first round

Lakers center Deandre Ayton bounced across the court after practice Monday wearing all black, his chains swaying, his mood jovial as he approached the media to talk about his role in the Western Conference semifinals.

His spirits were high for what lies ahead for the Lakers as they prepared to face the best team in the NBA, the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder.

Lakers coach JJ Redick said the play of his center “changes our ceiling the most.”

Simply put, Ayton’s high-level of play will be paramount for the Lakers when they begin the best-of-seven series Tuesday night in Oklahoma City.

“Everything has been pretty solid, just staying in my role and just doing more in my role,” Ayton said. “This 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’ve done so far and the outcome from the adversity we’ve faced.

“I feel like that’s where we are right now and I think that’s what’s motivating me, as well, coming into these games. Just seeing, listening and being dialed in and seeing the results of it.”

There were times Ayton was a force against the Houston Rockets in the first round. He had double figures in rebounds in four of the six games and had three double-doubles in the series. He averaged 11.8 points and his 10.8 rebounds are third-best in the postseason.

“DA’s had a great season,” Redick said. “He 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’ve all embraced him all season long. Again, he’s the person that changes our ceiling the most.”

Both Ayton and Marcus Smart came to the Lakers last summer, giving them a much-needed center and a defensive-minded guard. Smart said he didn’t know Ayton before they became teammates, but the two of them have bonded.

Lakers teammates Marcus Smart, left, and Deandre Ayton celebrate during Game 6 against the Houston Rockets on May 1.

(Kenneth Richmond / Getty Images)

They sit next to each other in the locker room and Smart is the first to always encourage Ayton, to push him, to expect more out of him.

“Not his big brother, but I’m just somebody who he respects,” Smart said. “He sees [me] go out there and not only preaching, I’m actually doing what I’m preaching. I’m not just preaching, I’m 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’re going to battle with somebody. You’re struggling while they’re struggling right there with you, trying to help you get through yours.”

The 7-foot Ayton will be going up against 7-1 Chet Holmgren and 7-foot Isaiah Hartenstein. Holmgren averaged 17.3 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in the first round and Hartenstein averaged 11.0 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.0 blocks.

Ayton will have to hold his own against them and still be the force the Lakers have leaned on in the postseason.

“Playing bigger. … Just being relentless on the glass, you know, protecting the rim as much as possible and not letting them in my paint,” Ayton said. “It’s gonna be big with me protecting that paint in this series. They really generate and touch the paint. … Them having 50-plus points in the paint, you know they’re a really unstoppable team. So, I’m really just looking forward to protecting the paint as best as I can and staying on the floor as long as possible. That’s about it.”

Being on the road and in a hostile environment is something that Ayton also is looking forward to. He knows the crowd in Oklahoma City is like a college atmosphere and that he and the Lakers can’t get rattled.

“Yeah, you can’t hear yourself,” Ayton said. “It’s definitely the ‘Thunder’ for a reason, you know? Their fans are thunderous. You know, you can hear the floor shaking, the bleachers, you can’t even hear a play call. And you gotta be super dialed in.

“They’re the defending champs and you know their fans have been in atmospheres and hype games and you know they’re ready for their team to do their thing. So, we just gotta come in super prepared and just dial out all the noise and just come in and play together.”

ANAHEIM, Calif. — When Joel Quenneville took over the long-suffering Ducks nearly a year ago, the veteran head coach cautiously said he hoped to get his new team into contention this season for its first playoff spot since 2018.

His young, hungry Ducks made it to the playoffs, all right — and they’re clearly not just happy to be here.

After nearly winning the Pacific Division in a surprisingly strong regular season, these Ducks ended the franchise’s eight-year postseason drought — and now they’ve eliminated Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and the two-time defending Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers with a six-game series victory in the first round.

Anaheim finished it off with a 5-2 victory in Game 6 on Thursday night, calmly dispatching its more experienced opponents with the poise and potency that this team has shown for long stretches this season. Quenneville could only applaud as his team took the next step on its journey.

Ducks center Leo Carlsson celebrates with left wing Chris Kreider after scoring an empty net goal during Game 6 of their Stanley Cup playoff series against the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday in Anaheim.

(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

“It’s a huge win,” Quenneville said. “I’m happy for the players. I’m happy for the fans. And now we’ve got a taste of playoff hockey, and I think we can feel at this moment that it’s so much fun playing games that have the meaning, and the building being as loud and excited as it is. It seems to grow from this level on.”

The future has finally arrived in Orange County, and the raucous sellout crowds that have supported this team all season long are loving the return of playoff hockey for the team that won California’s first Stanley Cup in 2007.

The Ducks also had one of the NHL’s best teams while winning five straight division titles through the middle of the 2010s, but those teams twice lost in the Western Conference finals before Anaheim fell into a rut of seven straight years without a playoff berth.

Those years of high draft picks have led to a roster with impressive high-end talent in its young core, and general manager Pat Verbeek added a slate of veteran signees to bolster it. Quenneville was the next huge piece of the puzzle, and the three-time Stanley Cup winner as a head coach has guided the Ducks to a first-round postseason upset.

“We know that (at) our best is a really good team when we’re playing the right way,” said Troy Terry, the longest-serving Ducks player since 2018. “We proved it to ourselves that we can do it consistently in a series, and our group should have a lot of confidence going forward in what makes us a good team.”

After stumbling into a 2-6-2 slump down the stretch and blowing the division lead, the third-place Ducks drew the playoff-tested Oilers in the first round. It looked like a nightmare matchup for an inexperienced team — but the Ducks were ready.

Anaheim stormed to a 3-1 series lead while pumping 20 goals past the Oilers, who looked slower and creakier than the Ducks. Edmonton showed off its postseason poise in Game 5, throttling the Ducks in a 4-1 victory and putting the onus on their inexperienced opponents to finish off the series.

And that’s exactly what the Ducks did: They scored three goals in the first period, jumped to a 4-1 lead after two, and never allowed the Oilers to get up enough momentum to seriously threaten a comeback.

“I’m just proud with the maturity level of that game,” Terry said. “For how inexperienced and young our team is, it’s exciting moving forward.”

Anaheim also got a star-making performance from defenseman Jackson LaCombe, who led the team with nine points while also leading its defensive effort against McDavid and Draisaitl. LaCombe, a late addition to the U.S. Olympic team last winter, led the Ducks with a plus-6 rating while playing 22 1/2 minutes per game and taking just one penalty.

“A lot of us young guys are learning a lot as we go along, and I thought we got better throughout the series,” LaCombe said. “It means a lot for us.”

The Ducks have extended their breakthrough season for at least another couple of weeks, and they’re relatively healthy. Their next opponent will be the Vegas Golden Knights — another experienced playoff team loaded with veterans.

The Ducks and their fans are thrilled to take the next step on this unlikely journey.

“Now we get to experience another round, and I think this is healthy for us,” Quenneville said. “We’ve got a young group that … you don’t know how they’re going to play, but you’re certainly excited what the upside is.”

Beacham writes for the Associated Press.

Kings coach D.J. Smith gave his team the day off Friday, but he sent his players home with a message: if they don’t show up for work Sunday, they’ll have the rest of the spring and summer off, too.

Players don’t like to call any game a “must-win” because of the pressure it brings, but there’s no other way to look at Sunday’s game for the Kings. After losing the first three games of their best-of-seven playoff series with the Colorado Avalanche, the Kings are one loss away from being eliminating in the first round for a fifth consecutive season.

“Must-win game,” agreed defenseman Drew Doughty, who hasn’t played on a winning team in a playoff series since the Kings last won the Stanley Cup in 2014. “Everyone’s going to give everything and we’ve got to win that one. And then hopefully go back to Denver.”

The most recent loss came Thursday when the Avs scored two fluky goals on pucks that bounced in off the skates of Kings players and put another one into an empty net in a 4-2 victory that pushed the Kings to the brink of elimination once again.

“You don’t like the result,” Smith said. “And it’s tough to swallow.”

For Colorado, the best team in the NHL during the regular season, it hasn’t been the most stylish of postseasons. But after a pair of hard-fought 2-1 wins at home, the Avs have a chance to sweep a playoff series for the first time since 2022, when they won their last Stanley Cup.

“All the games have been tight. We’re right there,” forward Quinton Byfield said. “Each guy, including myself, we just have to give a little bit more.

“We’re doing the right things, we just have to dig in a little bit more.”

It’s hard to say how. The Kings’ power play has been good, scoring a goal in each of the three games, and their penalty kill even better, shutting out the top-scoring team in the NHL on nine tries with a man advantage.

The Kings have been physical and fast and goaltender Anton Forsberg has been brilliant in his first career playoff series, making 90 saves in the three games. Yet none of that has paid off with a win.

“Sometimes you play real well for stretches and you don’t get the results. And then you’ll win a game you don’t deserve to win,” Smith said. “Maybe we didn’t stay with it long enough.”

“Those games are over with,” a frustrated Byfield added. “You can’t look back at those games. It’s just on to the next one, that’s our focus.”

Doughty said the Kings need to wear down the Avalanche, something they clearly couldn’t do in the two games played in Denver’s mile-high altitude. They might have a better chance Sunday at sea level.

“I don’t think we’re creating enough Grade A chances,” he said. “They’re statistically one of the best teams in the neutral zone. So for us to beat them, we’ve got to wear them down in the D zone, make them tired and score goals that way. We haven’t done that enough.”

Every team has its kryptonite and the for the Kings that appears to be the first round of the playoffs. Over the past dozen seasons, the team has gone 9-27 in the postseason, taking a series to a seventh game just once in six tries. Along the way they’ve changed general mangers twice, changed head coaches five times and even changed their opponents, facing the Avs this year after losing four straight series to the Edmonton Oilers.

None of that has changed the results.

Smith, in fact, is an interim coach, having taken over for Jim Hiller with 23 games left in the regular season. He figures to be coaching for his future Sunday since a playoff sweep won’t look good at his resume.

“There’s no quit in there,” Smith said of the Kings’ locker room. “We’ll get reset with practice [Saturday] and I think you’re going to see our best effort.

“Now we’ve got to make a few changes and see if we can spark something.”

If that works, the Kings will be heading back to Denver. If it doesn’t, they’ll be heading home for another long summer.

One quarterback will go in the first round of the NFL draft, but he won’t have to wait long to hear his name.

And five Ohio State players will go in the opening round, including three in the first seven picks.

That’s how this year’s beat-writer draft unfolds, at least. For more than two decades, the Los Angeles Times has turned to reporters who cover NFL teams on a daily basis to make their selections.

This year’s version is heavy on edge rushers, light on quarterbacks, and has two running backs as bookends at the beginning and end of Thursday night’s first round, which for the first time is taking place in Pittsburgh.

🚨 The NFL reporters’ mock draft begins at 9 a.m. PDT, with the Las Vegas Raiders on the clock at No. 1.

Jordan Ayala, a standout sophomore pitcher and hitter at Norco High, is the latest baseball player to reclassify and become a member of the class of 2027 next season, he confirmed on Tuesday during the first round of the Boras Classic.

Another player who has reclassified from the same tournament is Huntington Beach pitcher Jared Grindlinger, who will join the class of 2026, making himself available for this summer’s MLB amateur draft.

All this is happening with uncertainty about a possible MLB lockout when the current collective bargaining agreement runs out and not knowing what changes might happen to the draft.

Ayala, 16, said he’s moving his graduation date up to preserve his arm and take a look at becoming a professional after high school.

Huntington Beach coach Benji Medure said reclassifying is not for everyone.

“It takes a special person,” he said. “You’re putting yourself out there.”

Don’t be surprised to see more top players joining the reclassification movement next year.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

When Jeff Bryant was playing high school basketball at Sylmar, the top teams in the City Section were annually among the best in California.

“The City dominated back in the day,” Bryant, now the head coach at Palisades, said Tuesday before Southern California Regional Division II boys’ basketball final. His Dolphins lost a heartbreaker, 59-57 at Bakersfield Christian, falling a win short of a trip to Sacramento for the state finals.

Eleven days earlier Palisades captured the City Open Division crown, going undefeated against section opponents, and with 10 players — including all five starters — returning next season, Bryant not only has his sights set on a repeat, he wants to reverse a 15-year trend during which City teams have struggled to compete at the highest level.

City boys teams won the state’s top division five times in six years from 1993-98 and seven times in nine years from 2002-10. However, since the Open Division debuted in 2013 only two City teams have advanced to the regional finals in that division — Westchester in 2014 and Fairfax in 2015 — and the last time a City team made the Open bracket was five years ago when Birmingham lost in the first round.

Bryant, who graduated in 2006, will be rooting for his former coach on Friday when his alma mater plays for the Division V state championship under the guidance of Bort Escoto, who piloted the Spartans to the City Division II title on the same night Palisades won the Open Division. Sylmar was dropped down to Division V for regionals and ran the table.

Birmingham was upset by Fairfax in the opening round of the City Open Division playoffs Feb. 11 and dropped to Division III for the regional tournament. The Patriots have since reeled off four convincing victories and will also play for a state title Friday afternoon.

Birmingham and Sylmar are the latest City teams to benefit from regional playoff expansion in which teams are placed several divisions lower from where they played in their section. Chatsworth advanced to the Division II state final last winter after losing in the City Open Division final and reached the Division IV state final after its City Open semifinal loss two years ago. Like Sylmar this season, Verdugo Hills was the City Division II champion in 2024 and went on to play for the Division V state title.

On the girls’ side, no City squad has won an Open Division state playoff game. Five teams from the section have received berths in the highest division over the last 14 years, but none since Fairfax in 2018. Narbonne is the last City team to conquer the state’s top division, claiming back-to-back Division I titles in 2000 and 2001, long before the Open debuted.

Like the boys, City girls’ teams fare well when dropped to lower divisions.

Palisades, which fell in the first round in the City Open Division, plays for the state Division IV crown Saturday while City Open Division champion Westchester was seeded 14th in Division I for regionals and lost in the first round. Granada Hills went to the Division III state finals two years ago after losing in the first round of the City’s Open Division.

Before taking the helm at Palisades, Bryant guided West Ranch of the Southern Section into the Open Division regional playoffs in 2023. Now he aims to do the same at a school in the section he once played in.