Thunder and Lakers' Final Regular Season Matchup Might Not Mean Much

An injury-riddled Los Angles Lakers roster will prevent their last matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder before the playoffs from being a valuable preview.

Apr 6, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) drives around Los Angeles Lakers center Jaxson Hayes (11) during the first quarter at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images / Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

The look the Oklahoma City Thunder received of the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday — in which it lost in a 126-99 blowout — was very much a real one as the playoffs begin in just a couple of weeks.

The rematch the Thunder will get against the Lakers tonight is unlikely to provide the same amount of value to prepare for a potential seven-game series. Much of the Los Angeles roster is currently on the injury report, which incldues a right groin strain for Luka Doncic and a left groin strain for LeBron James.

Not only does this entail depleted availability for the personnel of the Lakers, but also as a prime opportunity for Oklahoma City to rest some of its talent to get back to 100% before the first round. Its current injury report doesn't display anything new, but the likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren will likely play limited minutes in this case.

The first loss to Los Angeles did signal some worries. The Thunder's ability to get to the free-throw line and knock down 3-point shots completely fell apart, while the Lakers ran away with a strong offensive performance in all facets. Doncic has eliminated Oklahoma City before, even if it was as part of the Dallas Mavericks last time.

Tuesday night served as an opportunity for the Thunder to get one back and play the Lakers better, but if their stars aren't going to be able to play, a win wouldn't really show anything differently. A loss, on the other hand, could bring up some legitimate concerns.

Oklahoma City's status as the favorite to make it out of the Western Conference has gone unchanged, even with Sunday's game being slightly worrisome. It's hard to imagine the offense crumbling often in a playoff setting, just as much as it's hard to imagine Los Angeles shooting like that on a regular basis.

The Thunder is unlikely to finish off the regular season with much of an emphasis on winning — it's confident and needs to rest the roster as much as possible. Playing a healthy Lakers again would've been nice, but it learned all it needed to from that one loss.

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