Courtside chess: Inside the Lakers' defensive plans to slow Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — and give themselves a puncher's chance
Courtside chess: Inside the Lakers' defensive plans to slow Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — and give themselves a puncher's chance
Kelly IkoWed, May 6, 2026 at 6:44 AM UTC
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1 / 0Courtside chess: Inside the Lakers' defensive plans to slow Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — and give themselves a puncher's chance
OKLAHOMA CITY — Lakers head coach JJ Redick could only look toward the sky midway through the third quarter, uttering a slew of words not suitable for a national broadcast as he watched his defense momentarily break down, resulting in a wide-open Lu Dort triple and a Cason Wallace point-blank layup.
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A deficit that had been as small as four points in the second half had ballooned to double digits in the span of two minutes, a less-than-ideal swing against the best team in basketball. But Redick’s frustration, while temporarily fixated on the Lakers’ mistakes, wasn’t solely attributed to them. Tuesday night was a night rooted in opportunity cost, a successful strategy in slowing down superstar guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — which ultimately is their best path to an upset — but also a display of Los Angeles’ offensive woes, sponsored by a combined 7-of-31 shooting night from Austin Reaves and Marcus Smart.
Source: “AOL Sports”
