{"id":725583,"date":"2026-05-04T16:30:27","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T16:30:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/725583\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T16:30:27","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T16:30:27","slug":"3-best-matchups-of-lakers-thunder-nba-playoff-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/725583\/","title":{"rendered":"3 best matchups of Lakers-Thunder NBA playoff series"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"An<\/p>\n

An image collage containing 2 images, Image 1 shows Shai Gilgeous-Alexander being interviewed by NBC Sports after a game, Image 2 shows Los Angeles Lakers player Quinn Cook looking up while holding a basketball<\/p>\n

The Thunder swept the four-game regular-season series against the Lakers by an average of 29.3 points.<\/p>\n

The Lakers<\/a> have an uphill battle ahead of them, to state the obvious.<\/p>\n

Heading into the Lakers\u2019 second-round playoff series against the Thunder, here are three key matchups to keep your eyes on:<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Thunder\u2019s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the reigning NBA MVP. NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander vs. Marcus Smart<\/p>\n

Gilgeous-Alexander is the reigning MVP. He\u2019s likely to repeat for that honor when the winner is announced later this month. There\u2019s no stopping him. He\u2019s like a metronome. He\u2019s guaranteed to score about 30 points a game.<\/p>\n

Smart has an impossible task: trying to slow down Gilgeous-Alexander.<\/p>\n

The good thing for the Lakers is that Smart is a former Defensive Player of the Year in 2022. He\u2019s used to guarding opposing teams\u2019 superstars.<\/p>\n

In the only game Kevin Durant played in the Lakers\u2019 first-round series against the Rockets<\/a>, Smart bottled up the greatest scorer of all time.<\/p>\n

Durant, who struggled with a bone bruise, finished with 23 points and nine turnovers in the Lakers\u2019 101-94 win in Game 2. Because of Smart\u2019s swarming defense, Durant only scored three points in the second half on 1-for-5 shooting.<\/p>\n

Smart, who agreed to a contract buyout with the Wizards in July 2025, viewed joining the Lakers as a golden opportunity to save his career. He has since shown that he can be a lockdown defender, capable of swinging games.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Lakers\u2019 Marcus Smart is used to guarding the best player on the opposing team. NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

For Smart, his ultimate challenge is ahead.<\/p>\n

Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging a league-leading 33.8 points this postseason on 55.1% shooting.<\/p>\n

Lakers coach JJ Redick didn\u2019t hold back when asked how to slow down Gilgeous-Alexander, including his incredible ability to get to the free-throw line.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody\u2019s been able to stop him all season,\u201d Redick said. \u201cSo you can hope and pray.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Lakers\u2019 Deandre Ayton was a rebounding machine against the Rockets in the first round. NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Deandre Ayton vs. Chet Holmgren<\/p>\n

Ayton was famously overheard saying in the Lakers\u2019 locker room in February, \u201cI\u2019m not no Clint Capela.\u201d<\/p>\n

The former No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 draft wanted to be known as more than a lob-catching rim defender.<\/p>\n

Well, against Holmgren, Ayton will have to play with a combination of force and agility.<\/p>\n

Holmgren is an elite rim protector and floor spacer. He averaged 17.1 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in the Thunder\u2019s sweep over the Suns in their first-round series.<\/p>\n

As for Ayton, he had a very strong series against the Rockets, averaging 11.8 points, 10.8 rebounds and one block over six games.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Thunder\u2019s Chet Holmgren is an elite rim protector and floor spacer. NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

In Game 5, Ayton was one of the few bright spots, finishing with 18 points, 17 rebounds and two blocked shots in the Lakers\u2019 99-93 loss. In Game 6, Ayton was tasked with locking down Alperen Sengun, whom he held to 17 points on 5-for-12 shooting, 11 rebounds, four turnovers and the worst plus-minus of anyone on the court (-27) in LA\u2019s 98-78 win.<\/p>\n

This should be an interesting matchup.<\/p>\n

Ayton is trying to rehabilitate his image, and winning his matchup down low would go far in doing that.<\/p>\n

JJ Redick vs. Mark Daigneault<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no doubt that Daigneault has the better team. He has done a brilliant job of maximizing everyone on his roster. They know how to win. How to sacrifice. How to meet the moment.<\/p>\n

But Redick has done something incredible.<\/p>\n

He instilled belief in a group that was counted out in the first round against the Rockets. Without Luka Doncic all six games<\/a> and without Austin Reaves the first four contests, very few thought the Lakers had a chance.<\/p>\n

And yet, here we are.<\/p>\n

Then again, getting the Lakers to believe they can beat the Rockets is a very different challenge than getting them to believe they can get past the reigning champions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the belief is there,\u201d Redick said at Lakers practice Sunday. \u201cAnd it\u2019s growing with this group.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An image collage containing 2 images, Image 1 shows Shai Gilgeous-Alexander being interviewed by NBC Sports after a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":725584,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1307,1013,7,366,984,1586,568,1661,938,300,368,326,6,66128,209,2152,1101,683],"class_list":["post-725583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-alperen-sengun","tag-austin-reaves","tag-basketball","tag-chet-holmgren","tag-clint-capela","tag-deandre-ayton","tag-getty-images","tag-jj-redick","tag-kevin-durant","tag-lakers","tag-luka-doncic","tag-marcus-smart","tag-nba","tag-nbae","tag-shai-gilgeous-alexander","tag-the-lakers","tag-the-rockets","tag-wizards"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116517263185736892","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/725583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=725583"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/725583\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/725584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=725583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=725583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=725583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}