The home stretch of the NBA regular season is here and the Los Angeles Lakers face a tough test over the next few days, traveling to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder on both Sunday and Tuesday.
The Lakers are currently third in the West at 47-30, which is a ridiculous 17 games behind the 64-13 Thunder who have already locked up the No. 1 seed.
Outside of Oklahoma City though, the Western Conference standings are as close as ever heading into the first five games. L.A. can land anywhere from second to eighth, making the contests against the Thunder extremely important for JJ Redick’s team.
NBA STANDINGS UPDATE ‼️
▪️ MIN, LAC, MEM all win and stay in 6th, 7th & 8th in the West pic.twitter.com/uzhZaEamSc
— NBA (@NBA) April 6, 2025
While the Lakers own the tiebreak over all of the teams behind them in the standings, they can’t rely on results across the league falling their way and must handle their business, starting with Sunday. That obviously won’t be an easy task against a historically great Thunder team that features the likely MVP of the league in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
The Thunder have everything they need to make life difficult for the Lakers. Outside of Gilgeous-Alexander leading the way, they also have a bunch of tough wing defenders like Lu Dort, Jalen Williams, Alex Caruso and Aaron Wiggins. Then on the interior, they have size to control the glass with Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein that the Lakers lack.
With all of that being said, the Lakers need to bring their A-game to have a chance at beating the Thunder on the road. The good news for L.A. is that Luka Doncic broke out of his mini-slump with 35 points against the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday. LeBron James has also gotten back into a rhythm while Austin Reaves is playing his best basketball of the season.
That trio combined for 92 points against New Orleans, and the production may have to be similar against Oklahoma City. Some production from role players would certainly help though, especially if the Thunder sell out on the Lakers’ stars, allowing opens shots for guys like Dorian Finney-Smith, Rui Hachimura and Gabe Vincent.
Regardless of the outcomes, these next two games will serve as a nice test for the Lakers ahead of the playoffs.
Los Angeles Lakers (47-30) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (64-13)
12:30 p.m. PT, April 6, 2025
Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
TV: Spectrum SportsNet
Radio: 710 AM ESPN LA
Projected Lakers starting lineup:
PG: Luka Doncic
SG: Austin Reaves
SF: LeBron James
PF: Rui Hachimura
C: Jaxson Hayes
Key Reserves: Dorian Finney-Smith, Gabe Vincent, Jordan Goodwin, Dalton Knecht
Projected Thunder starting lineup:
PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
SG: Lu Dort
SF: Jalen Williams
PF: Chet Holmgren
C: Isaiah Hartenstein
Key Reserves: Isaiah Joe, Cason Wallace, Alex Caruso, Aaron Wiggins, Kenrich Williams
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