The Lakers have a Luke Kennard problem.
He defers too much.
Against a Thunder team with the NBA’s top-rated defense, Kennard will be the X-factor in their second-round playoff series. Without Luka Doncic, the Thunder will collapse on LeBron James and Austin Reaves.
The Lakers desperately need scoring help. They need a sharpshooter to open up the court. They need a 3-point specialist.
They need Kennard.
At the start of the Lakers’ first-round series against the Rockets, it seemed as though Kennard had been misused his entire career. It seemed as though coach JJ Redick had unlocked him.
With Doncic and Reaves out, Kennard went from being a 3-point specialist to the Lakers’ primary playmaker. He averaged 25 points in the first two games and seamlessly helped control the offense.
“He’s a sniper, we understand that,” LeBron James said after the Lakers’ 101-94 win in Game 2 on April 21. “But he does so much more.”
After that contest, Kennard went cold from the field.
And when Reaves returned in Game 5, Kennard went missing.
In Game 5, he was 0-for-4 from the field. In Game 6, he was 1-for-6.
That’s not going to fly against a Thunder team that pretty much has five brilliant defenders on the court at all times.
That won’t work against the elite two-way play of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the rim protection from Chet Holmgren, the high IQ of Alex Caruso, the lockdown defense of Lu Dort, the athleticism of Cason Wallace and the physicality of Isaiah Hartenstein.
“The Thunder is one of the greatest teams ever in NBA history,” Redick said at Lakers practice on Sunday. “It’s just the reality. They’re that good.”
Kennard needs to get out of his funk. He needs to regain his confidence. He needs to be an offensive threat in this series.
Or else the Lakers have no chance.
All of last week, Redick reiterated the same message to Kennard: “Be aggressive.”
Kennard can no longer take that as a suggestion. It’s a mandate.
The Lakers are no longer playing a flawed Rockets team. They’re facing the reigning champions who have the reigning MVP in Gilgeous-Alexander.
“The reality of their defense is that whatever moments we felt Houston pressuring, like the maximum amount of pressure they put on us, that’s OKC’s baseline,” Redick said.
The Lakers have looked like a JV team against the Thunder all season.
When they played them without Doncic on Feb. 9, James and Reaves were exhausted after their 119-110 loss. The Thunder’s defense left James hoarse and Reaves slumped in his chair.
They needed help.
Things only got worse.
There was the nightmarish 43-point loss to the Thunder on April 2 in which Doncic and Reaves suffered their respective hamstring and oblique strains. That was followed by a 36-point loss to the Thunder on April 7.
In both of those games, the Lakers were held to fewer than 100 points.
The Lakers are severely hurting for offensive power without Doncic, who led the league in scoring with 33.5 points a game. Doncic is expected to miss at least the beginning of the series.
Against the Rockets, the 41-year-old James stepped up his scoring, averaging 23.2 points a game. When Reaves returned in Game 5, he averaged 18.5 points in the final two games against the Rockets.
That was enough against the Rockets, who were missing Kevin Durant in all but one game.
But that won’t suffice against the Thunder.
The Lakers need Kennard to be their third-leading scorer. To be aggressive. To hunt for his shot.
That’s not his style.
Really, Reaves should pull him aside and teach him about his process this season. After the Big 3’s early struggles, it became clear that a new pecking order needed to be created: Doncic as the first option, Reaves as the second and James as third.
That meant Reaves, who went undrafted in 2021, had to embrace being the second option above James, who’s arguably the greatest player of all time. It was a big transition for both of those guys, to say the least.
But once everyone bought into what was best for the team, the Lakers’ offense soared, and they went on to win 16 of 18 games.
Kennard, who led the league in 3-point shooting this season (44.8%), needs to similarly shift his mindset.
Even though he’s going to share the court with James and Reaves, he needs to play as though he’s a star.
He needs to think of himself as a scorer. He needs to make his presence known.
Kennard could be the difference-maker in this series.
It starts with him believing in himself.
