LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers are facing a tough task as they head into the second round of the NBA Playoffs against the defending champions.
The Oklahoma City Thunder made quick work of Devin Booker and the Phoenix Suns, sweeping them from the first round with what seemed like minimal effort. Many believe this OKC team, which soundly defeated the Lakers multiple times in the regular season, will do the same to Los Angeles in the second round.
LeBron has shown he can still dazzle, amaze, and achieve seemingly unthinkable things at 41, guiding a banged-up Lakers squad past the Houston Rockets, 4-2. However, King James recently spoke about what he and his teammates are up against in this next series.
“It’s the same approach as last series,” LeBron told Steve Nash on the “Mind Your Game” podcast. “We’re undermanned, and we’re the underdog, and we understand that, so you heighten that even more by like five, because of what [the Thunder] bring to the table.”
He praised how well Oklahoma City plays on offense and defense, noting that the Thunder has “one of the most efficient players” in NBA history in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, whom LeBron said he expects will “probably be MVP again.”
“We can’t shortcut the details. In order for us to give ourselves a chance to win games, we cannot shortcut the details in the game plan. We know we can’t stop everything, they’re great, but if we can control the controllables … then we can give ourselves a chance,” LeBron said.
The Lakers are still without their other superstar, Luka Doncic, who has been watching the playoffs from the sidelines as he recovers from a Grade 2 left hamstring strain he suffered against the Thunder in early April. They recently got guard Austin Reaves back in the lineup during the Rockets series, which may take some pressure off LeBron to have to do it all.
Oklahoma City holds the home-court advantage as the No. 1 seed, and most are wondering if Los Angeles will win more than one game in the series.
King James embraced his role as the team’s leader without Luka on the court, and at 41, he continues to take on that pressure, showing his greatness. That said, he’s got a seemingly insurmountable task against a Thunder squad that has decimated the Lakers multiple times over the past season.
Most sports books list the Lakers as huge underdogs in the series, so it seems LeBron and his squad will need to bring their game to another level to topple a squad like OKC and reach the Western Conference Finals.