The Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated from the NBA playoffs at the hands of the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round. It was as positive an exit as a sweep can be, with LeBron James and Marcus Smart leading the team to a shocking first round win without Luka Doncic at all or Austin Reaves for the first four games.
Even down 3-0 to the best team in basketball, the Lakers kept fighting. They played a spirited Game 4 in front of their home fans that went all the way down to the wire, but the Thunder just had too much for L.A. After his first season with the Lakers came to an end, Smart focused on the pride he felt in his team for their efforts.
“I mean, you’re playing the defending champs, right? With probably the two-time MVP, Shai is probably gonna get it again. They got a great supporting cast behind him, great coaches, and they got a great game plan,” Smart said of the Thunder. “When you’ve got a guy like that and a team like that, they’ve seen a lot, and they’ve done a very good job adjusting.
“But for us, I’m proud of this team. Proud of the way we fought. There were plenty of times in this season where we could’ve gave up. We could’ve threw the towel in. Everybody counted us out, and we understood. We just wanted to keep going and fight. I think we did that tonight. The outcome, result wasn’t what we wanted, but we went down swinging and that’s all you can ask for.”
The Lakers absolutely should be proud of their efforts against the Thunder. They had effectively no chance in the series, especially without Doncic, and still put up a complete four-game effort. They led at halftime in two of the four games and were the first team this postseason to have a lead on the Thunder in the fourth quarter, something the Phoenix Suns couldn’t accomplish in four games at full strength.
Of course, losing is never great and everyone on the Lakers wishes they could have put up a better fight and won some games. But given the complete depth and dominance of the Thunder, the Lakers did the best they could. And it was emblematic of a Lakers team that refused to give up throughout a roller coaster of a season.
Lakers’ Luka Doncic wasn’t close to returning
One potential motivation for the Lakers to keep playing hard was the hope that Doncic could return to the lineup and help the team win. However, in the wake of their elimination, it was revealed that Doncic’s injury was worse than initially reported and he wasn’t anywhere close to making a return.
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