The Los Angeles Lakers were thoroughly dismantled by the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals, and Marcus Smart had a clear message on who the fans ought to blame.
His answer was not head coach JJ Redick.
“JJ’s been nice,” Smart said following the 18-point loss on Tuesday night, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “We were [expletive].”
For his part, Redick shouldered some of the blame for what he regarded as “game plan mistakes” throughout the defeat, on which Oklahoma City capitalized.
“I don’t think there was a turning point,” Redick said. “I think it was a general theme throughout the night. When we made game plan mistakes, they hurt us.”
“You’re playing the world champs. Your margin for error, in terms of mistakes, is not that high,” he continued. “You can make mistakes, basketball is a game full of mistakes. It was just too many tonight. We’ve gotta clean that up.”
Austin Reaves Had Abysmal Night Offensively in Lakers-Thunder Game 1
GettyAustin Reaves of the Los Angeles Lakers.
While there was plenty enough blame to go around, one player who made far too many on-court errors Tuesday night was Austin Reaves.
Reaves finished with just eight points on 3-of-16 shooting from the field, including 0-of-5 from behind the 3-point line. He added six assists and five rebounds, but also committed four turnovers to lead the Lakers, who gave the basketball away 17 times against the Thunder’s elite defense.
Reaves produced the lowest scoring output of the five players in the starting lineup despite taking the second-most shots, just one behind the 17 attempts by LeBron James. James finished the contest with 27 points, six assists and four rebounds, as Los Angeles mustered just 90 points as a team on the evening.
Luka Doncic missed Game 1 with a lingering hamstring strain, which he suffered against the Thunder in Oklahoma City on April 2. It is unclear when Doncic might return, with some estimates potentially putting him back on the floor at some point in Round 2 if the Lakers can stay alive long enough for that to happen.
However, for there to be any chance of Doncic returning and the Lakers playing competitively across a long series with the Thunder, Reaves is going to have to perform at a much higher level in Game 2 and beyond.
Jarred Vanderbilt Sustained Serious Hand Injury in Lakers’ Opener Against Thunder
GettyJarred Vanderbilt of the Los Angeles Lakers.
The team’s role players also need to step up, though Los Angeles got some bad news on that front following Game 1 on May 5.
Shams Charania of ESPN confirmed a serious injury to Jarred Vanderbilt, who came in off the bench Tuesday night but played just six minutes before getting hurt.
“Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt has sustained a full dislocation of his right pinky finger in a gruesome injury tonight, sources tell ESPN,” Charania reported on X.
Vanderbilt is a six-foot, eight-inch wing who played 13.4 minutes per game against the Houston Rockets in Round 1 and is someone whose defense the Lakers will look to against the Thunder’s top perimeter scorers, assuming he can return to play at any point across the remainder of the series.
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Marcus Smart Drops Blunt 6-Word Message on Lakers, JJ Redick After Thunder Loss appeared first on HEAVY.