Steve Nash Says Lakers Will Make 41% Bounce Against Thunder
steve nash opens with Marcus Smart backing the Lakers to find their shot after a Game 1 loss on the road to the Thunder. Los Angeles missed 100 points and left Oklahoma City trailing in the series after shooting 41% overall and 31% from beyond the arc.
Marcus Smart and the Lakers’ shot count
Smart said the offense is close to turning. “We’re going to make shots,” he said postgame. “It’s just a matter of time and we just got to continue to make sure we’re shooting them.”
That confidence came after both teams took 85 shot attempts in Game 1, but the Thunder turned theirs into a 49% clip from the field and 43% from three. The Lakers did not match that efficiency, and they also lost the turnover battle they have been fighting all postseason.
LeBron James pushes the offense
LeBron James set the cleaner path for the next game. “We have to be better at finding ways to get into the blender, finding ways to get into the paint,” he said. “We know they’re a paint-swarming team so we have to be better with getting into the paint, not turning the ball over and shooting with confidence. I thought we got some really good looks.”
The Lakers had 18 turnovers in Game 1 and now lead the playoffs with 17.7 turnovers per game. They have scored above 100 points only once in their last five playoff games, which leaves little room for another inefficient night if they want to keep the Thunder from moving one step closer in the series.
Rui Hachimura sees more threes
Rui Hachimura added another part of the plan. “We watched the film and know we can shoot a lot on threes on this team,” he said. “I think they gave up a lot of threes in the regular season. They’re like one of the worst teams or something [at allowing threes].”
He said the group talked about it and expects a better showing from Austin Reaves as well. “We talked about that. I think we need to shoot more threes for sure, especially against them,” Hachimura said, adding, “I think in the second half we did a better job, but we could have done it in the first.”
