FIRST TAKE | "OKC can't stop Luka magic" - Stephen A. makes bold predict Lakers at Thunder tonight

Lakers face two major measuring stick

games taking on the reigning champion

Thunder twice in five days starting

tonight. Both teams led by MVP

candidates that are on a tear. Luca

Donuch, Shay Dander. This gut check

matchup for the Lakers will be far from

just another regular season game. While

OKC holds a slim twoame lead over the

Spurs, but does not control the

tiebreaker against the Spurs. The Lakers

are riding a 4-ame win streak. They are

15-2 since March 1st. That is the second

best win percentage in the NBA during

that span. Their opponent tonight, the

Thunder, are the only team with a better

record in that same span. So, what would

a win tonight against the Thunder prove

or the Lakers? Wendy?

>> Yeah, I'm not even So, I don't even care

that much about whether who wins and

loses. I just want to see how they

handle this situation. They're going

into Oklahoma City where the Thunder

have been killer in the clutch this

year. The Lakers have been the best

clutch team in the NBA. I would love to

see this game go into clutch time and

see how the Lakers handle guarding Shay

because that's where the Lakers are

challenged. Perimeter defense and no

one's been able to handle Shay all

season long. And if you get into a

playoff series, um, and you're, you

know, you Lakers Thunder, which, you

know, I don't know if it's going to

happen, but it could, that's where it's

going to, that's where the rubber is

going to meet the road. I I I like want

to see it. I want to see how, you know,

the uh the Thunder, who are a great

defensive team, handle the onslaught of

how the Lakers have figured out how to

deal with Luke with Luca Reeves and and

LeBron and energize them and empower

them and how they're going to handle

Luca who's on a generational hot streak

who somebody's going to hold Luca to

under 40 points. It's not he's not going

to score 40 points the rest of his

career. Who's going to do it? Is it

going to be the Thunder? Are they going

to take this challenge on? Because

Stephen A, the Thunder are trying to win

these games. You know, there's a whole

bunch of games we have in the NBA right

now where one teams ain't trying to win.

Sometimes we got two teams not trying to

win. Both teams trying to win this game.

You know, the the the Spurs are coming

hot and heavy. The Spurs are playing

here in LA tonight against the Clippers.

They're going to play that game for real

because they're trying to catch the

Thunder. The Thunder know it. They've

come out and said it. So, they're going

to they're going to play absolutely full

board to win tonight. Let's see how the

Lakers the Lakers have proven to all of

us that they are the number three team

in the West. Do we know whether they've

proven they can challenge the Spurs or

Thunder yet? They're not there, but boy,

do they get a wonderful opportunity

tonight in Oklahoma City next Tuesday

here in Los Angeles. There's no

backtoback issues. Everybody's going to

be rested. Hopefully, everybody's going

to be healthy. Everybody cares about

these games. This is a great way to get

a measuring stick on where the Lakers

are. I can't wait to see how it plays

out.

>> I get where you're coming from. I don't

disagree.

But where there's a twist and turn,

you're interested in seeing somebody

stop Shay. I'm not worried about that.

Ain't nobody stop stopping Shea Butter.

That's not the issue. The issue is

watching Oklahoma City's defense against

Luca. You going to drop 40 tonight,

Luca? You going to put it on them like

that? This is Oklahoma City. You

understand? They hang their hat on

throwing defenders in your direction.

So, it's going to be real interesting to

see how that pans out. I also want

clutch time because I want to see, you

know, not just Luca, but the Lakers

offense and how they're going to produce

because let's call real, let's face

reality. If we're anticipating the

Lakers having any success in the

postseason, we ain't hanging our hats on

their defense saving the day. We're

looking at their offense being so

prolific, you ain't going to be able to

stop them. So, that's that's something

that's very very important to think

about. Right? Here's where it gets

interesting. Certainly Oklahoma City

wants to win because they want the

number one seed. They want to be on

their home turf. They want San Antonio

to have to come to their house instead

of having to go to San Antonio if indeed

you all were to meet in the conference

finals. We get that. That's what they're

trying to ward off the Spurs. The Lakers

are interesting cuz you're the number

three seed. You're only a game and a

half ahead of Denver. All right. Um,

Wendy,

if the playoffs were to begin today, the

Lakers are the three seed. Who's the

sixth?

Ant-Man

and Minnesota, the team that took them

out last year. I mean, ran right through

him. Okay. Had Rudy Go looking like the

second coming of Bill Russell or Kareem

Abdul Jabbar. I don't know what the hell

it was, but that's how he looked. Okay.

What you going to do this time around?

Because Minnesota ain't going to be no

easy out. Not with Ant-Man. Not come

playoff time. Ant-Man, Julius Randle,

Rudy Goar, you got size, you got girth,

you got Nas Reed in these cats. You

understand? I mean, you can't summarily

dismiss Minnesota. So, if you're the Los

Angeles Lakers, do you want to hold on

to the three seed or do you mind giving

it up because you could go against a

team as the fourth seed in Houston who

would be the fifth seed who's a team

devoid of a real point guard and

obviously don't perform well in clutch

time because they make too many damn

mistakes in the fourth quarter turning

over the basketball. That's something

that we have to ask. Remember, Lakers

had backto back games recently against

Houston in Houston and beat them both

times. So, I'm saying to you, do I think

that's going to happen? No. I think the

Lakers will hold on to the third seed. I

think that they go up against Minnesota

if it goes down like that and they'll be

like, "Let's get it on cuz we want our

vengeance ourselves." But we can't

summarily dismiss the possibility that

the Lakers might prefer the fourth seed

and to go against Houston in the first

round rather than Minnesota. Let's not

act like that's an impossibility. It's

not.

>> Well, they may not have a choice with

the four seed considering what's in

front of them here. Wendy, were you

going to add something? Go ahead.

>> It's it's it's going to be very hard to

predict who ends up with the five and

the six because it's so tightly packed.

Um, but I will say that if I were the

Lakers, I would agree. If I had to

choose, I would choose Houston. I just

don't know if it's going to be in their

lap.

>> Okay. Uh, we will find out. Again, the

Lakers have to face the Thunder twice in

the next week, couple days or so. So,

we'll find out who they are here,

especially in terms of the Western.

>> 0 and2 against the Thunder, one and

three against San Antonio.

>> Yes. So far this season. But that was

before they started locking down

defensively. Things have changed.

>> Thunder. If you've been paying

attention, you know the Lakers had an

unbelievable month of March. They went

15-2 in the month. Luca Donuch averaged

37 and a half points in the month of

March. Meanwhile, the top- seated

Thunder were the first team this year to

60 wins. They have a two-game lead on

the Spurs. So, as we sit here every

single morning and take the temperature