FROM ABOVE ARTICLE:

If the Los Angeles Lakers are eliminated at some point in the NBA playoffs and don’t actualize their goal of winning the championship this season, it’ll probably look a lot like Thursday’s 123-116 loss to the Golden State Warriors.

As the Warriors demonstrated, the blueprint against the Lakers is to try to force their stars into contested jumpers with a switch-heavy scheme and also funnel the ball to their non-star shooters and scorers. Then, on the other end, push the ball in transition and early offense, target Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves and use speed, movement and screening to exploit Los Angeles’ lack of rim protection.

Lakers coach JJ Redick insisted his group was prepared for Golden State’s attack on both sides of the ball, stating that the Lakers failed to execute their game plan. But the fact that the Lakers knew what the Warriors wanted to do against them and still couldn’t stop them is somewhat troubling.

“It was not what they were doing,” Redick said. “It was what we were doing.”

To Redick’s point, the Lakers had plenty of self-inflicted wounds, particularly on the defensive glass. They matched the Warriors’ 14 offensive rebounds, but the eight-point difference in second-chance points (23-15) was one of the key differences in the game. Los Angeles would play good defense for an entire possession only to watch one of the Warriors’ guards or wings come crashing in to grab a loose ball.

Offensively, the Lakers would run a beautiful action or successfully hunt an advantageous mismatch, only to miss a wide-open 3-pointer or another high-percentage look or turn the ball over. They got within five points twice in the fourth quarter but couldn’t make it a one-possession game as Golden State always answered with a big play of its own.

“The big, momentum-changing sort of a stretch, we just couldn’t muster,” Redick said.

The Lakers have struggled against switching schemes since Dončić’s arrival. They often devolve into seeking out the weakest or slowest defender and trying to drive past that player or create separation for an uncontested jumper.

The problem, especially with Dončić and LeBron James, is that when they don’t create enough of an advantage, they can bail out the defense by attempting high-difficulty contested jumpers. When they make them, it looks great. When they don’t, the group can go scoreless for over six minutes, as they did to close the first quarter and begin the second quarter Thursday.

“I think we just got a little stagnant,” Redick said. “Didn’t wanna move. You gotta move. You gotta play with force. You gotta get to the next thing.”

The offense eventually broke out in the second half, scoring 69 points, including 39 in the fourth quarter. But it was too little, too late with the double-digit cushion the Warriors had built and their incredible level of shot-making down the stretch.

Dončić suffered through his worst game as a Laker — on both ends of the floor. He finished with 19 points on 6-for-17 shooting (to go along with eight rebounds and seven assists), struggling to beat Warriors defenders off the dribble or create separation at the 3-point line.

Gabe & DFS no shows along with Luka tanking. That’s why we lost.

I don’t have much analysis I want to add to this at the moment, I just think it’s preposterous how good Austin Reaves has gotten. We’ve had great undrafted players before, but they’re usually defender/role player types. Scorers like this just don’t get passed on 60 times.— Sam Quinn (@SamQuinnCBS) April 4, 2025

Yes, Lakers LOST this game vs. Warriors. BUT looking over the box score…Austin Reaves hits 9 3-POINTERS! (9-16 3Pt)Dude is RIDICULOUS!!! Austin's stats: 31 pts (10-20 FG), 6 rebs, 3 asts, stl Not saying this is anything INSANE, but he continues to be a stud— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) April 4, 2025

“That's part of the process of becoming a really good team. You gotta go through those ups & down battles of going through situations where you have to figure it out…you have to adapt and adjust, that's what we'll do. We'll be better in the future.”Loved this from AR pic.twitter.com/SzdAZs9ZZh— LakeShowScoop (@LakeShowScoop) April 4, 2025

When did this stop becoming an and-1???? pic.twitter.com/a24Hr23Kt5— Lakers All Day Everyday (@LADEig) April 4, 2025

Luka Doncic:"That performance from me is unacceptable. When I play like that, it's hard to win so gotta figure it out."— Lakers Nation (@LakersNation) April 4, 2025

SILVER LININGS IN LAKERS LOSS TO WARRIORS1. LeBron James is back 100%.2. Rui Hachimura is back 100%.3. Reaves shot 9 of 16 from deep.4. Lakers almost pulled off miracle win.5. Luka had worst game as a Laker.5. DFS, Gabe, & Luka won't shoot 1 of 16 from deep.6. Warriors… https://t.co/vARe6bP30j— LakerTom (@LakerTom) April 4, 2025

For the Lakers to lose it took :1. Pod to have a career game2. Luka & Hayes to drop a stinker3. Zero bench production after DFS and Gabe helped last game which was odd4. And most obvious was the refs, they were clearly on the Warriors side calling everything, we couldn't…— LakeShow Highlights (@LSH_lakeshow) April 4, 2025

Luka Doncic and Steph Curry draining halfcourt shots ahead of Lakers-Warriors tonight in LA 🎯(via @NBA)pic.twitter.com/NACIwCMlHc— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 4, 2025

3-4.

🚨 FINAL 7 GAMES OF THE SEASON 🚨Predict our April record 👇 pic.twitter.com/KUxTZZvty0— Lakers Lead (@LakersLead) April 2, 2025

So they can ask Morris and Len to keep a seat warm for him?

STEPH. LEBRON. JIMMY. LUKA. 🍿With major seeding implications on the line, it’s a star-studded Western Conference showdown in LA tonight as the No. 3 Lakers (nearly identical win % to 4th place DEN) host the No. 5 Warriors (0.5 games ahead of 6th place MIN) at 10:00pm/et on… pic.twitter.com/pVcdvAGK5u— NBA (@NBA) April 3, 2025

STEPH. LEBRON. JIMMY. LUKA. 🍿With major seeding implications on the line, it’s a star-studded Western Conference showdown in LA tonight as the No. 3 Lakers (nearly identical win % to 4th place DEN) host the No. 5 Warriors (0.5 games ahead of 6th place MIN) at 10:00pm/et on… pic.twitter.com/pVcdvAGK5u— NBA (@NBA) April 3, 2025