Now on the brink of elimination, the Los Angeles Lakers look to avoid being swept in Game 4 against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday.
Start time and TV schedule
Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
When: 7:30 p.m. PT, May 7
Where: Crypto.com Arena
Watch: Prime Video
Unless the Lakers have a miracle in them to come back from a 3-0 series deficit, this series feels pretty much over. No matter what adjustment the Lakers come up with, what’s been established is that they’re simply not better than the Thunder.
And that’s
why Los Angeles is on the verge of being swept — unless they have something to say about it.
In order to keep their season alive on Monday, the Lakers have to do something they haven’t done in this series: outplay the Thunder. This means LeBron James and Austin Reaves have to give more than what they already have in the last three games and hope most of their supporting cast play extraordinarily well.
This is what James and Reaves pretty much implied after Game 3. But the question is, will they follow through?
Over the years in the playoffs, there have been times when the Lakers let go of the rope — remember the Nuggets series in 2023 — simply because they couldn’t compete anymore. They can do that on Monday, too, but it’ll be up to them.
This season has obviously not been perfect for the Lakers, but if there are two things they have consistently done, it’s compete to the best of their abilities and rise to the occasion. That’s why it’ll honestly be a surprise if this team doesn’t go down swinging. They owe it to themselves at least to keep fighting until the final buzzer.
Whether fighting means controlling the paint, stepping up their defense, especially against the Thunder’s role players — looking at Ajay Mitchell — or simply coming out stronger in the third quarter, this is the game where the Lakers throw everything they have at OKC and let desperation take over.
Let’s see if that works for the purple and gold and if they can live to fight another day on Monday.
Notes and Updates
- For the Lakers’ injury report, only Luka Dončić (left hamstring strain) is out.
- As for the Thunder, Jalen Williams (left hamstring strain) and Thomas Sorber (ACL surgery recovery) will not suit up.
You can follow Nicole on Twitter at @nicoleganglani.
