LAKERS -at- THUNDER - 4/22 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Thunderstruck ... As you leave the city, the river churns and winds its way into deeper into the jungle. The further you travel, the more darkness seems grow. It is a depraved darkness, a sick darkness, and it seems to feed on fear.

A distant roar catches your attention. You know the sound well. It's not a jungle beast, it is men. You follow the river more until a glowing dome rises from the tree tops.

It appears to be crawling with ants, but the closer you get, the larger the dome becomes and it's clear that it is people crawling over it.

The crack of Thunder, followed by another roar. You hop from the boat and scramble toward the noise. After finding a trail you get to a clearing and stop in your tracks. You realize what is before you.

It's the post Apocalypse, and this is Thunder Dome.

The roar you heard was the Horsemen's defeat. You try to mingle with the crowd and shove your way forward, but it's like swimming upstream. Everyone is leaving to celebrate. What happened?

At the entrance to the dome, someone hangs up a sign that reads, "Closed. Come Back Later." In small print below it, DancingBarry has scribbled something:

"The Horsemen were here. They were not welcomed. Two opponents entered, only one could leave with victory.

I will continue to track them..."

The Thunder crowd roared from the start, a hostile environment, but one the Lakers calmed down early on with a 10-0 run. They wouldn't keep them down for good.

Late in the third, Russell Westbrook blew past DFish and threw down a posterizing dunk. The young Thunder team fed off the home-court response and quickly tied the game up with a run.

In the fourth, Kobe was ineffective. The Lakers rarely got into the paint. On one key sequence, Kobe missed a lob to Bynum and then was blocked by Durant on an iso play that seemed to turn the tide for good. The Lakers found themselves a few points short and in a foul situation, losing 101-96 when the dust settled. The freethrow disparity was huge -- 22 more attempts from the line for the Thunder.

The Lakers took 31 attempts from behind the arc. "Too many three-point shots," Phil said immediately afterward. Hurting that even more was the Lakers not getting many of those misses. The Thunder had a 14-7 advantage on the offensive glass.

No Western Conference team is without a loss. Even the Cavs took their first loss to go to 2-1 in the Eastern Conference. The Lakers need to take the confidence from the Thunder in the next game or they may open up a can of trouble.


Kobe -- -- In the second half, Kobe started playing right into the Thunder's hands. He monopolized the ball and too often settled for difficult, long jumpers. On one key sequence, he missed a wide open lob to Bynum to try to create against Durant and was blocked. Durant scored on the other end and Phil was forced to call a timeout down by 6 with 5:10 left. If Westbrook's dunk turned the game around, this sequence seemed to bury the Lakers. The Thunder fed off the crowd anytime a huge play happened. Kobe went just 2-10 in the fourth and had some very bad sequences. Defensively, this was Kobe's weakest game. Far too much watching and far too little challenging. Biggest stat of the night might be the 0-0 for Kobe from the line, some of that might also be due to the 11 threes he took. The Stats: He scored 24 points on 10-29 shooting (4-11 from three) to go with 8 boards (4 offensive), 2 steals, 3 turnovers and 4 fouls in 41:22. He was a +1. The Action: He hit Bynum on a lob for an early score. He rattled in a long three on his first touch. He missed a long three, settling, it led to a foul on Ron on the other end. He missed a long wing jumper, didn't cover his man in transition and gave up a wide open three. He had 3 points on 1-3 shooting in the first. He missed a turnaround in the post. He drew a double and kicked to Ron for three. He clanked a short jumper in transition with Farmar. Bad D and he fouled on a reach. Horrible perimeter pass right to a Thunder for a dunk. He sank a three a few seconds later straight away. He swished a sideline three given a moment of space. He sank another three on his next touch, working the two-man with Drew. He missed a lefty layup on a drive. He missed a three over his man. He attacked past Thabo and hung for a layup. He missed a wing three. He had 14 points on 5-12 shooting (4-7 from three) and 3 assists. Second Half: He bricked a runner in the lane, layup the other way. He missed a long three next trip down. Next trip, he lost the handle out of bounds. He drained a baseline fallaway on the inbounds. He posted up and hit the fallaway next time down to pass Jerry West as the Lakers all-time leading playoff scorer. No challenge on Thabo, giving up a corner three. He attacked and hit Pau for the dunk off a jump pass. He missed a hanging jumper (looked like he tried to pass it off the board the way he followed his shot), Drew cleaned it up. He changed direction with a behind the back dribble and sank the wing jumper. He missed a short one in the paint. He had 20 points on 8-19 shooting. He missed a pumping jumper trying to draw contact, but didn't get the whistle. Tough fallaway jumper from the wing and he got it to go. He missed a step-back jumper from the other wing. Tough spinning jumper and he missed. He knocked a ball loose to Bynum, got it back, attacked and fed Bynum for the And-1 dunk over Collison. He lost his man, didn't know what he wanted then and threw the ball away for a dunk the other way. Another bad possession, he wasn't close on a three (too much one on one now). He missed a three with the shotclock low. No challenge on Westbrook on the other end. He missed a lob to Bynum who spun, then Kobe was blocked by Durant on iso. This forced a timeout after a score. He missed a long three out of that timeout when the play busted. He set up Pau for FTs on the two-man game with a minute left (need to see more of this). He missed a three with 40 seconds left. Quick attack off a rebound and he scored a layup.

Pau -- -- Pau seemed to be giving up the ball with too much ease. I'd rather see him find cutters (rare) then kicking to shooters when just token pressure comes. Go quick or use ball fakes then go quick. Put the pressure on. Don't back away from it, draw fouls, get to the line. The Lakers also need to exploit the two-man game more. Set up that extra pass to Bynum or LO in the lane off it. He's got to show the Thunder why he's one of the best all-around bigs in the game. In the fourth, he needs the ball. Pau ended up fouling out, but took one purposely late. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 7-12 shooting (3-4 from the line) to go with 15 boards, 6 assists, 2 blocks, 1 turnover and 6 fouls in 42:46. He was a -4. The Action: He kicked to Fisher for a corner jumper. He missed a short turnaround with the shotclock low. He missed a baseline jumper next time down. He attacked, took contact with no call and was blocked, he got it back and dunked. High-low to Bynum off the dribble for a score. He didn't take the jumper and threw a pass away. He missed a wing jumper. Late back in transition and he gave up a putback dunk. He sank a lefty jumphook from the baseline. He had 4 points on 2-6 shooting, 4 assists and 9 boards. Second Half: He swatted Westbrook on one end, then hit a jumper trailing the action on the other. He slammed off the Kobe pass. He stretched out and tapped back in a miss by DFish. He attacked off the elbow and threw in a teardrop to avoid a charge. He drew FTs off the feed from Ron, he made just one. He had 9 points on 4-4 shooting in the third. He sank a long jumper off the Farmar kickout. He missed a turnaround in the paint. Pau kicked out the ball way too easily instead of creating (Phil was telling him something at the timeout, probably about Pau giving it up too easily). Down 4 with 1:03 left, he was fouled on the two-man game with Kobe, he made both to cut it to 2.

Bynum -- -- One of the things the Lakers did much better this game was set Drew up. Last game, they didn't create anything for him. Tonight, he got a few lob passes to go along with the cleaning up at the rim. Low post position for easy back-to-the-basket opportunities? Not against the Thunder's fronting D. The Lakers were poor on the corner sequences when Drew had his man sealed. They need to move the ball faster to take advantage of the good position. The team has got to allow our bigs to impose their size. Bynum picked up foul trouble in the third quarter and had to sit a little early. The Lakers lost the lead while he was on the bench in that stretch. This is why Drew led in the +/-. Bynum had a monster And-1 slam over Collison that helped the Lakers from disappearing in a Thunder run during the fourth. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 6-9 shooting (1-1 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 2 assists, 1 block and 4 fouls in 31:40. He was a +5. The Action: He spun, took the lob and guided it in. Next touch and he hit a jumphook on the right block. Bogus foul going straight up, barely any contact on Green. He finished a lob from Fish off the pinch post. Soft dunk off the high-low from Pau. Great battle for a defensive board in a crowd. He had 8 points on 4-4 shooting in the first. He was blocked on a jumper (teammates told him to start throwing some pumpfakes). He had 8 points and 4 boards at the half. Second Half: He blocked a perimeter shot. He missed a turnaround in the paint. He cleaned up a missed Kobe jumper. He picked up two fouls on an attacking Durant and he had to sit. He threw down a beastly dunk over Collison in transition, a And-1, he made the FT. He missed a jumphook. Nice spin for the backdoor but Kobe missed him (this play could have changed the game).

Artest -- -- Again, he made Durant work for his points. KD shot just 8-24 for 29 points. Unfortunately, he got the ref love and sank 12-13 from the line. The refs whistled Ron with a minute to go on a very cheap foul on the perimeter when Durant was trying to move and Ron didn't budge. Two freethrows for Durant, and the Lakers didn't get a fair shake to make a key stop on that possession. Very weak call considering they let that go all game long on the other end. Those kinds of calls will drive you mad. Offensively, Ron hit a couple of big jumpers in crunch time. Unfortunately, he must have mastered the DFish toe-on-the-three-line shot. The Lakers could have used those two extra points to change the complexion of the final minute. Too much ball stopping offensively from Ron. It wasn't like he was trying to create, just trying to read the floor too long. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 5-11 shooting (1-5 from three) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal and 3 fouls in 42 minutes. The Action: He drained a step-back jumper from the wing to start the Lakers scoring. He then stole the ball and took it the distance for a layup. He missed a corner three, dunk the other way. He missed a fading three with the shotclock low. He had 4 points on 2-4 shooting. He missed a wide open wing three on a kickout. He nailed his next when they doubled Kobe. He had 7 points on 3-6 shooting (1-4 from three). Durant had 8 points on 2-10 shooting. Second Half: Bad help on Green and Bynum ended up getting a foul on Durant's drive and had to sit. He missed a wing jumper with the shotclock low. He attacked and somehow found Lamar in the paint for FTs. Perimeter reach on Durant for FTs. He drew a moving screen on Collison. He sank a toe-on-the-thre-line jumper in crunch time. He sank another toe-on-the-three-line jumper. Lame call with Ron trying to hold position and Durant flailing with 1 minute left, you could call that a dozen times on the Thunder on any of our players, wow. He airballed a corner heave with a couple seconds left after we got the ball back after a miss.

Fisher -- -- Westbrook blew past him for a huge dunk late in the third. That was the spark that lit the dynamite. The Lakers had a chance to steal this game and let it slip away. They may regret this for a while. Westbrook scored 27 points. Offensively, the Lakers wasted a good shooting night from DFish. You aren't likely to get 17 points on 8 shots from him again. He was money from three. Phil was even looking to set him up out of timeouts. Unfortunately, just too many easy makes for Westbrook including in crunch time. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 5-8 shooting (4-5 from three, 3-3 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 36:14. He was a -1. The Action: He swished a long corner jumper off the Pau kickout. He lobbed to Bynum off a pinch post for a score. Didn't run the offense and airballed (post entry was there), he then fouled on the other end. He swished a wing three with the shotclock low, good hustle in transition D after. He sank a challenged three with the shotclock about to wind out. He had 8 points on 3-4 shooting in the first. Great job stepping in and taking a charge on Durant in transition (his third foul with 3 minutes left in the half). Horrible pass out of the timeout, right out of bounds and he gave it right back. He was hit on a three for FTs, he made all three. He had 11 points on 3-4 shooting. Second Half: He missed an off-balance 10-footer, but Pau tapped it back in. He sank an open three out of the timeout. Westbrook blew past him for a layup on the other end. He charged on a drive, should have lobbed to Pau. Westbrook blew past him for a dunk. He bricked a three, three the other way. He swished an open corner three to cut the lead to 5. Westbrook answered him on the other end. He gave up a cheap And-1 on a jumper to Westbrook.

Lamar -- -- Phil called out Lamar in the press before the game and also got on him during a timeout in the first half. In the third quarter, Bynum had to sit with his fourth foul and Lamar would need to come in and play some strong minutes to keep the Laker lead. This was when the Thunder turned things around. The Thunder are playing Lamar's game and pushing him into his weaknesses. They are getting to the boards like Lamar usually does. They are crowding the paint and getting in his way on drives. The Lakers may want to consider running a little of the larger lineups. These seem to spark Lamar's game. They need to get him cutting off the ball (Shannon, too). He pointed the finger at himself for this loss. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-7 shooting (1-4 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 1 block, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 21:21. He was a -10. The Action: He missed a three at the first quarter buzzer. He blocked Collison from behind. Quick run to the post, he took the pass and scored the layup. He missed a layup in transition, taking contact and no call (Phil was ticked and warned when Pau was called for the foul holding his arms straight up on Durant on the other end of that play). He missed a wing three on the next trip. He had 2 points on 1-4 shooting and 3 boards in 9:48 of action. Second Half: Ron set him up for FTs on a drive baseline, Lamar made one. Great challenge on Westbrook's drive to force a miss (too bad he'd get posterized later). His jumphook was goaltended (looked way short). He missed a three at the end of the third. He was called for a charge off the two-man game (Collison's heel was on the line). He swished a wing three with 2 minutes left to cut the lead to 3.

Shannon -- -- DFish was hitting his jumpers at a high clip (not that Phil would have gone to Shannon defensively to close the game against Westbrook). The Lakers can't survive Westbrook looking like a league leading scorer. They've got to make it much tougher on him. Shannon didn't have many minutes to get into any flow. It seemed like once he got in, he was taken out shortly later as Phil tried to maintain Ron on Durant and Fish on Westbrook as much as possible. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 1-4 shooting (0-2 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 1 assist and 3 fouls in 9:54. He was a -12. The Action: He sank a 17-footer off the Bynum pitch out on the split play. He missed a long wing jumper. He missed a wing three. Second Half: He was fouled on the defensive glass for FTs, he made both. He airballed a three, led to a three the other way.

Farmar -- -- Farmar had a chance to make things interesting on a long three in the final seconds, but couldn't hit it. Not a very good look set up on that play. He was one of two Lakers to get called for a charge despite the Thunder player being above the restricted circle. If you want to look at what happened to the Lakers FTs, those calls should have been 4 more FTs. Could have used those freebies. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-3 shooting (0-2 from three) to go with 1 board, 1 assist, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 12 minutes. He was a -5. The Action: He missed a wing three. He attacked to his right and charged (heel in the restricted area missed by the refs). He attacked from the corner and powered in a layup. He biffed a two-on-one break with Kobe. Second Half: He attacked and kicked to Pau for a jumper. He missed a long three out of a timeout.

Luke -- -- Luke managed to come off the bench and get in on the three chucking. Both of his attempts were from beyond the arc, one turning into instant offense for the Thunder in transition. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-2 shooting from three in 2:37. He was a +3. The Action: He missed a corner three. He missed a wing three on a Kobe kickout, layup the other way. Second Half: He did not play in the second half.

Phil -- -- The crowd was loud and on their feet to start the game. The Lakers needed to quiet them. They got out to a 10-0 start to force a quick Thunder timeout... The Thunder pushed the tempo off of long Laker jumpers and cut into the lead... Durant picked up his second foul with 3:27 left in the first (both against our bigmen), the Lakers led 22-16. Phil brought in LO for Pau and Shannon for Kobe... After a minute of rest, he brought in Pau for Bynum... Soft finish to the first quarter and the Lakers lead was cut in half to 27-22. Just 1 turnover for the Lakers... Phil started a Pau, Lamar, Kobe, Shannon, Farmar unit. Shannon sat for Ron after 2 minutes... The Lakers didn't get a single trip to the line in the first 18 minutes of the game. They were taking a lot of threes, but there were a few fouls on shots that should have been called... Phil brought back in Bynum for Lamar with 5:39 left up by 5... 14-0 advantage from the line for the Thunder with 4:48 left... The Lakers were 7-15 from three... Durant picked up his third and Phil sat Ron for Shannon, then Luke for Shannon when Shannon's third came... The Lakers got their first freethrows with 1:48 left, 22 minutes into the game... Phil took his 20 with a minute and a half left sensing an opportunity to extend the lead with some proper execution. They got a jumper in the paint from Kobe (then jacked two threes on the next two possessions)... The Lakers led 50-43 at the half. They shot 45.5 percent (20-44, 7-19 from three). The Thunder shot 32.5 percent (13-40, 3-9 from three). The Thunder had 16 freethrows, the Lakers just 3. The Lakers had just 4 turnovers, the Thunder 6... The coaches told the Lakers that the threes were fool's gold. They wanted them to stop shooting them and get the ball inside and get to the line... The Thunder started the half strong, but the Lakers extended it back to a 60-52 lead, forcing a timeout... With 5 minutes left, Phil had to sit Bynum for Lamar with 4 fouls. Phil called a timeout shortly later up by just 4... Up 6, Phil sat Kobe for Shannon... A Westbrook dunk got the crowd going and two threes (off Laker missed threes) and the score was tied up... The Lakers led 75-74, but the Thunder had momentum going into the fourth... The Lakers were losing the offensive glass 13-6 heading into the fourth... Phil started a Bynum, Lamar, Kobe, Shannon, Farmar unit. Kobe picked up his fourth on Durant... Phil sat Shannon for Ron after Kobe's fourth so he wouldn't be on Durant... The offense grew stagnant with no post entries, the ball going to Kobe and Kobe chucking tough shots. Kobe came up with a big steal to set up Bynum for an And-1 dunk and a timeout was called. Big play to go to a timeout when the Lakers needed one. They were about to get steamrolled out of the game... Down 4, Phil sat Lamar for Pau... Down 2, Phil sat Farmar for Fisher with 6:15 left. The next minute didn't go well... Down 6 with 5:10 Phil called a timeout. The Thunder had all the momentum. Kobe had to take a three after the play busted and missed out of the timeout... The Lakers trailed by 2 with 13.5 seconds left and were in a foul situation. Down 4 with 12.8, Phil called a timeout to set up a play. Kobe attacked and pitched to Farmar for a missed three... The Thunder shot 27-34 from the line. The Lakers shot 10-12...

[Fleur-de-Lis]

Thanks DB!

[City_Dawg]

Thanks DB.
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*sighs*

!...

[Goggles]

Good summary DB! Poor effort from the Lakers.

[lounger]

I don't know whether I can consider this a good loss considering the effort from the Lakers usually lasts up to the beginning only almost every game.

But I said LA in 5 so we're on our way.

Thanks DB!

[thurloly]

Thanks DP!

Our boys did play hard tonight, though there were still a lot of stupid plays.

I hate it when someone plays with heart and then ends up getting robbed by unfair treatment.

[Texas_Pete]

Thanks DB.

I turned the game on and it was already 10-0, LA. My co-worker was like "man we kicking their arses!" I wasn't buying it because I knew that this was a predetermined loss. OKC got a "test run" by getting NBA games there a few years back (meanwhile the Sonics owner was plotting to steal their NBA team and bring them to Oklahoma). So naturally to show his appreciation, Stern put the fix on and attended the game to make sure.

I put this loss on our 4-time championship back court. Fish, for being to old to do anything with Westbrook. Kobe, for going one on one with KD instead of using his big men down the stretch. I know Kobe will "eat first" but he needs to be smarter - and he knows it. 30 points, 22 rebs, 8 assists were doled out by his PF/C combo on 13/22 shooting. Use your big men Kobe and Fish - you guys will need them to continually dominate now, and build some confidence later on in the playoffs.

This loss will allow PJ to really get after them and I expect them to respond in next game and close out at home in game 5.

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks DB for the recap. As always something to look forward to even with a bad game.

[A Mad Chinaman]

thanks DB

When LO is MIA it usually a LOST

When DFish is getting beat, it appears to be on the wings through picks which means that the Phil's defensive schemes are not being used. Of course, it would be much better if DFish was so EASILY broken down many times.. When Farmar was on the court, the Lakers' offense was even more stagnant. With Artest stalling the offense, he makes up for it on defense. When Farmar is stalling the offense, it is a loss because he doesn't provide any benefits on defense while not making good decisions on offense and/or just watching Kobe while not moving without the ball.

[OregonLakerGuy]

ugly game
Thanks DB

[lakerboy]

we threw away good shooting nights from fisher and artest

this was our chance

[Rodman28]

Thanx.
_________________
*On Thin Ice*

I guess I am kind of injury prone.- Andrew Bynum

These young guys are playing checkers. I'm out there playing chess.- Kobe Bryant

[Rick12322]

Thanks, DB.

I blame the loss 1st. and foremost on officiating. it was not equal on both sides and it's obvious to me it was deliberate. I think all the refs and Stern are giving the Laker's a collective "up yours" for Phil's comments. We didn't play our best but it wasn't needed.

Secondly, like last year we had to win 5-8, this game could have been won the same way had we not given up so easily on running the offense. I saw the missed lob by Kobe. he missed it because he had no intention of running the offense. That's his bad and he is responsible for this loss. Earlier in the game Bynum had one on one coverage with Krystic sealed. No effort was made to get Bynum the ball and he wasn't fronted. There were several opportunities to go to him early in the third but the Laker team failed to read the D.

Even when he is fronted, a lot of times there is no defender back there because usually the defender is tracking another player across the baseline. When ever it's clear back there, there is no reason not to lob it over the defender, we have to make them pay for this.

[limchrc]

Thanks, hope we get the next game.

[Gallofa]

Kobe is shooting below .400 right now. I can't see that lasting for long. He'll either shoot less or make adjustments and improve.

We have to keep going to Pau and Drew and we'll be fine.

Thanks, DB!

[RVCdesigns]

"Ron hit a couple of big jumpers in crunch time. Unfortunately, he must have mastered the DFish toe-on-the-three-line shot. The Lakers could have used those two extra points to change the complexion of the final minute."

My thoughts exactly, thanks DB as always, painful game. The Lakers almost had the game.

[dangle]

[Klone_dd]

I was really impressed with the way the Lakers started the game. Because the game was delayed due to TNT's coverage of the Cavs/Bulls game, Phil kept the Lakers in the locker room while OKC was getting hyped by the overanxious crowd. Great decision followed by the 10-0 start. It looked like we were all business, making smart decisions and hitting 3s. When Drew got his 4th foul, it went downhill fast. Hard to say if it was the Lakers shrinking or OKC feeding off the frenzied emotions.

31 3's is simply stupid. A long rebound leading to a breakout is the same as a turnover.

Kobe had a bad game. It happens. Too much iso in the 4th. Not many high P&R's either. Just a poorly managed 4th.

RonRon's foul on KD was a very cheap and inconsistent call.

I know the Lakers want to slow the pace and be deliberate, but it seems that they are leaving themselves with too little time to go thru all their options. They don't make an entry pass until the 10 sec mark and what is there left to do but go iso or jack up 3s.

The game was there for the taking until Bynum went out and RW posterized LO.

[THE_MACHINE]

ayy los vergas -_-
_________________
Where were the Sasha haters in 07?..........

"I was playing. I was playing," Vujacic said. "When you're sitting on the bench, you can't do those things."

[LA1969]

[hoopschick29]

We let it get away from us. It wasn't a TERRIBLE loss, and I'm encouraged by that. We are playing better. OKC gave it everything they had to eek out that win last night. But we will win tomorrow and we will close it out on Tuesday.
_________________
So glad we gave you your flowers while you were here, Kobe.

[A Mad Chinaman]