weakness during the first two games in Oklahoma City: TheLakers struggle against teams that deploy drop coveragedefensively.
It was a talking point from coach JJ Redick after the Lakers’ Feb. 22 home loss to the Celtics, a team that deployed a deep drop coverage to stifle the Lakers’ offense, which mustered 89 points in defeat — their third-lowest scoring total of the season.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
