What happened before and what to expect from Lakers-Thunder 
The Los Angeles Lakers are starting a new series on Tuesday. They take on the Oklahoma City Thunder. The pundits have the Thunder as the clear favourites. Coach JJ Redick and his players know it. The Lakers were not the favourites against the Houston Rockets in the previous round either. They still won that series 4-2.
Austin Reaves has explained how this group works. The players have been studying what the Thunder do well. The routine hasn’t changed. They stay locked in on the details and try to execute them for the full 48 minutes.
Regular-season record
The numbers from the regular season point to Oklahoma City. The Thunder won all four meetings with the Lakers this year. The average margin across those games was 29.2 points.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander played in three of the four games. He averaged 27.7 points a night and shot 55% from the field. Jake LaRavia has backed up the Lakers’ stance. They know the level they’re up against. But the only target that matters is winning Game 1.
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Ball security and the defensive system
Los Angeles go into this series without Luka Doncic. That means the Lakers have to take care of the ball. Turnovers cost them in Game 5 against Houston.
The Thunder’s defence is a problem. They averaged 9.5 steals per game in the opening round. Only the Magic and the Rockets posted better numbers. JJ Redick has had a look at that unit. Oklahoma City sits near the top in steals, blocks and forced turnovers, and they do it while rarely giving the officials much to call.
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