Lakers looking to clinch playoff spot against the Thunder
Coming off a big statement win on Sunday afternoon, the Los Angeles Lakers face the Oklahoma City Thunder once more on the first night of a back-to-back. The Lakers hope to repeat their stellar performance when they look to clinch a playoff spot and the Pacific Division title.
There’s a chance the Lakers rest a number of players with the Mavericks on deck tomorrow night 👀
The Lakers just need to finish the season 2-2 to clinch the 3 seed 🙏 pic.twitter.com/F28kG8Vb1U
— Lakers All Day Everyday (@LADEig) April 8, 2025
Defensive Battle
In the last match, the Lakers were able to contain the Thunder under 99 points, making them the third team to keep Oklahoma City under 100 points so far this season.
It was thanks to their efforts on the defensive end. Austin Reaves was one of those big reasons, as he could force turnovers and contain Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Crazy sequence for Austin Reaves here lol
First great and I mean great defense on SGA, then misses an easy lay up, THEN makes up for it by hitting a three 🤷♂️ pic.twitter.com/GKevSUw2r3
— LakeShow Highlights (@LSH_lakeshow) April 6, 2025
We shouldn’t expect the defense to keep them under 100 points again because the Thunder will most likely be playing with a chip on their shoulder with more grit and effort, so the defensive effort should be the same as the last matchup.
Frontcourt Matchup
One of the most significant factors in this showcase will be the frontcourt matchups; Jaxson Hayes and Dorian Finney-Smith will have to put in a lot of effort against Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein.
Holmgren and Hartenstein combined for 18 points and nine rebounds in the last matchup, which guarantees they will want to perform better.
The Lakers’ frontcourt was able to help switch Holmgren and Hartenstein on players like Luka, giving them a mismatch and an advantage in scoring. Oklahoma City’s bigs also got into foul trouble late in the contest, so it’s best to try to attempt that again.
LUKA DONCIC OVER CHET HOLMGREN pic.twitter.com/QPb8sQlOJS
— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) April 6, 2025
Lakers Big 3 Performances
Initially, several players, including LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and Austin Reaves, were questionable for this game as they were looking to rest their players as they went to Dallas for an anticipated matchup where it’ll be Doncic’s first game back in American Airlines Center as a member of the Lakers.
But the starting five might be set to play as they all upgraded to probable, which might be risky. Still, they want to secure the playoff spot to rest their players for the few games left in the regular season.
The Lakers appear to be going for it tonight: Luka Doncic, LeBron James, Dorian Finney-Smith, Austin Reaves and Gabe Vincent have all been upgraded to probable a few hours before the OKC game tips off.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) April 8, 2025
The Lakers’ big three will have to step up again, as they are the essential factors if Los Angeles wants to win this matchup.
