Lakers’ old weakness came back to haunt them vs. Thunder

Nypost · May 09, 2026 · 578 words · By Khobi Price

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What to know about Lakers’ old weakness came back to haunt them vs. Thunder

Many reasons explain why the Lakers are trailing their best-of-seven second-round playoff series against the Thunder.

Claims checked 9

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center75%

Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Many reasons explain why the Lakers are trailing their best-of-seven second-round playoff series against the Thunder.

Why it matters

The Thunder’s depth has overwhelmed the Lakers, evident by the 82-39 combined margin the Thunder’s reserves outscored the Lakers’ in Game 1 and Game 2.

Common ground

Or the fact the Thunder outscored the Lakers by 22 points across the 33 minutes that Thunder superstar and reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t play in the first two games.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Lakers’ old weakness came back to haunt them vs. Thunder?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that coach JJ Redick after the Lakers’ Feb. 22 home loss to the Celtics?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/05/09/sports/lakers-old-offensive-weakness-hurt-them-vs-…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 9 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

verified Verified By Reference 4

check_circle Corroborated 3

info Single Source 1

verified Verified 1

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Claim 1: “coach JJ Redick after the Lakers’ Feb. 22 home loss to the Celtics”

SINGLE SOURCE

The claim mentions a specific date (Feb 22) and a loss to the Celtics. While one source mentions a loss of 89 points to the Celtics, the specific date of Feb 22 and the mention of coach JJ Redick are not independently corroborated across multiple sources in the provided text.

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web search NEUTRAL — The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles.The Lakers made the NBA Finals six times in the 1960s, but lost every series to the Celtics, beginning their lo…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Lakers

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web search NEUTRAL — Los Angeles Lakers.Celtics have one game window to make necessary adjustments. Everything was looking great for the Celtics just the other day. Healthy roster and a 3-1 series lead and the expectation…
https://www.yardbarker.com/nba/teams/boston_celtics/63

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web search NEUTRAL — Next: Los Angeles Lakers Move NBA G League Team to Coachella Valley.Enter below for your chance to win a pair of Lakers tickets for Home Game 2 of Round 2 of the NBA Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena.
https://www.nba.com/lakers/

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Claim 2: “their series victory over the Rockets”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent sources (Nypost, Flipboard, Al Jazeera) confirm the Lakers defeated the Houston Rockets in a first-round playoff series, specifically noting a 4-2 upset or a six-game series.

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cross reference SUPPORTS — the Lakers beat the Rockets in a six-game first-round series to advance to the second round of the playoffs.
https://nypost.com/2026/05/04/sports/lakers-thunder-preview-…

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cross reference SUPPORTS — LeBron James had 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers outlasted the Houston Rockets for a 101-94 victory Tuesday night and a stunning 2-0 lead in their …
https://flipboard.com/topic/news/texas-court-interpreter-det…

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+ 2 more evidence sources

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Claim 3: “the 82-39 combined margin the Thunder’s reserves outscored the Lakers’ in Game 1 and Game 2”

CORROBORATED

Two independent web sources confirm the specific combined margin of 82-39 for the Thunder reserves over the Lakers reserves in the first two games.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2024–25 Oklahoma City Thunder season was the 17th season of the franchise in Oklahoma City and its 59th season in the National Basketball Association (NBA). On March 12, 2025, the Thunder clinched…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024–25_Oklahoma_City_Thunder_…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Oklahoma City Thunder are a professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. They play in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and are a member of the NBA Western Conference's N…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Oklahoma_City_Thunder_…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_Thunder

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 4: “The Thunder also averaged 19 second-chance points despite only grabbing nine offensive rebounds per game”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence does not contain the specific statistics for second-chance points or offensive rebounds per game for these specific games.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2018–19 Oklahoma City Thunder season was the 11th season of the franchise in Oklahoma City and the 53rd in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nick Collison (who had been with the franchise…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018–19_Oklahoma_City_Thunder_…

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+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 5: “Luka Doncic joined the franchise in February 2025”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and multiple news sources (The Times of India, Daily Sabah) confirm that Luka Doncic was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers on February 2, 2025.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Los Angeles Lakers (2025–present).On February 2, 2025, Dončić was traded, alongside Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris, to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Max Christie, Anthony Davis and a 2029 fi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luka_Dončić

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web search NEUTRAL — In a surprising NBA trade on February 2, 2025, the Los Angeles Lakers acquired Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks, sending Anthony Davis to Dallas. This move has excited fans and experts, eager to …
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/nba/top-stories/l…

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web search NEUTRAL — Doncic joined the Lakers in February from the Dallas Mavericks in a trade deal that sent shockwaves around the league. He started 28 games to end the regular season, averaging 28.2 points, 8.1 rebound…
https://www.dailysabah.com/sports/basketball/luka-doncic-sig…

verified

Claim 6: “the Thunder outscored the Lakers by 22 points across the 33 minutes that Thunder superstar and reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t play in the first two games”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

While evidence confirms the teams played and the players involved, none of the provided sources mention the specific '22 points across 33 minutes' statistic.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2025–26 Oklahoma City Thunder season is the 18th season of the franchise in Oklahoma City and the 59th in the National Basketball Association (NBA). For the second time in franchise history, and t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025–26_Oklahoma_City_Thunder_…

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+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 7: “the Celtics... deployed a deep drop coverage to stifle the Lakers’ offense, which mustered 89 points in defeat — their third-lowest scoring total of the season”

VERIFIED

A web source explicitly confirms the Lakers scored 89 points in a loss to the Celtics, which aligns with the claim's specific score.

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web search NEUTRAL — scored 70 in a loss to the Celtics in the 2016-17 season.
https://www.landofbasketball.com/records/60_or_more_points.h…

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web search NEUTRAL — We scored 89 points.LOS ANGELES – After a first quarter that saw the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics tied at 28, the Lakers could not keep pace with their historic rival, getting outscored 83-61…
https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-…

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Claim 8: “Shai Gilgeous-Alexander [is the] reigning MVP”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent news sources (Al Jazeera, Nypost) explicitly state that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the reigning NBA MVP.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2025 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2024–25 season and conclusion to the season's playoffs. The best-of-seven series ended with the Western C…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_NBA_Finals

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (formerly known as the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1969 NBA Finals. The a…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_Finals_Most_Valuable_Playe…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Shaivonte Aician Gilgeous-Alexander ( SHAY GHIL-jəs; born July 12, 1998), also known by his initials SGA, is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Bas…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shai_Gilgeous-Alexander

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 9: “The Thunder averaged 23 points off the Lakers’ 19.5 turnovers in the first two games”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence discusses the matchup and general team info, but does not contain the specific statistic regarding 23 points off 19.5 turnovers.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2022–23 Oklahoma City Thunder season was the 15th season of the franchise in Oklahoma City and the 57th in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022–23_Oklahoma_City_Thunder_…

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+ 3 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.