THUNDER -at- LAKERS - 4/27 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

The Executioners... Something is different in the city tonight. The intensity level is through the roof. Payback is on everyone's mind, and the city is ready for war.

The Horsemen wait at the gates, eager for them to open. You ask Death if he's angry.

"Angry doesn't get it done," he says. "Emotion doesn't get it done. You've got to execute."

None execute like Death.

Someone cranks up the air raid siren. Before the gates are unlocked, the Horsemen go. The hinges bend, the chain snaps and the gate busts open. The Horsemen want one thing -- blood.

They execute. It's methodical, measured. No single man tries to beat the opponent by himself. They work as a team. It seems as if the battle has only started, but soon three bells ring out. It is over. The Horsemen have won.

A paperboy hits you upside the head with a newspaper. The lead story is from DancingBarry:

"The Horsemen were here. They trampled their opponent out of the gates. They took the confidence from them with complete and total domination. The next victory will not come so easily.

I will continue to track them..."

The mission was to get the win, of course, but Pau Gasol and the Lakers had more than that in mind. They wanted to take the swagger from the Thunder.

Heading into the game, Pau said this: "We want to establish ourselves and send a message to them that they might be playing well and won two games at home, but that's all they're going to get. ... They're coming in with the momentum, an eighth seed with nothing to lose, but we need to make a statement in Game 5 that there's no chance, there's no light."

Statement made, 111-87 with leads as big as 32. With Kobe switched on Westbrook defensively, the Lakers locked down the Thunder, holding them to 37 percent shooting and only a handful on the break. In fact, the Lakers won the fastbreak 12-7. Good offense, leads to fewer transition opportunities for the Thunder, but Kobe's D made a big difference.

Asked how he did it, Kobe replied, "Just being a savvy old dog, I guess."

Offensively, the Lakers got into the interior, made the extra pass and the Thunder were unable to set up, dig in and deny the Lakers. "We were chasing the ball all night long," Scott Brooks said. The Lakers won the points in the paint 58-26. "We got our butts kicked. There's no way around it," Brooks said.

We've been wondering why there hasn't been a change defensively on Westbrook. Going into the playoffs, it was anticipated that Kobe or others might get more of a defensive-stopper assignment at the PG spot to cover for DFish. Kobe asked for the assignment on Westbrook and Phil gave it to him. Westbrook shot 4-13 and had 8 turnovers.


Kobe -- -- He asked for the Westbrook assignment and proceeded to take out the most efficient weapon the Thunder had been bringing to the floor. In the first half he held him to 7 points on 2-8 shooting. The Thunder as a team shot just 26 percent in the half. No more collapsing D. No more easy hoops in transition. Ballgame. Kobe let Russell have the outside shot and took away the drive as much as possible. Only 2 FTAs in the last two games, Kobe got 7 tonight. The team was getting into the paint, moving the ball and not stopping for iso's. Once in the paint, Kobe was setting up teammates for easy scores. Superb two-way game and he took only 9 shots. Kobe said he felt better on Monday, but didn't go into any details. They have said his broken finger is healed but it's bothered by unrelated arthritis. Yet we still see the large splint. Kobe didn't have to play the fourth. The Stats: The Action: Off mark on a bullet pass to Bynum, turnover. He missed a wing three. He attacked and lobbed to Drew for the dunk (more please). He drew FTs on a turnaround ("Celebrate in Staples," Joel said), he made both. He snagged a loose ball then hit LO for the layup. He sank a catch and shoot from 17 feet working off the screens. He couldn't finish a layup on a drive. He cut backdoor, took the pass, up-faked defenders and scored an And-1 layup, he missed the FT. He had 6 points on 2-5 shooting. He lost Durant in the midpost with an up-fake, step-through for a layup. He got into the middle of the lane and found Bynum for the dunk. He missed a long, early offense jumper over Durant on iso (rare attempt like this). His perimeter pass was swiped for a dunk. He drew FTs on a two-for-one turnaround (almost behind the glass), he made one. He attacked the middle of the lane and swished a floater on our final possession of the half. He had 11 points on 4-8 shooting and 5 assists. Second Half: He scooped up the loose ball, pushed it out and drew FTs on the break, he made both. He missed a layup on a drive. He attacked (handcheck, no call) and hit Pau for the layup. Psych job D on Westbrook in transition to force him to throw it away to Fish at the rim. Westbrook hit two threes with no challenge from Kobe (he's been inviting that all game). He had 7 points on 2-4 shooting and 2 assists in the third.

Gasol -- -- The Lakers took advantage of their size and also their skills in the paint. Pau dominated not only with easy scores around the hoop, but some excellent passing. "I thought he moved the ball well and attacked in certain situations that were very important for our ball club," Phil said. The Thunder overplay and bite on everything. The team learned how to get the ball into the paint, they just needed to learn to take advantage. That meant making those extra passes or throwing the extra pumpfake to get defenders out of position. Bring it again in Oklahoma. The difference tonight according to Pau? "Just good energy, good effort overall," he said afterward. He said if they are as aggressive as they were tonight, they will be fine on the road. The Stats: He scored 25 points on 10-16 shooting (5-5 from the line) to go with 11 boards (4 offensive), 5 assists, 1 block, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 30 minutes. He was a +27. The Action: He backed his man down and hit the lefty jumphook. He front-rimmed a short jumphook. Sweet bounce pass to a cutting Bynum for a dunk. He lost the handle on the perimeter. Extra pass off the two-man game to Bynum for a dunk. He swished an elbow jumper. He dunked off the interior feed from Ron. He had 6 points on 3-4 shooting, 5 boards and 3 assists. He airballed a jumphook. He found a cutting Artest for a layup. He was blocked from behind off the Kobe feed. He attacked off the elbow (fake the handoff to Kobe and go) and he scored the layup. He posted up, attacked middle, faced up and hit the short jumper. He pulled down a missed FT and saved it to Luke to get the Lakers an extra possession. He had 10 points on 5-8 shooting, 6 boards and 4 assists. Second Half: He missed a 16-footer. He was fouled once with no call, went for the turnaround and got hit on the jumper, he made the And-1 FT. He imposed his will on a drive through defenders and powered in the layup. He scored a layup off the drive and dish from Kobe. He stripped Durant on iso on perimeter D. He crashed the glass and put back in an Artest missed three. He found Ron on a high-low for a layup. He pumpfaked Ibaka on a turnaround and drew FTs (more please), he made both. He drew more FTs on the other end battling on the defensive glass, he made both. He grabbed a Lamar miss, missed the putback but tapped it back in. He had 15 points on 5-8 shooting, 5 boards and 1 assist in the third.

Bynum -- -- Phil liked Bynum's energy on the floor, not just around the rim, but in transition D. Prior to the game, Bynum stressed the importance for him to get back in transition D. The Lakers as a team did their best job of the series in this. Bynum said they picked up the Thunder earlier in transition, but also made the guys pick up the ball more on the screen-rolls. The two Laker bigmen combined for 46 points on 18-26 shooting and 22 boards. The bigs both got 20-point, double-doubles. Yes, they can play together, but it takes a team effort to make it happen. Passing from Kobe, Fish, Pau, Ron and Bynum cleaned up. The Stats: He scored 21 points on 8-10 shooting (5-7 from the line) to go with 11 boards (2 offensive), 1 assist, 2 blocks, 1 turnover and 1 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a +21. The Action: He couldn't easily reach a poor post entry from Fish, then threw it away before falling out of bounds. He slammed in a lob from Kobe. All kinds of contact with no call as he powered in a layup. He dunked off the Pau bounce pass. He swatted dribble penetration. He dunked off the extra pass from Pau on the two-man game. He had 8 points on 4-4 shooting in that stint. He drew FTs trying to finish a Lamar interior feed, he made one. He was called for three seconds. He grabbed the interior feed from Kobe and slammed it over a defender. Second Half: He grabbed a Kobe missed drive and drew FTs, he made both. He threw down an And-1 dunk in transition with Ron, he missed the FT. He was mugged in a crowd, refs said it was a clean strip (refs let them play on both ends tonight). He dunked off the drive and dish by DFish. He drew FTs on the Fish lob, he made both. He had 11 points on 3-8 shooting in the third. He scored a layup off the screen-roll with Lamar. He missed a short jumphook in a crowd. He hit Powell trailing the action for a dunk.

Artest -- -- It's the hair. Ron shaved his head and suddenly he's hitting jumpers and dunking. Coincidence? I think not. Frankly, Ron's shooting really didn't have much to do with the offensive success in this game. It sure was nice, though. The difference was all that interior play, interior passing and cutting. Instead of the offense standing around and guys going iso and kicking out, they kept looking for the interior scores. There was no ball stopping, no standing around. That was really the difference. Ron was cutting, working the paint more and adding more dynamic to his game. When Durant tried to cover Kobe, we looked to exploit Ron's matchup more in the paint. "We don't want Ron shooting three-pointers from the corner," Phil said, since they cause quick run-outs off the misses. Defensively, Durant had 17 on 5-14 shooting and 3 turnovers. Ron erased a lot of that with 14 points. "First off, the crowd was a lot better here than the first two games," Durant said afterward. Better believe that makes an impact on the young guns. Lakers took their confidence from them, now they must keep it. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 6-11 shooting (2-4 from three) to go with 2 boards, 5 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks and 2 fouls in 31 minutes. He was a +24. The Action: He tied up Westbrook with a block for a jumpball. He overpowered his man on the block, then hit Pau for a dunk. He missed a three. He missed a layup on a drive. He swished a corner three. He had 3 points on 1-3 shooting and 4 assists in the first. He cut weak to strong and took the post pass from Pau for a layup. He attacked from the wing and slammed over Thabo. He had 7 points on 3-5 shooting. Durant had 12 points on 3-9 shooting. Second Half: He swished a sideline three off a Kobe kickout. He swiped a pass in transition (looked like he stiff-armed a man in the process), pushed it out and hit Bynum for the And-1 dunk. He missed a corner three. He sank a wing jumper over the zone. He scored a layup on the high-low from Pau. He missed the step-back jumper with the shotclock low. He blocked Durant from behind and then showboated a little to the crowd (Durant knocked a three down on him next possession). He had 7 points on 3-6 shooting in the third.

Fisher -- -- Notice a difference when we don't continue the exclusive Fish/Westbrook matchup? He was killing the Lakers...and doing it efficiently. For all the hard work Artest was making Durant do, Fish had been giving it away...and then some. Kobe said let me have Westbrook, cue up the blowout. No more straight line attacks to the rim whether in transition or in the halfcourt. Want to wall him off? Give your D a step or two more to do it. Fish was moved over to defend the SGs which sometimes included a big like Green. He did his job well. Very well. He was scrappy. He was boxing out and battling in the paint. He was hitting the floor. Offensively, no one was chucking from the perimeter, DFish included. They reeled it in and made the effort to feed the post. Some sloppy passing at times from Fish. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-6 shooting (0-2 from three) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block, 4 turnovers and 2 fouls in 31 mintues. He was a +25. The Action: He took contact on a drive, but no whistle. He got bumped forward in transition, decided to attack off it and scored a layup. He swatted Thabo's reverse. He was called for a blocking foul on a Westbrook drive (still moving). He rattled in a long wing jumper. He worked the high-post handoff and hit a short floater in the lane. He threw a jump pass out of bounds in transition. He had 6 points on 3-4 shooting. Second Half: Nice help D to strip the ball and ignite transition. Poor post entry, stolen easily. Nice box out to draw an over-the-back foul on Krstic. Great job battling in the paint he then went to the floor to grab a ball and call timeout. He was picked in the backcourt, we stole it back, he attacked and hit Bynum for the dunk. He attacked baseline and lobbed to Bynum for FTs. He missed an early offense three.

Lamar -- -- Phil credited Ibaka's D for Lamar's struggles in this series. The team did a better job getting Ibaka out of his comfort zone defensively. They were giving him extra up-fakes and drawing fouls. The result was no blocks for him and 5 fouls. Just 3 blocks total for the Thunder and that helps the transition D. Meanwhile, Lamar led all players with 3 blocks himself. Much better activity on that end. Offensively, all his scoring took place in the first half. He didn't settle or force things just to be active. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-8 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 8 boards, 4 assists, 3 blocks, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 31 minutes. He was a +5. The Action: He scored a layup off the pass from Kobe. He recovered a miss and hit Bynum with an interior feed for FTs. He swished a floater in the lane. He drained a wing three left open. He swatted a shot out of bounds. Body checked by Durant on the dribble with no call as he brought the ball up. He had 7 points on 3-4 shooting and 5 boards. Second Half: Too high on the wide open lob to Pau, turnover. He missed a wing jumper. He hit Bynum for a layup in traffic off a screen-roll. He missed a throwdown attempt on a drive. He attacked and tried to flip in a wild shot over defenders (forgot the rule of making the extra pass because Drew would have dunked on a simple drop off in his lap).

Brown -- -- He was in pain a little with the hand injury. Some foul-prone ball from Shannon. While he wasn't effective offensively (the injured hand certainly coming into play on a number of plays and FTs), he did play with some spirited effort on the defensive end. He was the first guard off the bench and came in for Fish. The Lakers had him cover Westbrook a little, too, even with Fish on the floor. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-4 shooting (0-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 20 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: Kobe turned Westbrook in transition, Shannon blindsided him to steal it and get tripped for a foul. After stealing a post feed, he missed an awkward pull-up, one-hander in transition. He charged attacking off the three line. He had three fouls and had to sit. Second Half: In for Kobe, quick two FTs for Westbrook. He sank a face-up jumper with the shotclock low. He missed a long jumper just beating the shotclock. He attacked and was slapped on the hurt hand for FTs, he missed both. He missed a lefty drive.

Farmar -- -- By the time Farmar's second stint came around, the game was over. He ended up with a new career playoff high by scoring 14 points, most in garbage time. During his first stint, however, he provided some decent two-way ball and the team didn't lose any momentum when the bench came in with just one starter. Farmar had back-to-back sequences of producing on both ends in that stint that helped keep things rolling. Farmar sank both of his threes and also got to the line a bunch in the second half. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 3-4 shooting (2-2 from three, 6-8 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 1 steal, 1 turnover and no fouls in 19 minutes. He was a -1. The Action: He attacked off the three line, stopped, then made a horrible no-look pass to no one, right out of bounds. Quick step past his man and he drew FTs on a drive, he made one. He swiped a pass out of a timeout, took it the distance and scored the layup. Second Half: He drew FTs on a reach by Westbrook, he made one. He drained a three on a kickout from Lamar. He was fouled on the perimeter, he made both FTs this time. He drained a three on a kickout. He attacked, spun and drew FTs, he made both.

Luke -- -- Some brief minutes mostly to start the second quarter while Ron and Kobe rested. The team increased their lead slightly during with that second unit. Good to see Luke able to get some run after falling hard on his back in the last game. Perhaps, that extra time between games helped. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-1 from three to go with 1 board and 1 foul in 5 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: He drew a charge on Ibaka's iso drive. He missed a corner three. Second Half: Nothing to report.

Powell -- -- Josh added a new member to his family between games. Congrats. Nicely timed. Phil didn't run Powell in the first half of this one like he had been. There was plenty of garbage time run for Powell later. The Stats: The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He dunked off the interior feed from Bynum. He missed a pull-up 17-footer. He swished a long wing jumper (nice, easy catch and shoot). He attacked baseline and drew FTs, he made one.

Morrison -- -- Lakers went up big. That's when you want to see Ammo versus the last one in OKC. He managed to score a couple hoops and have a moment of chippy ball with a hard foul on Thomas. Staples was in a good mood and there were loud cheers whenever Morrison was about to score. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-6 shooting to go with 3 boards, 1 assist and 2 fouls in 9 minutes. He was a -5. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He missed an open wing three. He back-rimmed a one-hander, got it back and scored his putback. He missed a turnaround in the midpost. He up-faked in transition and scored a layup. He yanked down Thomas and stared at him, double techs were handed out. He missed a wing 20-footer.

Phil -- -- "We're not going to win the footspeed race with them, but we can do other things to make them work," Phil said before the game... "The issue is standing there with the ball and letting everything fall dead and not moving the ball and keeping the rhythm going." He was spot on... The Lakers opened with an 8-0 start as the Thunder went 0-9 before calling a timeout... With a 16-4 lead, Phil sat Bynum for Lamar with 5 minutes left... Next timeout came, the Lakers were 10-13 (only 1 three) from the floor, the Thunder were 3-17. Lakers were up 22-8... Phil brought in Shannon for Fish... The Lakers won the first quarter 31-16. They made 14-21, the Thunder 6-23... Phil started a Bynum, Lamar, Luke, Shannon, Farmar unit. Just two impact players. They held the lead to 16 points despite missing a couple FTs after 3:30 of action... The Thunder brought back in starters, Phil kept his unit out there for a minute before subbing Kobe and Fish back in... The Thunder went with Green at SG, which forced Fisher to match up with him. (Phil could have opted to bring Pau in and go with the huge lineup to counter, but that matchup didn't seem to hurt that much in that first go round)... Phil sat Bynum for Pau midway through the quarter up by 16... Ron picked up his second foul and Phil sat him with a 1 minute left for Luke. Good sub... The Lakers led 55-34 at the half. The Lakers shot 65 percent (24-37, 2-6 from three), the Thunder shot 26 percent (11-42). The Lakers actually won the fastbreak 6-2. Thunder won the offensive glass 9-3. The Lakers had 15 assists, a lot of superb interior passing... "We came out with the energy we've been lacking," Cleamons said... The Lakers didn't let up. They won the first 5 minutes... They stretched to a 30-point lead when LO came in for Drew after 7 minutes... Up 28 when Kobe sat for Shannon with 2:36 left. Lots of rest for Kobe... The Lakers led 88-60 heading into the fourth, winning all three quarters... Phil started a Bynum, Lamar, Shannon, Fisher, Farmar unit... Phil brought in Ammo and Powell up 29... Coasting the rest of the way... Phil said it was Kobe's competitiveness versus his health (the knee, he said) that made a huge difference... The Lakers shot 54 percent. They took and made just 5-14 from three and had 27 assists... The Lakers were 22-31 from the line, the Thunder 18-24...

Game Flow -- LINK -- Last game, it was the Lakers that didn't have any runs in the first half. Tonight, the roles were reversed. Great job to start both halves.

[An6eLoLG]

First! Ossum Game!!!

Thanks for the analysis DB... now I can go to bed!

[Omar Little]

First?

Dammit, I feel like westbrook trying to get in the lane...
_________________
“We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” ― Elie Wiesel

[Fleur-de-Lis]

[City_Dawg]

Thanks DB.

Mbenga was looking fly as hell on the sidelines.
_________________
*sighs*

!...

[Qsmiff]

Very smart game played by the entire team.......it's about time

[mugwump]

"Once in the paint, Kobe was setting up teammates for easy scores. Superb two-way game and he took only 9 shots."

His best game of 2010, on the heels of his worst game in recent memory. Lock down defense with surgical precision in the paint.

[heatseeker08]

Thanks DB!

On to the next one.
_________________
Ron Artest: "SAY QUEENSBRIDGE"

[W_lakers4life_W]

thanks !!!
_________________
Kobe Bryant is the greatest Laker ever!

[HeiaGene]

[lounger]

Thank you DB. A very good win. Hopefully we finish it on Friday.

[prisma8slg]

[Nasche]

Heading into the game, Pau said this: "We want to establish ourselves and send a message to them that they might be playing well and won two games at home, but that's all they're going to get. ... They're coming in with the momentum, an eighth seed with nothing to lose, but we need to make a statement in Game 5 that there's no chance, there's no light."

I love this quote

[limchrc]

Great win. Thanks.

[RVCdesigns]

Thanks DB, Powell is our best spot up shooter.

[Rick12322]

Thanks, DB

[thurloly]

[Addicus]

Great write up DB. I still maintain the Thunder aren't winning this series until they outshoot us from the field, not the free throw line. Also, Bryant amd Artest wolfpacking on the perimeter is a scary thing for opponents.
_________________
Stop crying and start doing.

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/addicusbrown

[Lakersneuron]

Thanks DB! By far the best executed game in months. Quite a bit of turnovers though, but given the ball movement, I will take it! Back to OKC to finish this ish off.

[Wolverine]

[RCS926]

The Lakers just need to play smart and stick to the gameplan. For all the talk of how great the Thunder have been in this series, let's not forget that the Lakers have held a double digit lead in every game except game 4.

[Klone_dd]

Sharpest all-around game of the year. Crisp, purposeful ball movement and excellent D.

Funny that Kobe took less shots in this game vs game 4 and the blowout needle went from OKC to LA. The difference isn't the amount of shots - it's Kobe's aggression. He was penetrating and dishing and defending. Kobe has mastered the "Dare you to shoot from outside" defense (I play that way, too, but it never worked for me ). That play he made on RW on RW's breakaway is probably the only time I've ever seen a defensive player make an offensive player break his own ankle!

Pau and Drew re-established themselves. They really benefitted from the Lakers getting into their offense earlier in the clock. Less isos, more options. When you get an effective game from Fish and offensive output from RonRon, it's all good.

The Lakers are D-ing up like crazy. OKC hasn't shot above 42% in any game, despite the huge fastbreak advantage.

Hopefully, the switch stays on and the Lakers close out in OKC, but it wouldn't surprise me if there's a game 7.

[AJLakerFan]

[RCS926]

[A Mad Chinaman]

DB:

What do you think Brooks will do to counter Kobe guarding Westbrook and what will PJ do to counter this?