The Los Angeles Lakers didn’t pull off any shocking upsets at the start of the second round against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
With a 108-90 loss, it was clear that the Lakers have a lot of work to do going into Game 2. Following the Game 1 action, an NBA writer suggested that the Lakers should consider trimming down the rotation even more.
Lake Show Life urges the head coach, JJ Redick, to cut Jake LaRavia out of the lineup for Game 2, and potentially beyond.
The Case For Cutting Out Jake LaRavia
“This is the worst possible matchup for the 6’7 forward,” Writes Lake Show Life’s Tyler Watts. “His versatility made him an outstanding signing, but he can’t handle the ball well enough to stave off the defending champion’s ball pressure. The Thunder have him throwing up wild shots or turning the ball over.”
Ill-advised shots, turning the ball over, and creating transition chances are the three keys to the argument worth making.
Redick and the Lakers rolled out LaRavia for 14 minutes off the bench on Tuesday night. He put up just two shots from the field. His lone make came from three. LaRavia also came down with one rebound, while grabbing a steal, and blocking one shot. He turned the ball over twice.
The veteran finished the game with a minus-nine.
The Lakers Go Down
As much as LaRavia’s struggles are worth talking about, the Lakers’ loss had plenty of fingerprints on it.
Perhaps LaRavia is part of whatever adjustments are made going forward, but Redick made it clear that the Lakers were hurt the most by making “gameplan mistakes.”
“You’re playing the world champs, your margin for error is not that high,” Redick told reporters after Game 1.
The Lakers are already likely to enter Game 2 down a rotational player. The veteran forward Jarred Vanderbilt suffered a game-ending injury, which led to an unfortunate diagnosis of full dislocation of his right pinky finger.
It’s unclear if that setback will affect LaRavia’s role at all. The Lakers have the night off on Wednesday, then they are back on the court for Game 2 on Thursday night.