The Lakers are playing as well as they can — and it doesn't matter against the Thunder

The Rockets were a mess. As it turned out, they needed Fred VanVleet, or any competent point guard, to run a competitive offense, and they needed Steven Adams, or another rebounder, to manufacture second chances. They had neither.

And James exploited Houston’s collective inexperience, conducting a masterclass in playoff playmaking, and a hodgepodge of role players rallied around him defensively. It was enough to take a 3-0 lead against the Rockets and hold them off in six games.

It is not enough against these Thunder, who look prepared to defend their title at the highest level of competition. And the Lakers are not the highest level of competition. They are a cakewalk on OKC’s way to meet Victor Wembanyama’s San Antonio Spurs or (less likely) Anthony Edwards’ Minnesota Timberwolves in the conference finals.

“They’re pretty damn good from top to bottom,” said James when asked if this Thunder team compares to the 2017 and 2018 NBA champion Golden State Warriors.

The league belongs to a younger generation now, not James, and it has for some time. Gilgeous-Alexander has his Thunder on top of the NBA. Wembanyama’s Spurs are coming for them, and everyone else may be chasing them for some time.

The question is whether Dončić can elevate these Lakers to those same heights. Can they convince themselves they are on OKC’s level, if only they had Dončić? It will be hard after this series. After all, who has been their second-best player in these playoffs? Not Austin Reaves, who was hobbled by an oblique strain. Marcus Smart? Rui Hachimura? Deandre Ayton is hardly a championship-level starter at this point.

All you have to do is look on the other side of this series to see what a title-worthy roster looks like. The Thunder come in waves, rolling out competitor after competitor behind their stars, Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams (when healthy) and Chet Holmgren. Ajay Mitchell was Oklahoma City’s hero in Game 3, scoring 24 points on 17 shots.

They are wearing out the Lakers, and most of them are just entering their primes.

“There’s a lot of choices,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault told reporters of what was a 13-man rotation. “It’s obviously a very good problem to have. I trust everybody.”

“This team in-game, because of their personnel, can just adjust like that,” Redick said of the Thunder. “They need shooting on the floor, great. They need multiple wing defenders on the floor, great. They need two bigs on the floor, great. They’re a terrific basketball team. I said that before the series. I’ve been very impressed with them.

“I still think we can beat them,” he added, “but we’ve gotta be better.”

With a healthy Dončić (undoubtedly one of the greatest offensive players in the game), with Reaves scoring alongside him, and with James operating as the league’s best third option, the Lakers may talk themselves into moves on the fringes — a few more two-way role players who can transform this 53-win outfit into a contender.

“Look, when you have the league’s leading scorer out there, if he was, it definitely changes the dynamic of a team,” Lakers guard Luke Kennard told reporters of them missing Dončić’s 33.5 points per game. “And we know that. Obviously, we miss him.”

That will not solve the inherent defensive issues of playing Doncic, Reaves and James together. It also does not solve the fact that James will turn 42 in December. Can the Lakers really hinge another year of Dončić’s prime to James’ immortality?

This all assumes, too, that James re-signs with the Lakers. He is a free agent at season’s end. It is unclear if either he or the Lakers want to continue this partnership. He may envision an easier path to a fifth title elsewhere, and they may consider getting younger to try to keep pace with the Thunder and Spurs in years to come.

Big questions, and the Lakers may have to start answering them as soon as Monday.