Lakers Vs. Thunder Game 3 Preview: Searching For Luck At Home

The series between the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder shifts to LA, where Game 3 will be held on Saturday. The purple and gold aim to protect homecourt by finally getting a win over the Thunder.

Start time and TV schedule

Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder

When: 6:30 p.m. PT, May 7

Where: Paycom Center

Watch: Prime Video

Despite a stronger all-around performance from Austin Reaves and a better overall effort to match the Thunder’s pace and style of play in Game 2, the Lakers once again failed to steal a win on the road. They came into Game 2 with a couple of solutions, but those were wiped out by more problems the Thunder presented.

Now down 2-0 in the series, time is ticking for Los Angeles to figure it all out.

The good news for the purple and gold is that they’re back home for Game 3, where they’ll look to capitalize on home court and fight their way back into the series.

Match the Thunder’s depth

Putting aside all the talk about the officiating in this series, OKC has established that they simply have better depth than the Lakers.

Look at how the Thunder stepped up last game when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was off the floor. They went on a 32-14 run, led by Chet Holmgren, Jared McCain and Ajay Mitchell, who overwhelmed the Lakers. That can’t happen in Game 3 if the Lakers hope to win.

If anything, it’s Los Angeles’ role players that badly need to step up. What if Luke Kennard gets more than a total of five attempts from the field? How about more opportunities for Rui Hachimura, who has by far been the most consistent role player in this series? Can the Lakers shoot better in Los Angeles? Hopefully the supporting cast puts together their best performance yet.

Control the controllable

In my preview for Game 2, I mentioned that the Lakers have to do a better job of rebounding and preventing second-chance opportunities. That absolutely didn’t happen, as OKC produced 17 second-chance points and, worse, took advantage of the Lakers’ 21 turnovers, which led to 14 fastbreak points. This was where the Lakers lost the game.

By now, the Lakers know the Thunder are the kind of elite team that makes opponents pay for their mistakes. Even the thinnest of errors can be so impactful in determining the outcome of this one.

Deal with “physicality”

For as much as I’d like to blast how the officiating has been so far in this series, akin to what JJ Redick and Austin Reaves did, it feels moot at this point because it’s not like that will change anything. The Lakers simply have to adjust to how the game is being officiated.

The worst possible scenario here is to continue getting worked up on these calls to the point that it significantly affects their performance on the court.

So, with a tall task ahead of them, let’s see whether or not the Lakers can make it a series on Saturday.

Notes and Updates

• For the Lakers’ injury report, Jarred Vanderbilt (right finger dislocation) has been upgraded to questionable, and Luka Dončić (left hamstring strain) remains 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.