OKC Thunder: 3 keys to seize victory versus Lakers in rematch

OKC Thunder key number 2: Increase pass and gain transition opportunities.

All season something that hasn’t made a ton of sense is the lack of transition buckets for this young OKC Thunder club. They force turnovers and have copious youngsters capable of getting out on the open floor. Unfortunately, that doesn’t equate to many transition buckets.

In the match on Monday, the Lakers forced a slower pace but they managed to collect 23 points scored off transition buckets. That’s well above their season average of 15.1 points.

In comparison, the Thunder scored a measly three points in transition.  While the Thunder aren’t great in this area averaging 10.7 points per game this was well below that average and they’ll need to improve in this area if they want a chance to win this game.

The Thunder force turnovers 13.2 per game scoring 14.6 points off those turnovers. In contrast, the Lakers force 14.2 turnovers per game and score 16.6 off them.

In the match on Monday, the Lakers had 15 turnovers but OKC scored just a point per turnover with 15. OKC had two fewer turnovers (13) but the Lakers scored 17 points off them.

If the Thunder can force the pace more to their liking which is the eighth-ranked speed it would help their cause. The Lakers prefer to control the pace running the 22nd slowest pace which allows LeBron James to control the situation.