From above article:

This was supposed to be a measuring stick game for the Lakers. A chance to see where they stand early in the season against the best team in the NBA, the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder. Instead, it turned into a sobering reality check, and another sign that the Lakers might not be as good as their surprising 8–4 record suggests.

This isn’t a new concern. I mentioned it in my 10-game check, and now the Lakers, despite sitting fifth in the West, are the only team in the top nine with a negative point differential.

This was a second big blowout loss on what’s turning into a disappointing road trip, one that exposed some structural roster flaws that even LeBron James’ return won’t fix against elite teams like OKC. And OKC truly is that, a juggernaut reaching historically good levels, a team currently a couple of tiers above the Lakers in both talent and cohesion.

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Today’s notes:

A frustrating but realistic comparison of where both teams are right now in the team-building process

Failing to respond to early Thunder force 📈

Too slow, two steps behind against fast-processing teams: defense

Too slow, two steps behind against fast-processing teams: offense

What’s next?

1-A frustrating but realistic comparison of where both teams are right now in the team-building process
The Lakers could and should play much better than they did last night. But this game, and that similar total collapse in Atlanta, showed they’re still a fragile team. One that lacks the cohesion and resilience to respond when things don’t go their way.

Twelve games into the season, the Lakers are still searching for chemistry, connectivity, and signals that could help them answer some long-term questions. This isn’t an unusual spot for a fairly new team that’s dealt with prolonged absences of all its key players while trying to integrate three offseason additions who rank second, third, and sixth in total minutes played. Early-season disappointments are part of the learning process, and as JJ Redick said after the game, they’re a reflection of where this group is right now, not what it strives to be later in the season.

The Thunder, on the other hand, are a fully connected group. Not only one of the most talented teams in the league, but also one with the most continuity. They picked up right where they left off last June. And if it’s any consolation for Lakers fans, they did the same kind of dismantling to the Warriors the previous night. The good news for the Lakers is that they stacked enough wins at the start of the season that there’s no need to panic when growing-pain lessons like this hit.

2-Failing to respond to early Thunder force 📈
Not starting at full speed or playing with enough physicality and force has been a recurring pattern for the Lakers this season. To their credit, in plenty of games they’ve managed to adjust and turn things around after soft starts.

That approach is a death sentence against the Thunder, because you’ll be down 20 points before you even realize it, and by then the game is already over. The Lakers opened the game with a couple of sloppy passes, or passes to players who weren’t decisive enough on their cuts, seals, or just claiming the ball on entry passes, which resulted in six first-quarter turnovers and 11 in the first half.

Turnovers have been another early-season problem that continues to hurt the Lakers. This was the fourth game of the season in which they turned the ball over on more than 20 percent of their possessions, and all four were losses.

Lakers turnover % by game
3-Too slow, two steps behind against fast-processing teams: defense
If you’ve been following my Lakers coverage over the last couple of months, you know I’ve been pretty consistent in my assessment that the team’s main weak spot is the lack of athleticism and speed.

In this game, the Lakers simply rolled over against the Thunder’s force and speed. But physical speed isn’t their only limitation. Teams that play fast and run more complex offenses often expose the Lakers as a step slow in their game processing.

There were several instances last night where the Lakers looked completely confused, staring at each other and pointing fingers. They gave up easy lobs on early empty-side pick-and-rolls with no weakside help, were late in their presentation coverage against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, didn’t know they were supposed to be in a zone after a timeout, and even botched simple switch situations.

You can fix a lot of these breakdowns through reps and better chemistry. However, the sample size of possessions showing that Deandre Ayton and Rui Hachimura aren’t a viable PF/C combination for building a disruptive defense keeps growing. I wrote about this in my 10-game check, and the two games since haven’t done anything to change that.

I think Rui and Ayton can be neutral defenders, even net positives in certain situations, but they’re not a pairing that can erase early communication mishaps (in fact, they’re often part of them) or provide the kind of backline disruption that even remotely resembles the havoc Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, Cason Wallace, or Alex Caruso create for OKC.

4-Too slow, two steps behind against fast-processing teams: offense
The issue with game-processing speed isn’t only hurting the Lakers on defense. The Thunder’s elite defense serves as a playoff-like litmus test for how well certain players make decisions under pressure.

Source: Dave McMenamin post on X
Last night, the speed and execution after creating an advantage were, in JJ Redick’s words, “zero out of ten.” The Thunder showed two defenders or hedged on almost every Dončić pick-and-roll, and the Lakers’ decision-making in those situations was painfully slow, despite working on these exact scenarios in several previous shootarounds. Ayton and Hachimura are great finishers who flourish when the path to the basket is clear, but they struggle when the primary option is taken away and quick decisions are needed on the fly. LaRavia has been up and down — in this game, far too hesitant and indecisive. That’s not Smart’s problem; for him, it’s sometimes overconfidence that leads to wild passes and rushed shots.

To be fair to the role players, their two leaders, Dončić and Reaves, did nothing in this game to inspire confidence. Both had one of their worst shooting and decision-making performances of the season against the constant pressure of Wallace, Caruso, and others.

5-What’s next?
The Lakers have two games left on this five-game road trip, a back-to-back against the Pelicans and Bucks. They look like a team that’s hit its first wall, the energy drained after hustling their way to some important wins early in the season.

The key now is to survive this last stretch, because a much-needed break is coming, with only two games against the Jazz over the next nine days.

Source: NBA dot com
The other break the Lakers should catch during that stretch is the return of LeBron James, who has ramped up his recovery from a right leg sciatica injury by participating in his first 5-on-5 practice with the South Bay Lakers. According to reports, he looked and felt great, and getting one of the smartest players in the history of the game back should help the Lakers with their game-processing and problem-solving issues.

“The Atlanta game and tonight I don’t think are reflective of who the group is going to be, but it clearly is who the group is right now” — JJ Redick when asked if tonight’s result makes him view the Lakers’ early-season success differently pic.twitter.com/wfUch6tV4r— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) November 13, 2025

The Lakers that started the season are a good team. They’re a playoff team. But they’re not a championship team without LeBron James returning and playing like a Top 10 player. I know some people don’t want to admit that but that’s just a fact.— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) November 13, 2025

Perhaps an early season problem: LA tips their pitches in a way with a handful of their favorite sets.You know what's coming based on how LA sets up, since the setups are unique and LA runs 1 play from them.This makes those sets very easy to scout and gameplan against.— Cranjis McBasketball (@Tim_NBA) November 13, 2025

FROM ABOVE ARTICLE:

The Oklahoma City Thunder are taking on the Los Angeles Lakers on the second leg of a back to back in a game that will feature two contenders pitted against one another. The Luka Doncic led Lakers and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Thunder, here is what to watch for.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are once again facing a second leg of a back to back to cap off a three game in four night stretch. This time, at home, the Thunder welcome in the Los Angeles Lakers to the Paycom Center as the LaLa Land foes are tipping off a road trip.

After a dominating second quarter gained the margin needed to fight off the Golden State Warriors and improve to 11-1, the Thunder have to regroup for a daunting task ahead against the Los Angeles Lakers. While the Purple and Gold are without the legendary LeBron James, they remain healthy out side of his injury diagnoised before the regular season.

The Thunder will not submit an injury report until later this afternoon as is protocol on the second leg of a back-to-back set. However, the Bricktown Ballers still await the season debut of All-NBA swing man Jalen Williams, Veteran big man Kenrich Williams and Rookie Nikola Topic. With this game tipping off in short order of last night’s victory, monitor the likes of Chet Holmgren as the rising star has dealt with lower back soreness all season. Lu Dort and Aaron Wiggins each missed Tuesday’s tilt with lingering injuries and tonight would be a big one to be down the all-defensive guard and bench bucket getter.

Oklahoma City and Los Angeles played a pair of games last March that sent shock waves through the NBA as the two sides split a baseball style series, thinking we’d see it again in a few short weeks. That was before the Lakers were ousted in round one and the Thunder went on to win the NBA Championship.

Now, the Lakers are seeking a statement win to confirm their contender status.

What to Watch For

The Oklahoma City Thunder are going to face a tough task battling Luka Doncic in this one no matter who is in or out, but the possibility of missing two All-Defensive weapons in Dort and the Santa Clara lottery pick make this challenge even more daunting. While OKC historically finds success swarming Doncic in the paint to limit his pure scoring ability, the generational guard is able to dazzle as a dime dropper and gift his teammates clean looks from the corner beyond the arc as a result of his gravity. Watch for the shot variants from 3-point land in this contest as it very well could decide the game.

If Oklahoma City is down Holmgren on the second night of a back-to-back, all of a sudden, their front-court depth has dwindled. If Doncic or Austin Reaves and DeAndre Ayton are partnered up in non-Hartenstein minutes, the pick-and-roll could be a big factor for Los Angeles.

While Shai Gilgeous-Alexander did get to rest another fourth quarter on Tuesday in the Thunder’s blowout win of the Warriors, he is still shouldering a massive offensive load without his co-star bucket getter. Can he put up jaw-dropping numbers to get this win?

Will the OKC Thunder find success from 3-point land with the trio of Isaiah Joe, Cason Wallace and Jaylin Williams needing to provide a hot night from downtown is another storyline to watch.

LAKERS VS. THUNDER STAT SHEETRecord: LA 8–3 ( #5), OKC11–1 ( #1)Field Goal %: LA 51.2% ( #1), OKC 47.4% ( #12) Opponent FG%%: LA 48.2% ( #24), OKC 34.0 ( #22)3-Point %: LA 33.9 ( #23), OKC 42.1% ( #1) Opponent 3P%: Lakers 36.9% ( #22), OKC 37.3% ( #24)Points Scored: LA 118.1 ( #15),…— LakerTom (@LakerTom) November 12, 2025

Smart should start but Rui should be 6MOY candidate coming off bench. Lakers need to optimize Rui against reserves. He should get more touches off bench than as a starter. Doncic and Reaves need to be surrounded by three players who can defend.