The Lakers’ 87-79 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday was approached with the precision of a lion stalking a gazelle on the African Serengeti. They never hurried, played within themselves, and were always in control of the game. And in the end, they got their meal.
I always knew the Lakers had a game like this in them–but they had certainly done a good job of hiding it lately. They hadn’t been playing championship-level basketball since about middle of March. It was refreshing to see, for once. Here are the highlights:
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1OVEpOsxjw
That said, this game was just one of four victories needed to vanquish the Thunder, and it was only one of sixteen victories needed to secure the franchise’s sixteenth championship this June. So, here are some observations from Game 1 and what it means moving forward.
I liked the defense the Lakers played in the first one and a half quarters. This was the athletic, screen-switching, shot-contesting/blocking/altering, ball-hawking defense that quietly propelled the Lakers to a championship last year. The Lakers haven’t been switching much on the Pick and Roll this year, and they’ve been scorched by it more times than I’d like to recount. The Lakers switched early and our bigs (especially Bynum) were stepping out and closing on mid-range shooters. The Lakers’ ramped up intensity clearly caught the Thunder (who had shredded the Lakers two weeks ago) by surprise. They shot 5-19 from the field and finished the first quarter with 13 points. It’s obvious that when the Lakers want to be, they can be a defensive juggernaut.
I didn’t like how the defense intensity slipped for the the last 2 and a half quarters, but it wasn’t as bad as it seemed. It appeared that the Lakers were heading for a 20+ point blowout, but the Thunder actually outscored the Lakers in the second quarter (26-20) to cut their deficit to 8 heading into the quarter. That was the deficit when the final whistle blew.
The score-line was certainly closer than the game actually was. I, for one, was never particularly nervous. With come-backs, I’ve always said that the toughest part is when they team that trails cuts the lead to 7. When the deficit hits 7, you find out if the comeback bid is for real (and the leading team is in trouble) or it’s a false hope rally. Say what you will about the Lakers defense in the second half, but they never let the Thunder get within 6. Every time they needed a stop, they got one. And with a team that’s had a history of blowing leads they’ve held for a majority of the game (See: Finals, NBA, 2008, Game 5 ), it’s a step in the right direction.
Phil Jackson also said that the Lakers hoped to limit the Thunder in transition. And we got some glimpses as to why he wanted to do that. Russell Westbrook is terrifying in the open court and so is the Thunder. The Lakers surrendered 14 fast break points (as compared to scoring 2 of their own), so I’m sure that will be a point of contention between now and Tuesday at 7:30 PM.
Next: Playing Defense on Kevin Durant
I think Kevin Durant is well aware that Ron Artest was guarding him yesterday, and I think Ron’s strength and size is going to weigh heavy on Durant as the series goes on. Sure, as noted by Durant himself, he missed a couple shots he normally makes–but at the end of the day, he was still 7-24 from the field and 1-8 from 3 pointers. Ron was making him settle for isolation jumpers a lot of the time (his least efficient shot). Ron’s active hands did allow Durant to pull his patented rip-through maneuver to draw cheap fouls, but I think any coach in the league would applaud Ron’s effort today.
Ron is going to be critical in this series and (Good Lord willing) in two weeks when the Nuggets probably come to town. It was a good start to the evaluation phase of “the Ron Artest Experiment.”
I wasn’t thrilled with Derek Fisher’s defense on Russell Westbrook. Look, everybody knew this was the match-up that didn’t favor the Lakers on the defensive end. For the first quarter, I thought Westbrook was going to get rookie jitters and refuse to show up, but unfortunately, that wasn’t meant to be. Westbrook finished with 23 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists, and 2 steals. I’m sure Scott Brooks will demand that Westbrook force the issue more on their offensive end.
The Lakers will probably have to play Shannon Brown a little more to combat Westbrook’s athleticism and may even put Kobe on him (which they did for a little bit in the second half when Westbrook got rolling). But yea, Fisher got killed on defense, and that’s probably not the last time I’ll be saying that.
Next: Guess Who is Starting to Get it
[phpbay]la lakers jersey, 3[/phpbay]
He spoke after the game that he’s finally “bought into” what the Lakers staff has been telling him for the last two years–and the result was the best Andrew Bynum game I’ve seen in a long time. 13 points (6-10 shooting), 12 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Just a monster, monster game. He was clearly gassed, but, he will be back in shape by the end of this series.
Bynum anchors what can be the best defense in the league. With him and Gasol in the paint–it just changes the perspective of the game, and gives a defensive sieve like Fisher some much-needed back-up. It’s length a the 4 and 5 positions that only the Cleveland Cavaliers can really combat. (And still, Shaq, Big Z, Anderson Varejao, etc. aren’t nearly as talented as Bynum and Gasol).
I can not understate how much I loved what Bynum did for the team yesterday. It was good to see him contributing in the play-offs after the last two years.
And, before I forget, don’t let the haters tell you that the forearm shiver that Bynum gave to Jeff Green was dirty. It wasn’t. Bynum just went out of his way to send a message to Green that he wasn’t to be trifled with. And what’d Green do? He went out and dropped 10 points on 4-12 shooting. That’s the kind of stuff that used to happen to the Lakers. That’s what Bynum brings to this team.
Next: The Blessing and Curse of the 3 and our Guards
[phpbay]la lakers jersey, 3[/phpbay]Our 3-point shooting was okay; Thankfully, Oklahoma’s was abominable. Outside of Ron Artest (1-8 from 3 point land, in what continues to be a huge struggle for him), the Lakers shot pretty well. (36% — If you remove Artest’s 1-8, it jumps to 50%). Our 3-point shooting has ranged from “atrocious” to “virtually non-existent” this year. Derek Fisher, thankfully, contributed with some timely 3-point shooting. Lamar Odom hit a timely 3 in the fourth quarter that was essentially a dagger.
36%, for me, is acceptable. It’s not eye-popping, but it’s not horrible. Guys like Derek Fisher and Ron Artest especially have to hit their threes if we’re going to make it out of the West.
Thankfully, the Thunder, who clearly lack 3-point shooting, went 2-16 from 3-point land. Some of that can be contributed to our defense and some of that can be contributed to the Thunder just being miserable from 3-point range. However, we can’t count on them to only make 12.5% of their 3-point attempts for the rest of the series. Had they hit two more threes, this game could’ve been entirely different.
Shannon Brown and Jordan Farmar made some plays. Our much maligned bench came through on Sunday. Lamar, Farmar, and Shannon all had their moments. High marks for all of them.
Luke Walton’s two floaters in the 3rd quarter may have set the game of basketball back to 1945. I like Luke, but I have no clue what in the hell those shots were. I think it was an attempt at a running floater, but I have no clue what they were. The first one was easily the hardest brick of the game. (The next seven hardest bricks? Artest’s missed 3 pointers). And the second one? I’m not even sure if that came within two feet of touching the rim. That was Godawful. I now know what I would look like if I ever attempted a runner during an NBA game.
Next: The Role that Kobe is Starting to Figure out for this Series
[phpbay]la lakers jersey, 3[/phpbay]
Pau Gasol was arguably the MVP. How good is this guy? He’s been on a tear lately, and today was no different. His line: 19 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 blocks. I can see why this guy feels he should have the ball in his hands at times.
In the second half, the Lakers got away from that, and they started shooting contested jump-shots. Had the Thunder had some more timely shooting, they could’ve made the Lakers pay.
Kobe Bryant, as much as I love him, hasn’t been shooting the ball very well at all this season. He had 21 points on 6-19 FG shooting and 2-5 three-point shooting. Those numbers are very pedestrian by Kobe’s standards. Clearly, when your index finger on your shooting hand (what a trigger is to a gun) is broken, it’s going to effect your shot more than Kobe would ever be willing to admit, but–it’s broken and it’s clearly effecting his shot.
Still, he’s Kobe Bryant–he’s going to get the lion’s share of the defenses’ attention. And when the Lakers have such a decisive advantage in the post–Kobe needs to shift from scorer to facilitator. Down the stretch, when the marbles are on the line, the Mamba is going to come out. But there’s no reason to be jacking contested turn-around fade-aways like this is 2006 and Kwame Brown and his tiny hands are standing in the post. He is surrounded by talented, world-class players. Once Bynum and Gasol start rolling in the post, it’s going to open things on the perimeter for himself, as well as Odom, Fisher, and Artest.
Next: Bringing something extra to Oklahoma City
[phpbay]la lakers jersey, 3[/phpbay]The Lakers will probably be bringing the brooms with them to Oklahoma City. Not saying the Lakers will sweep, but they would be wise to bring the brooms when they travel to Oklahoma for games 3 and 4, because the Thunder aren’t beating the Lakers more than once this series… barring some Andrew Bogut-type injury to one of our top five players. The Thunder clearly aren’t ready for this stage and are simply only looking for learning experience. They don’t have the depth, the drive, or the talent to compete with the Lakers when the Lakers are forced to play hard.
This will be a huge rivalry down the road. Thankfully, we’re not there yet.
[phpbay]la lakers jersey, 3[/phpbay]