The Los Angeles Lakers are playing the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series that will at least start without Luka Doncic, as he continues to recover from his hamstring injury.
The Lakers are not expected to beat the defending champion Thunder, as based on experts, sportsbooks, and prediction markets, they are heavy underdogs in the second round.
But while they don’t have Doncic, Oklahoma City doesn’t have Jalen Williams to start the series, and the door remains open for the LeBron James and Austin Reaves-led Los Angeles team to stun the Thunder and advance to the conference finals.
Before Game 1, the Lakers announced their starting lineup and final injury report for the Tuesday night matchup against the 2025 champions.
Lakers Announce Starting Lineup For Game 1 Vs Thunder
In the lead-up to tipoff, the Lakers confirmed their starting lineup with a social media post.
Marcus Smart, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, LeBron James, and Deandre Ayton were all named to the starting lineup by head coach JJ Redick and his staff.
Reaves didn’t start in his first game back from an oblique injury that kept him out for nearly a month, but was put in for Game 6 against the Houston Rockets, and is starting once again for the Lakers in Game 1 against the Thunder. Luke Kennard is now back on the bench after cooling off since his hot start to the Lakers’ postseason campaign.
But still without Doncic, it will be him, James, Kennard, and Smart taking on a bigger playmaking and scoring role, while Ayton will have the priority responsibility against Oklahoma City’s big men.
When or if Doncic can make his return, Hachimura will likely slide out of the starting lineup, as a group of Doncic, Smart, Reaves, James, and Ayton was what Redick was using for a majority of the regular season.
Lakers Heavy Underdogs Against The Thunder In Second-Round Series
The Lakers have lost their last five games against the Thunder, including all four of their matchups this season. That, along with the fact that Oklahoma City is the defending champion, makes them heavy favorites to beat Los Angeles and advance to the Conference Finals.
Despite how well they played against the Rockets, Top prediction markets give the Lakers roughly a 7-8% chance to win this series, while top sportbooks tell a similar story, as Los Angeles is a +900 underdog to win the series compared to the Thunder being -1400 favorites to advance. The Lakers are also +15.5 underdogs heading into Game 1.
Additionally, even those high up in the NBA don’t believe the Lakers have a chance against the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander-led team, for at least as long as they are without Doncic.
“The OKC series [against the Lakers] isn’t a series unless Luka comes back,” a West assistant coach said to Brian Windhorst and Tim McMahon of ESPN.
“The OKC series isn’t a series unless Luka comes back.”
(Via @TimBontemps & @WindhorstESPN )
Despite all of that, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, the Lakers are going to try to shock the Thunder in Game 1 of the series. Speaking on NBA Today before tipoff, the reporter said that Los Angeles taking an early series lead gives them a better shot at advancing.
“A team source told me the Lakers are going into tonight thinking that they need to try to catch the Thunder off guard and steal one,” he reported. “If they can somehow come in and win tonight, the entire series could look different.”
For the time being, Doncic, who is the only player on the Lakers’ injury report, remains out with his hamstring strain. There is hope that he could return at some point in the series, but until the Lakers offer an official update on their star, that remains to be seen.
Lakers Announce Starting Lineup Decision For Game 1 Vs Thunder As Bad News Emerges