It was only a matter of time before the Los Angeles Lakers fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Luka Doncic-less Lakers were overwhelmed by the reigning champions’ relentless pressure and never-ending depth.
Here’s everything the Lakers should have learned from the 4-0 series sweep.
Rui Hachimura and Luke Kennard Are Offseason Priorities
Rui Hachimura and Luke Kennard were the Lakers’ best and only source of perimeter scoring. Hachimura averaged four made three-pointers per game on a whopping 55.2% shooting in this series. Kennard made two threes per game on 57.1% shooting.
LeBron James was the only other Laker to make at least two threes per game and shoot at least 35% from beyond the arc.
If Hachimura hadn’t scorched the nets throughout the series, this sweep would’ve been a lot uglier.
The Frontcourt Needs an Upgrade
Deandre Ayton didn’t produce enough as a starting center in the second round of the playoffs. He was wildly inconsistent on both ends of the floor.
Ayton opened the series with a solid showing. He scored 10 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in Game 1. The problem was efficiency. He shot 5-of-12 from the field without taking a shot outside the paint. Unfortunately, this was by far his best game of the series.
He grabbed another 10 rebounds in Game 2, but scored only three points on 1-of-7 shooting.
He finished better in Game 3 and Game 4, but his rebounding disappeared. In the final two games of the series, he shot a combined 8-of-12 but grabbed three total defensive rebounds.
That is unacceptable for a starting center.
It’s Time to Move on From LeBron
The 41-year-old LeBron played well and shouldn’t be blamed for the Lakers’ fall. After all, he led the team in scoring for the series. However, the LeBron era has simply run its course in L.A.
Moving on from LeBron will allow the Lakers to build what they desperately needed in this series: depth.
The Lakers did an excellent job of keeping Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in check. The likely two-time MVP averaged 24.5 points per game in this series, his lowest scoring average in a playoff series since the 2019-20 season.
The Thunder’s best player had the worst scoring playoff series in six years, and they still won in convincing fashion. They had too many weapons for the Lakers to compete with.
The Lakers need to learn from their vanquisher. Build a deep, complementary roster for the future around Reaves and Doncic.
Retaining an aging LeBron makes that very difficult, if not impossible.
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