THUNDER -at- LAKERS - 11/22 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Ooh...Aah... You see flashes of an electrical storm on the horizon. A mass of clouds has formed unnaturally quick and charges purposely toward the city. Flags ripple and snap as the winds pick up.

"To the walls!" someone yells. "To the walls! Hold strong! Don't let them through!"

You hear rumbling from behind you and watch as the flags suddenly whip in the opposite direction. The Horsemen have arrived.

You weren't sure what to expect. Maybe the storm would pluck trees from the ground and hurdle them in your direction or thunder would tear through the night like the gods were ripping the sky in half.

Instead, the clouds pass overhead and you smell rain. A light drizzle falls to cheers from the crowds gathered below. They scramble for buckets and containers to capture the precious water. They dance in the rain-soaked streets and celebrate. It's like the circus came to town.

Someone hands you an umbrella. You pop it open and a note dangles from the handle. It's DB:

The Horsemen were here. They quickly took control of their opponent. They diffused the attack, countered with an array of skills and weaponry that dazzled onlookers.

They are picking up steam. I will continue to track them.

Maybe the circus was in town. Kobe was not only the ring master, but he was clowning the Thunder all game. Meanwhile, Shannon Brown performed the aerial acrobatics.
Phil juggled the lineups. The crowd supplied the "ooh's" and "aah's".

Kobe sank a couple ridiculous shots to go along with his usual on-court poetry in the Lakers 101-85 win over the Thunder. He closed the first quarter with four straight makes, among them a behind-the-backboard swish, a pretty reverse and a lefty 16-footer at the buzzer.

The Lakers dominated the first quarter and had the Thunder silenced early. While Andrew Bynum overpowered the Thunder interior, Ron Artest provided the lockdown D once again on the Thunder's star. The Laker team defense as a whole was stifling.

“Any time you play against the Lakers it’s a humbling position to be in,” said Thunder head coach Scott Brooks. “We weren’t making shots tonight and that was because they were defending us throughout the game very well.”


Kobe -- -- He's been giving people a lot to talk about all season. Tonight, he added another shot or two onto his brilliant highlight reel. The one that will be remembered and played over and over was the behind-the-backboard swish while falling out of bounds. He was expecting the And-1 whistle that never came, threw it up and swished. "Not since high school," Kobe said when asked the last time he did that in a game. There were at least three more highlight plays by Kobe in the notes below. Pretty game and well-rounded, too. He led the team in assists, looking for open players anytime the D collapsed around him. Kobe seems to have stolen Ron's reach around defensively, or is trying to. He's done that more than I recall in recent seasons. The Stats: He scored 26 points on 11-23 shooting (0-2 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 7 assists, 2 steals and 1 foul in 32 minutes. The Action: He missed a 22-footer from the wing. He attacked off the three line, took contact and scored the And-1 layup, he made the FT. He cut off the post against the zone and scored a layup. He pushed up the break and dumped it to Pau for the layup. He attacked and kicked to Pau for the open jumper. He missed a three in transition. He missed a turnaround in the lane. Expecting a whistle while getting bumped on the baseline, Kobe swished a behind the backboard H-O-R-S-E shot off one foot before falling out of bounds (Staples buzzing). He bumped his man in the block and hit the short turnaround. Third possession in a row on the block, he spun, hung and reversed. He scooped up a loose ball and chucked in a bank from 16 feet out as the first quarter ended, he stared at lefty. He missed a turnaround getting hit badly with no call and then got a T. He missed a jumper, but Powell dunked it back in. He was poked in the eye with no call and called timeout. He missed a pull-up jumper from the left wing. He jump-stepped to his left and hit the 10-foot fade. He kicked out to Artest for the three. He had 15 points on 7-13 shooting and 6 assists. Second Half: He missed a lefty floater. He bullied his way down the lane to his left, drew a crowd and FTs, he made both. He sank a wing jumper off the screen. He missed a short one off the pinch post. Kobe duped Thabo with a change-of-pace dribble to blow past him for a layup. He got tapped on a post fallaway. He attacked with speed to his right and swished a short fade. He scored an And-1 off the backdoor bounce pass from Pau, he made the FT. He got swatted trying to put in a lefty layup. He stripped Thabo with reach around. He missed a three trailing the break. He got mugged on a drive with no call again.

Gasol -- -- Pau wasn't quite as effective as a scorer tonight, but he was setting the table for others. Some great feeds from the post -- backdoors to Kobe, no-lookers to Shannon. When you add him into the post spots of the triangle, whether it's high or low on the strongside or pinch post on the weakside, his passing makes the offense click. Teams have to respect his shot, worry about his scoring and worry about their men cutting off him. It because very difficult to defend and provides the balance the offense needs. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 5-13 shooting (5-6 from the line) to go with 7 boards (4 offensive), 6 assists, 1 block and 1 foul in 29 minutes. The Action: He drew FTs when Fish set him up in early offense, he made both. He scored a layup off the Kobe break. He swished a baseline jumper off the Kobe kickout. He missed an awkward turnaround in the paint. He missed a hook with his left. He missed an open elbow jumper. He no-looked over his shoulder to Brown for a layup. He was hacked with no call and missed. He missed an easy one at the rim. He had just 6 points on 2-9 shooting, but 4 assists. Second Half: He missed a short one off the left block. He dunked off the Artest feed. He tried to tap a pass to Bynum but it hit he rim, Bynum still scored it. He swatted Westbrook's drive. He bounced to Kobe backdoor for the And-1 layup. He spun away from the double and hit the lefty jumphook. He was hit in the paint for FTs, he made one. He scored an easy putback off the Farmar miss. He flashed weak to strong and drew FTs after getting the ball, he made both.

Bynum -- -- Too big, too skilled and too many other talented players around him. Despite the ankle issues, he was an efficient scoring machine. "I was able get the ball low, keep it high and just shoot," Bynum said. He also mentioned having Pau back keeps the doubles more honest. "It makes the game easier on everybody," Bynum said. The two of them have looked pretty fluid together. Some were concerned with Bynum's misses in the last game, but those were just chippies he missed. Not getting tougher looks out of position or no space to work because of Pau. In fact, tonight you saw more chemistry between the two with some of the cuts and passing. Our two bigs also drew a lot of fouls and got to the line in bunches. The Stats: He scored 25 points on 9-11 shooting (7-7 from the line) to go with 9 boards, 2 blocks, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 28:37 of action. He was a +24. The Action: After an excellent challenge on one end, he drop-stepped and overpowered Krstic for an And-1 layup on the other end, he made the FT. He took the post feed, changed direction and scored with his left at the front of the rim. He swished a jumphook on the interior feed from Pau. He beat everyone down court, took the outlet and scored around three defenders trying to collapse. He tipped in a Kobe miss easily. He took a touch pass from Powell and was fouled, he made both FTs. He scored easily over a smaller man on an inbounds. He had 15 points on 6-7 shooting and 6 boards. Second Half: He was fouled off the bounce pass from Artest in the paint, he made both FTs. He swiped a cross-court pass with his crazy length. He overpowered Krstic again for an easy jumphook. He hit a short jumper when Pau tried to tap a pass to him, but it hit the rim. He was held in the post, he made both of the FTs. He missed a fade asking for the foul. He hit a baseline jumper off the kickout from Ron. He didn't play in the fourth.

Artest -- -- Phil singled out Ron's defense in this game afterward. "There were some things that we felt we did really well defensively," Phil said. "I really like the way Ron plays defense. He got out there and really shut down some of their scorers." He's setting the tone. In the last game, there was a sequence where Ron barked at Pau for a defensive breakdown. It was on a ridiculous slow drive by Miller for an easy score and Ron let Pau have it. Artest doesn't take many plays off on the defensive end and he demands the same from teammates. Tonight, the Lakers as a whole locked down. Once again, Ron took out his man. In fact, the Thunder took Durant out and later subbed him back in when Artest sat. He then scored a couple buckets while Ron sat. Durant had been averaging 28 points per game, tonight he had 19 on 20 shots. Offensively, Ron played the chemistry role. With all the weapons the team has, he's not forcing a thing. If he needs to take the three to help keep the D honest on Kobe, he'll do it. When he drives, he's always looking for teammates (the bigmen are loving this). He's doing the little things and setting the tone defensively. The rest of the league doesn't want to see this Ron Artest. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 2-7 shooting (2-5 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 3 assists, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a +24. The Action: He swished an open wing three off an inside-out sequences started with Kobe. He missed a sideline three. Durant's first stint: 0-5, 1 turnover. He missed an open corner three. The moment Artest sat, the Thunder subbed Durant back in. He drained a wing three when the D collapsed on Kobe. He posted up in transition on a smaller man and drew FTs, he made one. He had 7 points and 4 boards. Second Half: He got hit in the face, attacked off the screen and missed a dunk. He was blocked in the post. Excellent bounce pass in the paint to Drew for FTs. He hit Pau under the hoop for a dunk. He missed a three. Nice hustle for a defensive board, but he threw the outlet away. He attacked and kicked to Bynum for the jumper. He had 7 points, 3 assists after three quarters.

Fisher -- -- The Thunder had 15 blocks in this game and our guards seemed to eat a lot of those. On the first play of the game, DFish was swatted badly from behind and the Thunder took it the other way for a score. That was lone Thunder lead. (That play would have gone completely differently had that been Shannon with teh ball). Scrappy defensive game from Fish. He seemed to get his hands on a lot of balls under the hoop and even took a charge there. Some very good team D to help out in the paint. Offensively, he didn't force anything and that's what you like to see. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-6 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 4 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block and 3 fouls in 24 minutes. The Action: He was rejected from behind trying to score a layup to start the game. He swished an elbow jumper working behind the screens. He missed an open three in transition. He attacked a seam in early offense and hit Pau for FTs. He drew a charge on Durant under the hoop. He missed a top-of-the-key jumper. Second Half: He stripped a man under the hoop. He missed a jumper and got a tech for complaining. Out of a timeout, he hit a floater curling down the lane. Pressure D on Westbrook in the corner forced a travel.

Lamar -- -- Not much of a game from LO. He had some flashes on the boards, but was missing everything offensively, even the easy ones. The team can handle these games now that Pau has returned. He needs to pick his spots in the offense and try to work off the doubles by others. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-6 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 5 boards, 2 assists, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 19:48 of action. He was a +2. The Action: He slammed, filling the middle of the break. Second Half: Nice defensive board tapping it off the glass to get it away from an opponent, then recovering it. He missed a wing three, way long. He missed a scoop with his right after a spin. He missed a jam, but Shannon quickly made people forget it a few seconds later.

Brown -- -- Shannon Brown, LAX has cleared you for takeoff. Shannon got up to the top of the square on a lob by Farmar. "He threw it up there, I went to go get it," Shannon said. Maybe he should be nickednamed "UPS," not because of "What Brown Can Do For You," but because his ups are so good you need to capitalize them. Kobe said he gets up better than both he and Jordan ever did. The Staples crowd loves it. This used to be Ariza's role this time last year -- bringing the spark off the bench. Right now, Shannon's bringing it. Phil ran some goofy lineups out there with Shannon and the bench, so the second unit struggled a little despite Shannon's efforts. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-6 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 3 boards, 3 assists, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 18 minutes. He was a -13. The Action: He scored a reverse when Pau hit him with an over-the-shoulder feed. He missed a wing three. Second Half: He had staples buzzing with some massive air on the lob throw down on the break, as mentioned. He missed a layup, trying to hold on after a strip attempt. He crammed down another dunk off the weakside drop pass. He missed a baseline jumper. Good hustle to try to swat a Harding dunk, but he was called for the foul.

Farmar -- -- A lot of shots from Farmar in his limited minutes. In fact, he took as many as Bynum, but the outcome was vastly different. He did have to try to bail out the offense on some sequences trying to create. That lob he threw to Brown would have been the highlight play of the game had Kobe, of course, not been in the building. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 4-11 shooting (0-2 from three) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist and 1 steal in 22 minutes. He was a -6. The Action: He bricked a corner three. He swished a baseline jumper after picking up a loose ball. He was stuffed in the paint. He missed a layup off the pinch post. He hit a step-through from the elbow trying to create with the shotclock low. Second Half: He jammed with two hands off the pinch post. He missed a wing jumper. He pushed up a steal and lobbed to Brown for the dunk. He missed a step-back in the paint. He was swatted on a drive. He missed a wing three. Weak perimeter pass and Bowen swiped it. He swished an elbow pull-up jumper.

Powell -- -- Phil seemed to be toying with the lineups once he had an early lead. So, we saw Powell in the mix early. Not some of our better minutes, but Phil got away with it. Powell was one of the guys getting his shot blocked by the active Thunder D. Combine that with missing some of his jumpers and he had an ugly shooting game. Loved seeing him with the putback slam. Those are the garbage plays from the bench that will kill other teams. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 1-6 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 12 minutes. He was a -5. The Action: He missed a baseline jumper. Nice touch pass under the hoop to get Bynum to the line. He crashed the glass and dunked back in a Kobe miss (show me that again, Josh). He was blocked in transition. He missed a corner three. Second Half: He missed a 19-footer straight away. He drew FTs spinning in the lane, he made both.

Vujacic -- -- Again, Sasha has been moved to the deep reserve squad. Trying to find minutes for him is tough even with Luke gone, allowing for us to slide Kobe up more at the SF. This time, we went with more from Morrison at the SF, instead of running Ron or Kobe some extra minutes there. Sasha got in later for some garbage-time run. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-3 shooting (0-1 from three) in 12 minutes. He was a -5. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He swished a wing jumper off the Mbenga screen. He missed a corner three. He missed a layup off a nice ball-fake from the three line to get free.

Mbenga -- -- He was the only player not to score, but it wasn't because of a lack of trying. Staples was cheering with every attempt. Or, at least making noise. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-4 shooting to go with 4 boards and 3 fouls in 6:49. He was a -12. The Action: He did not play in the half. Second Half: He was tied up on a post move. He missed an elbow jumper. He missed a short jumphook.

Morrison -- -- Phil threw Adam into the mix earlier than usual, trying to get him some more meaningful minutes (with, of course, the huge early lead). The moment he came in for Artest, the Thunder immediately brought back Durant. Slight difference in effectiveness on the defensive end. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-3 shooting, had 1 board and 1 steal in 7:32. He was a -3. The Action: He was rejected at the rim. He missed a runner off the inbounds play. He swished a corner jumper. Second Half: Nothing to report.

Phil -- -- The Lakers got off to a 13-5 start after the first 4 minutes, forcing a timeout. That didn't help, the Lakers extended it to 21-5... Phil sat Pau at the 3:28 mark for LO this time. A few minutes later than the last game... The Lakers led 35-16 after the first quarter. Kobe had the last four baskets, two of the amazing variety... Phil went with a Pau, Lamar, Morrison, Brown, Farmar lineup... The Thunder had an 8-0 run against that unit. Phil left them in for 6 minutes and the lead was trimmed down to 12... Out of the mid-quarter timeout, Phil went with a Bynum, Powell, Morrison, Kobe and Brown lineup. Odd... Phil went back to the starters shortly later with Powell instead of Pau... The Lakers led 57-34, locking down the Thunder to 31.6 percent shooting. The Lakers shot 44.4 percent. The Lakers won the offensive boards 12-5 and the turnovers with just 3 to the Thunder's 10... Phil brought in LO for Pau at the 4 minute mark. He brought back in Pau for Drew with a minute left... The Lakers led 79-58 at the end of the third... Phil started, Pau, Lamar, Kobe, Sasha and Farmar... Garbage time for most of the fourth quarter... The Thunder had 15 blocks, other than that they were dominated in most other categories... The Lakers kept their turnovers to just 9, which meant fewer break opportunities for the Thunder...

Game Flow -- LINK -- Crushing first quarter from the Lakers with runs of 16-0 and 6-0.

[jack13]

1st
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"These young guys are playing checkers. I'm out there playing chess." Kobe Bryant

[George W Buss]

First!!!!!

EDIT: 2nd

[City_Dawg]

I totally missed this game(Too many video games), thanks so much DB.
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*sighs*

!...

[Bryant-Bynum Lakers]

4th!
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1,2,3 RING.

[lakergreenmachine]

Thanks DB, great job as always
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"Moment of Silence For the Champions."

[lounger]

we are getting there! yes we are!

thanks DB!

[Texas_Pete]

Thanks DB. Great writeup as usual. I especially loved the part where you mentioned Ron barked at Gasol for screwing up an assignment against Brad Miller in our last game. Then he goes out and locks down KD. I think he will have a really good impact on the whole defensive mindset of this team. Great to see.

[Ray_Gonzoles]

Thanks again for the recaps DB!

2nd game against OKC - 1st was a win in OT @ OKC - now this time was total destruction of the visiting team in the 1st quarter. With Pau back in the mix, more blowout games should be in the Lakers future.
_________________
"Just show up ready to work, ready to play, Have your big boy pants on, leave your diaper at home." Kobe Bryant
Anything less than a championship is a failure. Period.

[wigglesxjr]

Can't be said enough for guys like you, JD/CaChooka, Tony Almeida, etc., but the post game coverage you guys provide to all of the rest of the fans of this board is absolutely second to none and invaluable, especially to us who aren't in the LA area. Thanks so much guys, I always look forward to all your posts and work!

[jonnybravo]

[Paillard]

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks DB!

Amazing highlight reel tonight. That behind-the-backboard shot was ridiculously sick, but that quick touch bank shot buzzer beater was awesome too.

That game was fun, and educational too. For example: 24>23. It's simple math. Still, most people don't get it. Give it 2 more years, they'll learn.

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

[limchrc]

Nice, thanks.

[Rick12322]

Thx for the recap, DB.

Kobe put on a show, then for desert we got Shanwow!.

[prisma8slg]

thanks DB.
_________________
"I define success by championships, by winning..." Kobe Bryant

"I've seen it all. Sasha dunked on somebody," Kobe Bryant said. "I'm ready to retire now."

[sone212]

[ShowtimeDynasty_24/7]

loved the UPS comment.. great job as always DB, thanks.

[JM]

Always welcomed summary, DB. Thanks very much. However, I think you were a little hard on Farmar. I thought he worked well with the A-/B+ team (both O and D.) When he is saddled with the strange 4th quarter lineups Phil tosses together, it's hard to keep the +/- thing decent. The last few games, except for a few lapses, he seems to replace Fisher well. And, the Brown/Farmar combo (coupled with either LO/Artest and a big-not-named-Mbenga) keeps things afloat.

[yanyon]

[AceFresh]

The array of options or "Weapons" as you cunningly said DB is incredible.
I mean, when you can score 100+ pts and have LO and Ron-Ron not even crack 10, speaks volumes on how talented we are.

Once our defense starts to mesh consistently, it will be superlative play at the highest level.


beautiful.

[DancingBarry]

[DancingBarry]