NBA Player News

Bailey has been providing plenty of offense recently for Utah, but if he is unavailable, there will be an open spot in the starting unit. John Konchar is the most likely candidate to slide into the starting lineup, and he has been productive when given the chance to start this year.

Despite not shooting the basketball well, particularly from beyond the arc, Smart was the lone Lakers starter to conclude with a positive plus-minus. He was impactful as a passer on the evening and played his usual strong defense, even though he only tallied one steal. Smart eventually knocking down some three-pointers would help the Lakers’ offense — he’s currently shooting 3-of-15 from deep over the first two games of the series. Perhaps the home floor and familiarity with the rims will help the veteran guard find his touch in Game 3.

Reaves responded in a big way on Thursday to his eight-point Game 1 performance by finishing as the only Lakers player to reach the 30-point mark. He had success from deep, was efficient as a two-point scorer, and also got to the free-throw line to add to his scoring total. Turnovers were also an issue for Reaves in Game 2, as was the case in the series opener, but his contributions as a scorer and passer outweighed the negatives. A repeat performance in Game 3 would greatly benefit a Lakers team that’ll be trying to avoid going down by three games.

James logged 38 minutes in Game 2 and produced similar numbers to Game 1. On the evening, he was his usual efficient self as a scorer while also making some impact as a facilitator. Arguably, the four-time champion’s biggest moments came in the fourth quarter, when a series of James baskets helped the Lakers trim the Thunder’s lead to as few as five points. But L.A. ultimately ran out of answers, as OKC pulled away and secured a 2-0 series lead. James will again be one of the Lakers’ most important players in Game 3.

On strictly two-pointers and free throws, Mitchell finished as one of three OKC players to reach 20 points in Game 2. He’s now scored at least 15 points in four of the Thunder’s six postseason games so far, making scoring outputs like Thursday’s more and more of the standard. Also notable was Mitchell’s effectiveness as a passer — he led his team in assists on the evening while committing just two turnovers in the process. Mitchell continues to fill nicely into the starting unit during Jalen Williams’ absence. He’ll likely remain an important piece as the series progresses.

As he’s done so many times throughout his career, the former second-overall pick had a massive two-way impact in the Thunder’s victory. Offensively, he shot the three-pointer very well, and then punished the Lakers in the interior and on the offensive glass. With a solid number of points at the charity stripe, as well, Holmgren ultimately tied with a team-high in points. He was arguably even more impressive on the defensive end, where his six stocks led all players in Thursday’s contest. Holmgren is averaging 23.0 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 2.5 steals per game so far in this series, and has a chance to put together another strong outing in Game 3.

Partly due to foul trouble, the reigning MVP logged just 28 minutes in the Game 2 victory for the Thunder. Still, he made the most of his time on the floor, efficiently working his way past the 20-point mark while navigating against the Lakers’ double teams and defensive strategies. He cut back on his turnovers, after committing seven in Game 1, and looked more comfortable overall. SGA still hasn’t come close to logging the type of numbers he did throughout the regular season, or even in the first-round win over the Suns. Yet, the Thunder’s other players have provided plenty on both ends of the floor to help keep OKC in control of the series. Gilgeous-Alexander will have a chance for bigger numbers in Game 3.

Allen bounced back from an underwhelming two-point performance in Game 1 to tie his high for points in a game this postseason. Per usual, the veteran center did all of his work inside the arc, but also utilized the charity stripe to tally his points. He finished as Cleveland’s second leading scorer on the evening while finishing as the team’s best rebounder in his 31 minutes. The Cavaliers will hope Allen can provide similar individual production in Game 3.

Mitchell was one of the very few Cavaliers to have success on the offensive end in Game 2. He accounted for nearly one-third of the team’s made field goals and, even with inefficient three-point shooting, found other ways to somewhat efficiently hit the 30-point mark. A repeat performance from Mitchell in Game would be great for Cleveland — they’ll just need multiple others to find their way offensively. He’s scored at least 20 points in each of the last four games.

Harden struggled to find his flow on offense in Game 2. For the second time this postseason, he was held to only three made field goals, but failed to make a three-pointer for the first time. As he narrowly snuck into double figures as a scorer, the former league MVP also didn’t make much of an impact as a passer; his three assists tied his low for this postseason. He will almost certainly need to bounce back with a much greater performance in Game 3 for the Cavs to avoid falling behind by three games.

Like several Pistons, Robinson built his offensive production little by little on Thursday. He made at least one three-pointer in every quarter and never tallied more than six points in any period. Yet, the veteran sharpshooter finished as Detroit’s third leading scorer on the evening and totaled as many three-pointers in Game 2 as he did in Game 1. Robinson has found his rhythm early on in the series and will hope to bring it to Cleveland, where the series will flip for Game 3.