Officiating was a big topic of discussion following Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Notably, Austin Reaves, LeBron James and head coach JJ Redick were visibly frustrated by the lack of foul calls on a physical Thunder defense.
While the referees objectively did not have a good night for both sides, L.A. cannot blame them for why they came up short. Turnovers remain an issue for the Lakers this postseason and after 20 more on Thursday, Reaves stressed that they need to take care of the ball moving forward.
“It just starts with the turnovers, I think,” he said. “You’re not gonna be perfect, you’re gonna have turnovers, but just trying to eliminate the live ball turnovers where they get easy fastbreak layups or 3s or dunks. Try to limit those. You know they’re gonna grab and hold.
“I think they’re basically top five in all defensive stats and 23rd or 24th in fouls called on them per game. They do a really, really good job of not fouling and get a lot of deflections, steals, stuff like that. So we just gotta clean that up.”
Oklahoma City takes advantage of all of its opponents’ mistakes, especially when they are playing at Paycom Center and the crowd is rocking. The Arkansas native was frank about the Lakers’ turnover issues, saying that they cannot win games this way.
“Yeah, we had 20 turnovers for 28 points,” Reaves continued. “It’s hard to win games like that.”
With the series shifting to Los Angeles, the Lakers now have a chance to tighten the screws offensively without having to be in a hostile environment. Honestly, defense has been a strong suit these playoffs, but their offense continues to fall by the wayside.
Redick will need to show a sense of desperation with a potential 3-0 deficit staring them in the face. In Game 3, a low-turnover game is a must as it means L.A. gets more possessions and more shot attempts.
Austin Reaves explains incident with official
Emotions run high in a playoff setting, especially when a team is trying to steal a game on the road. The Lakers were in a position to win Game 2 following a great first half, but eventually things unraveled.
The referees were a spectacle given their calls, no calls and how they interacted with players. Austin Reaves shared a heated confrontation with one of them on Thursday and he explained his frustrations.
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