The Los Angeles Lakers advanced to the Western Conference semifinals after a 98–78 Game 6 win over the Houston Rockets, closing the series 4–2 and setting up a matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Austin Reaves addressed the challenge during practice on Sunday.
“Obviously really good. They won it all last year and they’ve been the best team in basketball all this year, so it’s going to be a big challenge,” Reaves said when assessing the Thunder.
“But at the end of the day, you can’t go in scared. You have an opportunity to go play basketball, so we’ll have fun,” he added.
Reaves framed the series mindset around belief inside the locker room despite outside expectations. “You could say nobody thought we were going to get past Houston, but everybody in this building believes so,” he said.
“It’s the same mindset going into this. We obviously know the team we’re about to face and how good they are and the problems they can create through 48 minutes.”
Attention to detail will be central for Los Angeles, according to Reaves. “We’ll have to lock in every single day, film, whatever it can be, to continue to get better and pay attention to all the little details like they do,” he said.
The Thunder’s defensive pressure and turnover creation remain a key concern. “Houston is one of the best at turning teams over and OKC is as well. You got to take care of the ball. You got to get shots at our basket,” Reaves said.
“We can’t be losing the possession battle. We’ll have to be really smart in that category,” he added.
Reaves also acknowledged the matchup against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the offensive pressure he creates. “Very professional at putting the ball in the basket at all three levels,” he said.
“He shoots the three, obviously mid-range, gets inside the paint, and obviously shoots a lot of free throws. When you can do that at a high efficiency, it’s going to be tough.”
On physicality and officiating balance, Reaves said the postseason demands adjustment. “Anybody who plays this time of the year is going to have that brand of basketball. It’s going to be a grind for 48 minutes,” he said.
“There’s going to be a million possessions where things aren’t called both ways and you just got to battle through all of it and continue to compete.”
Reaves also pointed to internal growth during stretches without Luka Doncic. “Everybody’s kind of got to play differently to create and to try to fill the things that he does for us,” he said.
On improving perimeter offense against Oklahoma City, his focus remains execution-based. “Just continue to try to make the right play. Get downhill, touch the paint, try to make teams play out of rotations and stuff like that,” Reaves said.
The Lakers now prepare for a series defined by possession control, defensive discipline, and execution against the Western Conference’s top-seeded Thunder.
