OKC Thunder Must Take Advantage of the Lakers' Overaggressive Defense

With L.A. focused on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the other Thunder players must convert on open shots.

May 7, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace (22) shoots a three point basket against the Los Angeles Lakers in the second half during game two of the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

The Thunder have to make the Lakers pay when they give them open looks. 

The Oklahoma City Thunder remain undefeated in the postseason, currently leading the Lakers 2-0 in the Western Conference Semi-Finals. L.A. hasn’t been able to find an answer yet for the Thunder as a whole, but has limited a player more than usual. 

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been named public enemy No. 1 by the Lakers, with the whole team making sure that Gilgeous-Alexander isn’t the one to beat them. L.A. has stuck to this plan in the first two games, as they have both face-guarded him whenever he is in the game and have double-teamed him when he fights to get the ball. With the Laker defense so keyed in on Gilgeous-Alexander, it has left opportunities for other Thunder players to hit wide-open three-point shots, but the only problem is that not a lot of making is going on. 

In multiple situations where Laker players were scrambling to get back into position, the Thunder just weren’t able to make the open shot from deep. OKC is shooting 37.7% from beyond the arc this postseason, with some players thriving and some struggling to see a shot fall. 

Chet Holmgren and Jarred McCain were on the positive side, combining for half of Oklahoma City’s made threes in Game 2, while shooting a combined 70% from beyond the arc. However, that is just about where the three-point success ended, as the rest of the team shot 7-26 from deep. 

The Thunder as a team struggled to find their rhythm from three in the first half, as they shot 5-20. Even though it didn’t come back to bite them in the end, OKC can’t afford to leave easy points on the floor in a playoff game. 

With Gilgeous-Alexander only averaging 20 points per game this series, it’s safe to say the Lakers will continue their strategy of focusing on the MVP. This being said, Oklahoma City will have to make sure it connects from three early, when the open looks appear. 

There will be some added pressure to get the ball rolling in Game 3 as the series is heading to Los Angeles. The Thunder being able to hit open threes could make the Lakers go away from their strategy and truly open up the floor for Gilgeous-Alexander, and completely take away the L.A. home-court advantage. 

Although Oklahoma City has been able to get by without hitting a majority of its open threes, OKC must use Game 3 to fully come into its game.