JJ Redick said he is not expecting to make a major starting lineup shakeup with the Los Angeles Lakers facing elimination against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Thunder beat writer Rylan Stiles posted on X before Game 4 that Redick said he expected to start the same five players tonight. Lakers beat writer added “it’ll be the same lineup” for the Lakers in Game 4 with “small tweaks.”
That keeps the Lakers on a continuity path in a series that has not given them much evidence that continuity is working.
The Lakers typical starting lineup without Luka Doncic: LeBron James, Rui Hachimura, Deandre Ayton, Marcus Smart and Austin Reaves.
The decision comes with the Lakers down 3-0 in the Western Conference semifinals and still without Doncic, who has been ruled out with a hamstring injury for Game 4.
Redick is choosing stability at the exact moment when the Lakers are one loss from the offseason, one loss from being swept by the defending champions and possibly one loss from entering a summer of uncertainty around LeBron James.
JJ Redick Said He Expects to Start the Same Five in Game 4
Redick’s expected decision suggests the Lakers are not treating Game 4 as a time for a desperation opening lineup change.
That does not mean Los Angeles will avoid adjustments. In an elimination game, rotations can change quickly. Redick can shorten the bench, change matchups earlier or lean into more offense if the Lakers fall behind. But the starting group matters because it shows how the Lakers want to begin the night: not by conceding that the first three games require a total reset.
The problem is that the Lakers have not had many clean answers against Oklahoma City.
The Thunder won Game 1 by beating the Lakers 108-90 in Oklahoma City, then followed with a 125-107 win in Game 2 and a 131-108 win in Game 3.
Those are not narrow margins. They are signs of a team that has been able to get to its preferred game repeatedly.
OKC-Lakers Has Heavily Favored the Thunder
Oklahoma City has not just led the series. The Thunder have controlled it.
The Lakers have lost the first three games by 18, 18 and 23 points. That is an average margin of 19.7 points per game, and it explains why oddsmakers have remained heavily on Oklahoma City’s side entering Game 4.
The New York Post listed the Thunder as 12.5-point favorites for Game 4, with Oklahoma City holding a 3-0 series lead and coming off its 131-108 Game 3 win.
That is a massive number for a road playoff team, but the series has backed it up. OKC has consistently had more ball pressure, more shot creation and more lineup answers. Even when the Lakers have found stretches of competitive offense, the Thunder have been able to turn games with second-half runs.
The Lakers are also dealing with the weight of NBA history. No team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a playoff series, which makes Game 4 less about a realistic series reset and more about whether Los Angeles can extend its season long enough to ask another question.
Luka Doncic Is Not Playing Tonight in Game 4
Doncic’s absence remains the biggest basketball problem for the Lakers.
Dončić as out for Game 4 because of a hamstring injury. Doncic suffered a Grade 2 left hamstring strain on April 2 and had resumed light on-court activity, but Redick cautioned that it did not mean a return was imminent.
That matters because Doncic is the kind of player who changes the geometry of a playoff series. Without him, the Lakers have had to ask more of James, Austin Reaves and the rest of the offense against a Thunder team that can defend, run and keep pressure on for 48 minutes.
Doncics absence also narrows Redick’s choices. A lineup change may help on the margins, but the Lakers are missing the player who would normally give them their best late-clock creator and most reliable half-court engine.
This Could Be LeBron James’ Final Game as a Laker
There is also a larger backdrop to Game 4: this could be LeBron James’ final game in a Lakers uniform. Largers questions like “is LeBron James retiring” and “is this LeBron’s last season” are also looming.
That is not a report that James is leaving. It is the reality of an undecided future. James is 41, the Lakers are nearing another playoff exit and the franchise’s next roster construction questions will be built around Doncic, Reaves and whatever James decides comes next.
James entered Game 4 with a 188-113 career playoff record, according to StatMuse. His postseason record with the Lakers is 32-30. LeBron James has been swept three times in the playoffs: the 2007 NBA Finals vs. the Spurs, the 2018 NBA Finals vs. the Warriors and the 2023 Western Conference finals vs. the Nuggets.
Those Lakers numbers tell the story of both the high point and the frustration. James helped deliver the 2020 championship, but the years since have included multiple early exits, injuries, roster changes and repeated postseason losses to deeper Western Conference opponents.
Game 4 is not just another chance to avoid a sweep. It is a referendum on how much this version of the Lakers has left.
Redick’s expected starting lineup decision says the Lakers will begin the night by trusting the group they have. The Thunder’s dominance says that may not be enough.
Lakers Announce Starting Lineup News Without Luka In Game 4 vs. Thunder