{"id":2006,"date":"2026-05-07T19:31:51","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T19:31:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=2006"},"modified":"2026-05-07T19:31:51","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T19:31:51","slug":"lakers-deandre-ayton-focuses-on-playing-bigger-against-thunder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=2006","title":{"rendered":"Lakers\u2019 Deandre Ayton focuses on \u2018playing bigger\u2019 against Thunder"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>EL SEGUNDO \u2014 Belief. Attention to detail. And voice.<\/p>\n<p>Those are the three keys Lakers coach JJ Redick zeroed in on for what could carry over from their first-round triumph over the Houston Rockets heading into their second-round clash with the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder. Game 1 is Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. PT at Paycom Center.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=2004\">Summer travel may see fewer international travelers landing in Southern California<\/a><\/p>\n<p>And there might not be a player on the Lakers feeling more belief than center Deandre Ayton after returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2023.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cD.A.\u2019s had a great season,\u201d Redick said. \u201cHe was instrumental in us getting past Houston. I think his baseline of who he is every day for the last two, two-and-a-half months has been awesome. And I know his teammates, certainly the staff, we\u2019ve all embraced him all season long.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The 7-footer stamped his effort into the final three games against the Rockets, meeting the offensive rebounding ask of Redick to average a playoff-high 14.3 rebounds and 5.0 offensive rebounds over the last three games to help eliminate the Rockets, the best rebounding team in the NBA. When told Monday afternoon at practice that Redick said his play raises the ceiling of the Lakers more than any other player on the team, Ayton appeared to be taken aback by the outpouring of public praise from his coach.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWow,\u201d Ayton said before collecting his thoughts. \u201cThis is the playoffs, so everybody can do more, everybody has another level. And this is the second round coming in, so I think we all deserve that little bit of increase of confidence from what we\u2019ve done so far and the outcome from the adversity we\u2019ve faced.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ayton and veteran guard Marcus Smart joined the Lakers under similar circumstances last summer. In career refreshes of sorts, both players signed after the Portland Trail Blazers bought out Ayton\u2019s contract and the Washington Wizards bought out Smart\u2019s contract. The Lakers took a chance on both free agents, and they ended up being the cornerstone signings of their offseason.<\/p>\n<p>Whether at home or on the road, Ayton and Smart sit side by side in the locker room \u2013 figuring out the ebbs and flows of the season through constant conversation, Smart said. Ayton has previously referred to Smart as a brother\u2019s keeper, a voice of leadership during the 27-year-old big man\u2019s up-and-down season.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Did Smart know Ayton well before coming to the Lakers? No, he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut it feels like a lifetime now,\u201d Smart said with a laugh.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m just somebody who he respects. He sees [me] go out there and not only preaching, I\u2019m actually doing what I\u2019m preaching. I\u2019m not just preaching, I\u2019m out there with him, in the midst of it, battling with him, going through adversity with him, right? I think that drives a lot of respect for one another in that aspect, when you\u2019re going to battle with somebody. You\u2019re struggling while they\u2019re struggling right there with you, trying to help you get through yours.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=2002\">Disneyland has printed millions of maps made by this Anaheim small business<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The focus for Ayton now turns from the matchup with Rockets All-Star center Alperen Sengun, to the pair of Oklahoma City big men: 24-year-old All-Star forward Chet Holmgren and center Isaiah Hartenstein, 27.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>In the Lakers\u2019 four regular-season games against the Thunder, all losses, Ayton averaged just 5.8 points and 4.8 rebounds. For the Lakers to have any chance in the series, they likely need Ayton to play well above those standards. Both Holmgren (11.5 ppg, 6.8 rpg) and Hartenstein (7.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg) outplayed Ayton\u2019s averages in their in-season matchups.<\/p>\n<p>Ayton called the Thunder a \u201creally unstoppable\u201d team, referring to their scoring success in the paint. When asked what he would need to dial in against the OKC big men, along with facing the second-best defense in the NBA (the Thunder allow just 107.9 ppg), Ayton said he would have to focus on \u201cplaying bigger.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJust being relentless on the glass, protecting the rim as much as possible and not letting them in my paint,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m really just looking forward to protecting the paint as best as I can and staying on the floor as long as possible. That\u2019s about it.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4>\u2018NO UPDATE\u2019 ON DONCIC<\/h4>\n<p>Lakers star Luka Doncic (left hamstring) went through spot-up shooting drills alongside Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura when reporters entered practice on Monday morning. When directly asked about Doncic\u2019s status for Game 1 on Tuesday, and if he would be available, Redick stuck to his same response from Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t have any updates on Luka,\u201d Redick said.<\/p>\n<p>Last week, Doncic began increasing movement outside of doing stationary drills during the early part of his recovery process, Redick said on April 26. Two days later, Redick said Doncic had added more movement, but the Lakers have not publicly announced any changes to Doncic\u2019s recovery efforts, nor a timeline, since then.<\/p>\n<p>Doncic suffered his Grade 2 left hamstring strain on April 2, the last time the Lakers played in Oklahoma City, a 139-96 loss that dramatically shifted the Lakers\u2019 season heading into the playoffs.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=2000\">More CSUF groups looking to share student fees funding cuts into budgets<\/a><\/p>\n<h4>LAKERS AT THUNDER<\/h4>\n<p><strong>What:<\/strong> Second-round series, Game 1<\/p>\n<p><strong>When:<\/strong> Tuesday, 5:30 p.m. PT<\/p>\n<p><strong>Where:<\/strong> Paycom Center, Oklahoma City<\/p>\n<p><strong>TV\/Radio:<\/strong> NBC (Ch.\u00a04), 710 AM<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ayton, who averaged 14.3 rebounds (five offensive boards) in the final three games of the first-round series against the Rockets, could be the X-factor against the defending champs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2005,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2006","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-verified-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - 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