In the Thunder’s last series, Suns guard Devin Booker had a bit of a crash out while airing his grievances over officiating and, specifically, with James Williams, who Lakers fans will be familiar with.
There shouldn’t be any similar remarks from the Lakers this round, though, because, according to Lakers head coach JJ Redick, the Thunder don’t foul.
“You’re talking about a team that’s top five in every category that’s disruptive-based — steals, blocks, turnovers, forced, all that stuff,” Redick said
after Sunday’s practice. “And they don’t foul. They somehow do all of that without fouling, which is one of the most remarkable things I think in NBA history.”
Add that to the keys of the game: the Thunder don’t foul.
No need to be concerned with how aggressive Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander is as an on-ball defender or his push-offs offensively. Don’t worry about Luguentz Dort committing a dirty play and putting a Lakers player at risk with a move that belongs in AEW, not the NBA. They don’t foul.
Don’t expect any Redick crashouts during this series. He will remain as cool as the other side of the pillow, since he wouldn’t be asking for a call when there isn’t one to make.
“They don’t foul,” Redick said. “The whistles aren’t gonna be there. So, it’s like, you accept that going in, they don’t foul.”
Given that the NBA is a copycat league, maybe other teams should try defending without fouling. Why foul when you can just play elite defense and clamp other teams down without reaching in or making illegal contact on an offensive player?
It’s going to be an uphill battle for the Lakers, who haven’t quite adopted the strategy of not fouling yet. Hopefully, they’ll be able to take some notes in this series.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.
