OKC Thunder vs. LA Lakers, 2019-20 team preview
Contract Situation by category:
Guaranteed: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Alex Caruso, Rajon Rondo, LeBron James, Kyle Kuzma,
JaVale McGee, Avery Bradley, Quinn Cook, Troy Daniels, Danny Green, Jared Dudley, Anthony Davis,
DeMarcus Cousins, Talen Horton-Tucker
Non/Partial Guaranteed: Dwight Howard
Two-Way Contracts: Kostas Antetokounmpo | Zach Norvell Jr.
Unsigned or on Exhibit 10: Demetrius Jackson | Devontae Cacok | David Stockton
Thunder performance vs. Lakers in 2018-19
The Thunder won the season series two games to one.
January 2, 2019, OKC Thunder at LA Lakers, Win: 107 – 100
Paul George 37 points, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 25 point
January 17, 2019, OKC Thunder versus LA Lakers, Overtime Loss: 128 – 138
Kyle Kuzma 32 points, Paul George 27 points
April 2, 2019, OKC Thunder versus LA Lakers, Win: 119 – 103
Jerami Grant 22 points, KentaviousCaldwell-Pope 23 points
Lakers Games versus OKC Thunder in 2019-20:
Away Game: Tuesday, November 19, 2019, at 10:30 p.m. EST
Away Game: Sunday, April 5, 2020, at 9:30 p.m. EST
Home Game: Friday, November 19, 2019, at 8:00 p.m. EST
Home Game: Saturday, January 11, 2020, at 8:00 p.m. EST
Marquee matchup: Anthony Davis versus Danilo Gallinari and LeBron James vs Andre Roberson
What to expect in the four matches versus Lakers this season:
Man, this will be a very different battle for the OKC Thunder than the past six seasons. Facing two of arguably the league’s top five stars presents all kinds of issues. Steven Adams can feast on either McGee or Howard, but OKC may need him to help out Gallinari in holding down Davis. This match will require both Gallo and Adams to play aggressively on offense in order to keep the Lakers’ frontcourt honest.
LeBron James is another can of worms and even if Andre Roberson is at his very best controlling James isn’t an option. The best the Thunder can hope for is limiting James passing lanes and forcing him to the one Lakers player who beats you.
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The areas the Thunder can potentially exploit are the guards and the bench. Danny Green is a strong 3 & D man but whoever handles the point (that isn’t LeBron) will offer the Thunder an advantage whether it’s Rajon Rondo or Alex Caruso. Kyle Kuzma reportedly worked this offseason on improving his perimeter shooting and his defense. Until fans witness Kuzma committing to defensive slides and chasing his man all over the court I’m not taking his word for data.
Clearly, with Frank Vogel as the head coach, the emphasis will be defense so the Thunder must commit to the ball-player movement system mandate of the season. As it is they’ll be hard pressed to stop the Lakers offensively so making sure to post their own points is essential.
As a side note, watch for the Chris Paul versus Rajon Rondo matchup as the two aren’t buddies and have no respect for one another. Spit gate last season highlighted their issues and if weren’t for LeBron and CP3’s friendship it’s very likely that incident could’ve escalated into an even worse situation.
Next. Roundtable sessions: Thunder lineups, rotations and reserve units. dark
Fortunately for the Thunder, they’ll face the Lakers early while they are figuring out their chemistry and that also means Gallo and CP3 are likely still with the Thunder. Despite those factors beating the Lakers will require a dialed in effort on both sides of the hardwood. If OKC commits to moving the ball they could split the series but any hiccups could also easily lead to a sweep by the Lakers.