From apologizing to Joel Embiid for underestimating the 76ers to expressing happiness on seeing the Wembanyama vs Edwards matchup in round two. Magic Johnson has been pretty locked in during this year’s playoffs. He has used the same critical lens on his beloved Los Angeles Lakers as they prepare their Game 1 clash tomorrow against the Oklahoma Thunder, which he called an “uphill battle.”

“My Lakers have an uphill battle going against the reigning World Champions OKC and SGA, who in my mind was the MVP of the First Round of the Playoffs!” tweeted Johnson. “To beat OKC, we have to find a way to not turn the ball over as much as we did against the Rockets and play great on both ends of the floor – so who’s going to step up and provide scoring to help LeBron and Austin? One thing we all know is OKC can score the basketball, so the Lakers are going to have to play some of their best basketball!”

The first key factor that the Lakers legend would be limiting their turnovers. The Lakers coughed up the ball 106 times in six games against Houston in the first round. That’s 17.7 per game, which just won’t cut it against OKC. Similarly, Magic Johnson also stated that with Luka Doncic still sidelined, the Purple and Gold will again need to rely on teamwork for their scoring. LeBron James, 41, averaged 23.2 points throughout the Rockets series. He led the Lakers when every major sportsbook had the Rockets as favorites.

A last-minute injury to Durant swung the odds slightly, but the four-time NBA champion still had to lead from the front. Reaves, on the other hand, returned for Game 5 and put up 18.5 per contest in two matchups. Marcus Smart has been a revelation as well. After averaging 9.3 points in the regular season, the former Defensive Player of the Year upped his average to 14.7 in the playoffs. In Game 2, he scored 25 points and hit five three-pointers, followed by a standout double-double in Game 3 with 21 points, 10 assists, and 5 steals. Similarly, Rui Hachimura has been more consistent in the playoffs.

The 6-foot-8 power forward averaged 15.8 points on 54.3% shooting in the first round, and he will need to keep his foot on the gas against the Thunder. Luke Kennard went off for 27 points on 5-of-5 from three-point territory in Game 1. However, he was nowhere to be found in the latter half of the series. The veteran sharpshooter scored just 11 points in Games 4 through 6. He went cold from downtown, shooting just 14.3%. Deandre Ayton served as a consistent anchor in the paint, opening the series with 19 points and 11 rebounds in a 107-98 victory.

Although LeBron scored only 10 points in Game 4, Ayton delivered another double-double with a team-high 19 points and 10 rebounds. He repeated the feat in Game 5, recording 18 points and 17 rebounds. So, the Lakers again found themselves as the underdogs, and once again, Luka Doncic is unavailable. But they did turn up against the Rockets and Magic Johnson is hoping they do the same against the current champions, the Thunder.

JJ Redick agrees with Magic Johnson and vows to make an assessment

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, last season’s MVP and a finalist to win the award, made quick work of Phoenix in a first-round sweep. fantastic against the Suns, averaging 33.8 points, 8.0 assists, and 3.8 rebounds, and shooting 55.1% from the field and 89.8% on 12.3 free-throw attempts per game. Now, Los Angeles lost all four of its regular-season games to the Thunder during the regular season. In fact, they lost three of those games by at least 29 points. So, the head coach knows changes must be made and he is ready.

“They’re really good at runs, and part of that is how good their defense is, their ability to create turnovers,” Redick said. “The live-ball turnovers really kill you. I’ve got to be more diligent than I normally am. I like my timeouts, I like going into the fourth quarter with four timeouts, I like having two in the last 30 seconds. You won’t have the luxury of worrying about that because the games get away from you so quickly because of how explosive they are when they go on their runs.”

The Thunder were first in defensive rating, second in opponents’ turnover percentage, and first in points off turnovers per game during the regular season. As Magic Johnson stated, even JJ knows that conceding turnovers against the Thunder will be more detrimental than what they suffered against the Rockets.