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Los Angeles Lakers vs. Thunder preview (Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals)

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  • #4 Los Angeles Lakers (4-3) vs. #1 Oklahoma City Thunder (5-0)
  • When: Thursday, 07 May 2026 at 8:30pm CST
  • Where: Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, OK
  • TV: Prime Video
  • Playoff Offensive Rating: LAL: 105.8 (12th) / OKC: 125.1 (1st)
  • Playoff Defensive Rating: LAL: 106.7 (5th) / OKC: 106.7 (4th)
  • Playoff Net Rating: LAL: -0.9 (7th) / OKC: 18.4 (2nd)
  • Series Record: OKC leads 1-0

The Tip-Off

I hope Thunder fans truly appreciate what they are seeing from this team during this run. Oklahoma City came out in Game 1 and looked like a team that was playing their first game after a long offseason. They were rusty, out of sync, and a bit discombobulated. Their star player was throwing the ball away like he had money on the Lakers to cover.Β  And yet, even with a great game from LeBron James, the Thunder came out the other end with an 18-point victory. This may be just a bad match-up for the Luka-less Lakers or it could just be that OKC is that much better than 90% of the league. Whatever the case may be, breathe it all in, Thunder fans. You may be in the thick of the greatest run for your team that you’ll see in your lifetime.

Betting Info, presented by FanDuel

  • Line: OKC -15.5
  • O/U: 210.5

Injury Report

OKC

  • Thomas Sorber – OFS (knee/ACL)
  • Jalen Williams – OUT (hamstring)

LAL

  • Luka Doncic – OUT (hamstring)
  • Luke Kennard – Questionable (neck)
  • Jarred Vanderbilt – Doubtful (finger)

Three Big Things

  1. SGA in Rhythm – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander rarely has two bad games in a row. And his performance in Game 1 wasn’t terrible. He was an efficient 8/15 shooting and had 6 assists. Where the anomaly occurred was in the number of turnovers. SGA had seven turnovers, which is the most he’s had in a game since Game 6 of the NBA Finals, where he had 8 turnovers. SGA is such a rhythm player, so having a week off in between games can tend to throw that rhythm off. In the first round, his worst game was Game 1, likely because his rhythm was off due to resting for 10 days previous to that Game 1. I fully expect SGA to come into this game in rhythm and have a great game.
  2. Greatest Athlete Ever? – As a child of the 90s, I’ll never claim LeBron James as being the GOAT of basketball. That honor, of course, goes to Michael Jeffrey Jordan, and you can argue with the wall for all I care. But I will say this: LeBron James is the greatest athlete in the history of all sports when you talk about performance and longevity. Tom Brady is the best of all time in football, but those last few seasons in Tampa Bay were a bit rough. But LeBron continues to perform at an All-NBA level almost nightly. Yes, there are some days where he looks older out there, but he definitely doesn’t look “41-years old” older. Props to him…but this series is going to definitely age him.
  3. Ajay Mitchell – I’m going to praise Mitchell, but not for his offense. With him starting, he was tasked with having to guard Austin Reaves much of the evening. While we do praise his defense, we have yet to see him truly tested in this environment. Well, as Reaves can attest, Mitchell gave it to the Lakers on both ends of the floor. We’re seeing the genesis of an indispensable player for the Thunder.

Los Angeles Lakers vs. Thunder preview (Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals)

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  • #4 Los Angeles Lakers (4-2) vs. #1 Oklahoma City Thunder (4-0)
  • When: Tuesday, 05 May 2026 at 7:30pm CST
  • Where: Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, OK
  • TV: NBC / Peacock
  • Playoff Offensive Rating: LAL: 107.4 (12th) / OKC: 126.9 (1st)
  • Playoff Defensive Rating: LAL: 105.2 (4th) / OKC: 109.0 (8th)
  • Playoff Net Rating: LAL: 2.3 (7th) / OKC: 17.8 (2nd)
  • Series Record: 0-0

The Tip-Off

Six of the last seven NBA champs have all succumbed in their repeat attempts by this round in the playoffs. The 2018-19 Golden State Warriors, who had won the previous two titles before that, made it all the way back to the NBA Finals, but then suffered the “plagues of Egypt” series in which they lost both Kevin Durant (Achilles) and Klay Thompson (ACL) to series and “the following season”-ending injuries. The champions of that series, the Toronto Raptors, were then ousted by the Boston Celtics in the 2nd round the following season in The Bubble. The Bubble champ Los Angeles Lakers didn’t make it out of the first round after being a play-in team the following year, losing to Phoenix in the 2021 playoffs, four games to two. The 2021 champ, the Milwaukee Bucks, got knocked out in the 2nd round of the 2022 playoffs Boston, who won the series in seven games. Golden State had their one last hurrah that season, winning the title against the young Celtics. The following season, the Warriors lost in the 2nd round to the Lakers in six games. The 2023 champ, the Denver Nuggets lost the following season in the 2nd round to their hated rivals, the Minnesota Timberwolves in seven games. Boston finally broke through in the 2024 Finals, winning against the Dallas Mavericks in five games. Then, last season, Jayson Tatum tears his Achilles in the second round versus the New York Knicks and Boston loses that series 4-2. That opened the door for the Oklahoma City Thunder to win the title and here we stand now: the OKC Thunder in the 2nd round, looking to defend their title.

The Season Series

Game 1 – November 12th, 2025 – Both teams came into this game charged up, as this was supposed to be one of Oklahoma City’s biggest tests early in the season. They had just got done dispatching the Golden State Warriors in grand fashion the night before and now had to face the Luka Doncic-led Lakers. The Lakers were without LeBron James for that game, but the Thunder were also without Jalen Williams and Lu Dort. But they did have Cason Wallace, who put on a defensive masterclass against Doncic, and led OKC to a blowout victory, 121-92.

Game 2 – February 9th, 2026 – OKC was missing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in this one, while the Lakers were also missing Doncic. But it was a return game for Dub, who came back after missing the previous 2.5 weeks with a hamstring strain. The game was close throughout, but Dub upped his physicality in the fourth quarter, constantly driving to the basket and earning trips to the free throw line. He went 3/6 FG shooting in the 4th and capped it off with 4 free throws at the end. OKC won 119-110.

Game 3 – April 2nd, 2026 – A lot like their first meeting of the season, both teams came into this game looking to gauge their abilities against the top teams in the league. The Lakers were riding high, having jumped all the way up to the 3rd slot in the conference. And OKC was finally the healthiest it had been all season. Oklahoma City came out the gates red-hot and the game eventually turned into a dud, as both Austin Reaves and Doncic exited with injuries. OKC’s largest lead in the game was 46 and they led wire to wire, winning 139-96.

Game 4 – April 9th, 2026 – Entering this game, OKC was looking to maintain it’s lead over San Antonio for best record in the league. And LA entered this game looking to get healthy. Their trio of James, Doncic, and Reaves sat out this game and OKC won going away, 123-87.

Betting Info, presented by FanDuel

  • Line: OKC -15.5
  • O/U: 213.5

Injury Report

OKC

  • Thomas Sorber – OFS (knee/ACL)
  • Jalen Williams – OUT (hamstring)

LAL

  • Luka Doncic – OUT (hamstring)

Three Big Things

  1. Force Turnovers – The Lakers rank dead last for playoff teams in protecting the ball. The turned the ball over 17.7 times per game in the Houston series and had a turnover percentage of 18.8%. To do that while also having the 2nd slowest team in the playoffs is a recipe for disaster for Los Angeles. If OKC is able to play their game and continue this trend for the Lakers, the series may be over in three games.
  2. Offensive Rebounds – Another area where the Lakers struggled in their series against Houston was in securing defensive rebounds. For the playoffs, the Lakers rank last with a 65.5% Defensive Rebound percentage for the teams that are still remaining in the playoffs. Consequently, the Thunder rank 2nd in playoff teams in Offensive Rebound percentage. If OKC can consistently get 2nd chance points, of which they are 2nd among playoff teams, then that opens up another avenue for OKC to get more points against LA.
  3. SGA – It’s not the Clippers, but it’s still an LA team. SGA always seems to get up for games against any LA opponent. And now he’ll have the chance to play at least 4 games against them.

Thunder @ Phoenix Suns preview (Game 4 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals)

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  • #1 Oklahoma City Thunder (3-0) @ #8 Phoenix Suns (0-3)
  • When: Monday, 27 April 2026 at 8:30pm CST
  • Where: Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, AZ
  • TV: Peacock
  • Series Record: OKC leads 3-0

The Tip-Off

The Slog. It’s what I like to call Game 4’s the Oklahoma City Thunder are involved in. Over the last two postseasons prior to this year’s, the Thunder have gone 6-0 in Game 4’s. But the average margin of victory in those games was just 4.7 points, with the largest margin of victory being 8 points. Two of those games were decided by just two points (against Memphis and Minnesota). In three of those series (against Dallas, Denver, and Indiana), the Thunder were facing a 2-1 series deficit and NEEDED Game 4 to even the series. The one constant in all of those games has been the performance of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. In the six Game 4’s from the last two postseasons, SGA has averaged 32.7 points on 47% shooting from the field, 6.8 rebounds, 7.5 assists, 2.5 steals, and 1 block.

Betting Info, presented by FanDuel

  • Line: OKC -11.5
  • O/U: 214.5

Injury Report

OKC

  • Thomas Sorber – OFS (knee/ACL)
  • Jalen Williams – OUT (hamstring)

PHX

  • Jordan Goodwin – Questionable (calf)
  • Mark Williams – OUT (foot)

Three Big Things

  1. Next Man Up – With Jalen Williams and Isaiah Joe both missing Game 3, the “next man up” mentality shifted over to Aaron Wiggins and Jared McCain both getting significant playoff minutes. And each played their role well. McCain came into the game and played that hybrid “Isaiah Joe/Ajay Mitchell” role and scored 7 quick points in the second quarter. Wiggins played 11 minutes, and while there was anything spectacular about his performance, he was a +8 in the game during that time. This is a testament to coach Mark Daigneault and his insistence on keeping players ready throughout the regular season.
  2. Chet Holmgren – Phoenix is still without Mark Williams, and while Oso Ighodaro had a good bounce-back game in Game 3, the center position is still a point of weakness in the Suns’ lineup. Holmgren struggled a little on offense in that game, especially with the absence of Dub, who opens up so many opportunities for Holmgren in the halfcourt. I think we a little more big to big action in this game to exploit Phoenix’s size deficiency.
  3. Just Get It Done – As we’ve seen in the early going of these playoffs, the postseason eventually turns into a war of attrition. Last postseason, we saw injuries to Jayson Tatum, Tyrese Haliburton, Damian Lillard, Aaron Gordon, and to a lesser extend, Dub and Chet, all have effects on their teams’ playoff performances. This postseason, we’ve seen Donte DiVencenzo and Anthony Edwards both go down with serious injuries within minutes of each other. Victor Wembanyama was concussed for a game and a half. Peyton Watson, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves have yet to play a game in the playoffs. Kevin Durant has only played in one game. And Gordon and Dub are back dealing with soft tissue injuries. The less time you need to play, the less possibility you have of injuries occurring. As Daigneault has been known to say, “We can only control what we can control,” and winning Game 4 is definitely something they can control.

Thunder @ Los Angeles Lakers preview (Game 79 of 82)

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  • Oklahoma City Thunder (62-16, 1st in the West) @ Los Angeles Lakers (50-28, 4th in the West)
  • When: Tuesday, 07 April 2026 at 9:30pm CST
  • Where: Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA
  • TV: FDSN-OK
  • Offensive Rating: LAL: 117.1 (9th) / OKC: 117.6 (7th)
  • Defensive Rating: LAL: 116.0 (20th) / OKC: 106.0 (1st)
  • Net Rating: LAL: 1.2 (16th) / OKC: 11.6 (1st)
  • Current Streaks: LAL: Losers of 2 straight, but had won 13 of their previous 14 games / OKC: Winners of 5 straight
  • Magic Number (to clinch the No. 1 seed throughout the playoffs): 2

The Tip-Off

In my honest opinion, this is the most dangerous time in the season for a contending team. The thin line between resting players and keeping them sharp by playing in sometimes meaningless games leads to the possibility of fatigue and, worst of all, injuries. The Lakers experienced that twice in one game, with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves being knocked of the Thunder game (and the rest of the regular season and likely part or all of the postseason) with soft-tissue injuries. San Antonio saw Victor Wembanyama go down in their last game with a rib injury. Regardless of the severity of the injury, rib injuries have a tendency to creep back up, especially with the increased physicality of playoff games. This is why wrapping up your playoff positioning as early as possible is so important.

This is the fourth and final meeting of the regular season between the Thunder and Lakers. The Thunder have won the first three meetings this season by an average of 27 points.

Betting Info, presented by FanDuel

  • Line: OKC -18.5
  • O/U: 220.5

Injury Report

OKC

  • Thomas Sorber – OFS (knee/ACL)
  • Jalen Williams – OUT (hamstring injury management)

LAL

  • Luka Doncic – OUT (hamstring)
  • LeBron James – OUT (foot)
  • Austin Reaves – OUT (oblique)
  • Marcus Smart – OUT (ankle)

Three Big Things

  1. Take Care of Business – With a magic number of 2, the Thunder could go ahead and wrap up home-court advantage for the playoffs by the end of the day on Wednesday. But the games still need to be played and the Thunder face a Lakers team that is very depleted, but very desperate. The Lakers will likely come out like a wounded animal, looking to not only seek some revenge on the Thunder, but also regain their grip on the 3rd seed in the West. The Thunder will need to come out early, play their game, and not give LA any form of hope.
  2. Depth – The Thunder have it. The Lakers currently do not. This is where the game can go from a deficit to a blow-out for the Lakers. Los Angeles will have to contend with one of the best starting line-ups in the league, and then will have to match that against one of the best/deepest benches in the league.
  3. Attack the Paint – The key to the blowout victory on April 2nd wasn’t the three-pointers or the injuries to Reaves and Doncic. It was OKC’s ability to get into the paint and then cause havoc once there by either scoring or spraying the ball out to open shooters. The Thunder scored 64 points in the paint. Their season average for points in the paint is 49.5 (good for 17th in the league). With the lack of rim protection and with Marcus Smart still being out, this may be another paint-touch mastery class in the making.

Los Angeles Lakers vs. Thunder preview (Game 77 of 82)

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  • Los Angeles Lakers (50-26, 3rd in the West) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (60-16, 1st in the West)
  • When: Thursday, 02 April 2026 at 8:30pm CST
  • Where: Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, OK
  • TV: Prime Video
  • Offensive Rating: LAL: 117.4 (7th) / OKC: 117.1 (8th)
  • Defensive Rating: LAL: 115.5 (20th) / OKC: 106.3 (1st)
  • Net Rating: LAL: 1.9 (14th) / OKC: 10.9 (1st)
  • Current Streaks: LAL: Winners of 4 in a row and 13 of their last 14 games / OKC: Winners of 3 in a row and 15 of their last 16
  • Magic Number (to clinch the No. 1 seed throughout the playoffs): 5

The Tip-Off

The cream is really rising to the top here in the Western Conference. The top four teams are all currently riding the following 10-game runs: OKC: 9-1, SA: 10-0, LAL: 9-1, and DEN: 8-2. In addition, OKC, LA, and DEN are all at the healthiest they’ve been all season. Hopefully this run of health continues, as the West playoffs are going to be historic if everyone plays at full strength.

This is the 3rd of 4 meetings this season between the Thunder and Lakers. OKC blew the Lakers out in their first meeting in Los Angeles, 121-92, in a game that saw Cason Wallace completely dominate defensively and saw Shai Gilgeous-Alexander go for 30 points and 9 assists. Their second meeting was a more tightly contested game that OKC won 119-110. OKC was without SGA in that game (and LA was without Luka Doncic) and seven players scored in double digits, led by Jalen Williams with 23 points.

Betting Info, presented by FanDuel

  • Line: OKC -9
  • O/U: 231.5

Injury Report

OKC

  • Alex Caruso – Questionable (illness)
  • Thomas Sorber – OFS (knee/ACL)

LAL

  • Marcus Smart – OUT (ankle)

Three Big Things

  1. Defend, While Not Fouling – Interesting find when looking at stats: Los Angeles DOESN’T lead the league in free throw attempts. That honor belongs to (wait for it…) the Orlando Magic (????). The Lakers are that team that features three offensive engines in Luka, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves that each kind of play the same way where if a play is breaking down, they can drive to the basket and create contact to initiate a foul call or two….or twenty. I don’t necessarily subscribe to the idea that this overtly benefits them because the Thunder have a player or two that play the same way. With that said, it’s my hope that the officials tonight call the game evenly and don’t subscribe to any “agenda-based” narratives.
  2. Attack The Paint – The Lakers aren’t necessarily known for their stellar interior defense. They are 20th in the league in Opponent Points in the Paint, allowing 51.7 points per game and 22nd in blocks, at only 4.3 per game. SGA, Dub, and Ajay Mitchell should be hunting the favorable match-ups on the perimeter, especially with Marcus Smart being out, and getting automatic paint touches throughout the game. Isaiah Joe has had a big impact in the previous two Lakers games and that should be a recurring theme in this game, if those paint touches yield open threes.
  3. MVP Matchup – While Doncic has seemingly fallen out of the race for the MVP, there is still going to be a very loud minority that yells for him to be MVP. And in most seasons, they would have a case. But this year, with SGA’s consistent excellence throughout the year and Victor Wembanyama’s emergence, Luka’s defensive struggles early in the season have pushed him behind the pace car. But that doesn’t mean that tonight’s game won’t be a fun matchup. Luka vs. the Thunder’s perimeter defender is always a chess match. And SGA looking to solidify his hold on the MVP after Wemby had another amazing night last night. In recent years, the schedule for April has rarely yielded any games of consequence. But this year, every game has been important, not just for seeding purposes, but also for MVP debate purposes.