Kobe, Lakers unfazed by blowout loss to Thunder
Kobe Bryant has no problem admitting how the Los Angeles Lakers’ shortcomings have popped up repeatedly this season.
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NBA Playoffs 2012: LA Lakers’ Takeaways from Game 1 Loss to OKC Thunder
The Los Angeles Lakers battled the Oklahoma City Thunder Monday in Game 1, attempting to fight through the fatigue of a first-round, seven-game series against Denver. However, the Thunder seemed well-rested and all too prepared as they dominated Los Angeles, winning 119-90.
What are some takeaways to consider from this Game 1 loss for the Lakers?
Energy
Fans and players overlook the importance of an idea as simple as energy.
The Lakers came out seemingly on top of their game, but as the night went on their passion and determination began to fade. They quickly went flat, and when push came to shove, L.A. bowed out.
Whether because of fatigue or mental unpreparedness, the team failed to match the passion and emotion that the Thunder and their fans brought to the building.
This energy needs to start with the Lakers’ leaders and be echoed by the rest of the team, including the staff.
I wouldn’t go as far as to question the Lakers’ desire or will, but they will have to bring a different attitude to Oklahoma City on Wednesday if they plan on competing.
Sessions not in session
Ramon Sessions was nowhere to be found in this game. He finished with a meager two points and struggled to defend Russell Westbrook when the two squared off at the top of the key.
For a player who was supposed to be an upgrade from former point guard Derek Fisher (who, by the way, visibly outperformed Sessions this time around) and take the Lakers from pretenders to contenders, that performance just won’t cut it.
Sessions needs to be far more assertive and aggressive on the offensive end. It’s his job to control the pace of the game and get Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol involved while also finding time for his patented floater. The Lakers point guard also tends to be more active on the defensive end when he gets in his groove offensively.
The bottom line is that Sessions has to be more effective. The good news is his performance couldn’t have been any worse.
Stagnant offense
This has been a weakness of the Lakers’ offense all season long. The team continues to resort to predominantly pick-and-roll and one-on-one post-ups as their main source of offensive production.
Yes, Bynum was great on the interior tonight, and Kobe Bryant and Pau are equally effective when in the zone, but it would benefit them even more if they got the ball after a series of screens and/or cutters. Movement on the offensive end keeps the defense on their toes, while standing around allows them to utilize help side defense and double teams.
The Lakers’ offensive woes lie just as much on the shoulders of Mike Brown as they do the players themselves. Brown needs to orchestrate and design a more fluid system than the current post-up and pick and roll that he is currently instituting.
Defense, defense, defense
I really don’t know where to start with the Lakers’ defense—or lack thereof.
Whether it was one on one, pick and roll, or transition “D,” the Lakers failed to even challenge the Thunder.
Kevin Durant, James Harden and especially Russell Westbrook had their way with L.A.’s perimeter defenders. Durant’s dunk early in the first and Harden’s “and-one” layup to close the quarter are prime examples.
Kobe needs to flip his mental switch and become wholly dedicated to containing Westbrook like he was in their final regular-season matchup. Metta World Peace is equally responsible for the success of Durant. He needs to be much more physical in order to bother the two-time scoring champ.
The Lakers’ defensive rotations were also off, which allowed for far too many easy three-point looks. Durant, Thabo Sefolosha and Daequan Cook finished a combined 5-of-10 from behind the arc. Most of their looks came off penetration and kicks, as well as solid ball movement.
The pick and roll defense may prove to be the most glaring flaw of all, though. The Thunder’s Big Three repeatedly drained mid-range after mid-range jumper. Westbrook alone went 7-of-10 on 10- to 18-foot jump shots.
Bynum’s refusal to hedge on screens, or at the very least step up until the guards can recover, may be the deciding factor in the series.
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NBA Playoffs 2012: Why the Lakers Won’t Come Back from Game 1 Loss to Thunder
There are plenty of inferences you can make about the Oklahoma City Thunder‘s 119-90 thrashing of the Los Angeles Lakers Monday night, but most of those inferences can be boiled down into two theses about the fate of the series.
You could be of the opinion that the Thunder’s dominance was a relative aberration, a happenstance simply spurred by an raucous home crowd and internal motivation stemming from Metta World Peace dropping the Peaceple’s Elbow on James Harden on April 22.
That theory assumes the series will rebound to its expected status as the preeminent of the conference semifinals in Game 2. That a fully rested and fully motivated Thunder team was a mismatch for an exhausted and ill-prepared Lakers team just 48 hours removed from a difficult Game 7 victory over the Denver Nuggets.
The aberration theory doesn’t mean you must be picking the Lakers to recover from Monday night and pull the upset over the Thunder. To borrow from Dan Savage for a second, it just assumes that it (in this case the series) gets better. Much, much, better.
The other theory is that we’re on the precipice of a redux of the Lakers’ second-round series against the eventual NBA champion Dallas Mavericks from last season.
It assumes the Lakers are a complete mismatch against a more motivated and more talented Thunder team. That we’re on the verge of a four- or five-game series followed by another tiresome Lakers offseason where rampant “Dwight to LA” rumors dominate the summer.
For me, 95 percent of the time I would fall into the former camp. It sounds far more sensible and follows the basic analytic theory that games are played in a vacuum with very few residual buildups from previous contests.
This will prove to be the exception, however, and it comes down to four distinct reasons.
The point guard mismatch
Coming into the series, the most obvious mismatch was between Russell Westbrook and the Lakers’ two-headed vast abyss of defensive tenacity at the point guard position.
That mismatch was exemplified in Game 1 as Westbrook shot 10-of-16 from the field, exploding for a 27-7-9 line in just 27 minutes. On the other hand, Ramon Sessions and Steve Blake combined for a 2-4-7 line that only further exacerbated their defensive shortcomings.
Neither Sessions or Blake are becoming lockdown defenders overnight, and we know Westbrook won’t stop firing until the final whistle sounds, so there’s absolutely no reason expect any attrition in his play for the rest of the series. The best-case scenario for Laker fans is that Sessions and Blake regain some offensive form to help offset Westbrook’s dominance.
The Pau Gasol enigma
If we’re saying that Sessions and Blake represent an abyss of defensive tenacity, it’s impossible to not be equally critical of Gasol, whose past two postseasons represent how psychological fragility can impede performance.
Gasol admitted his abysmal play during last postseason stemmed from “off-the-court distractions” (rumored to be a breakup with his fiance), but what’s his excuse for his equally terrible play through eight games of the 2012 playoffs?
No matter the excuse, Gasol’s playoff drop-off from the past two seasons have been eerily similar:
2011 Regular Season: 18.8 PPG, 10.2 RPG, 3.3 APG, 52.9 FG%
2011 Postseason: 13.1 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 3.8 APG, 42 FG%
2012 Regular Season: 17.4 PPG, 10.4 PPG, 3.7 APG, 50.1 FG%
2012 Postseason: 12.5 PPG, 8.9 RPG, 3.9 APG, 43 FG%
I only included offensive statistics because Gasol’s defensive numbers show no sign of significant depreciation or appreciation, but his offensive dip could give credence to the theory that Gasol is unhappy in Los Angeles as the decline is only a two-year phenomenon.
Regardless of his unhappiness, Gasol is a top-15 player in the league and should be getting far more heat in the media for his lack of performance.
The Thunder’s bench depth, and the Lakers’ lack thereof
Again, this is something we knew coming into the series. Oklahoma City boasts one of the deepest benches in basketball, led by Sixth Man of the Year James Harden, while Los Angeles has easily the weakest bench left in the playoffs after allowing vital cogs Shannon Brown and Lamar Odom go during the NBA’s aborted offseason.
The Lakers bench scored 26 points Monday, which would be enough for a win on a normal night for the top-heavy Lakers, but that number is deceitful considering the junk time of the fourth quarter. And all of this is before mentioning that the Thunder’s bench amassed 50 points, an impressive number regardless of any extenuating circumstances.
I’m obviously not inventing the wheel here, but the Lakers need to find some semblance of reliability off the bench or this series will be as ugly as I think it will.
Team camaraderie
For the most part, the media confuses chemistry and camaraderie. Anyone who plays basketball with a group of people for any extended period of time develops a working team chemistry. There’s an understood team hierarchy and everyone knows each other’s rhythms. You know Todd loves the three from the wing and Stu likes to be fed the ball in his right hand in the post so he can hit the quick turnaround.
Chemistry is easy, but poor camaraderie can derail even the best teams. You don’t have to like your teammates as people, just not to hate them so much that you subconsciously screw your squad. Kobe and Shaquille O’Neal were never BFF’s off the court, but they had a poetic working relationship until the camaraderie became so toxic that it eroded their working relationship.
Ironically, Kobe hasn’t disliked a group of players this much since his first post-Shaq season in 2004, and it shows through his quotes in the media and shot selection.
The Thunder, on the other hand, have gone out of their way to prove how much they enjoy each other’s company both on and off the court, despite the media’s incessant attempts to drive a wedge between Durant and Westbrook following last year’s playoff loss to the Mavericks.
Simply put, Oklahoma City will win handily because it’s more talented and enjoys playing together more.
Yeah, the wheel? Definitely not getting reinvented here.
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5 Adjustments the Lakers Must Make to Beat the Thunder in Game 2
After Monday’s 119-90 thrashing at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Los Angeles Lakers must improve many facets of their game if they have a fighting chance at winning this series.
With the Thunder shooting lights out through three quarters in Game 1, there wasn’t much the Lakers could do to slow down Russell Westbrook and Oklahoma City’s attack.
But in a seven-game series, it’s all about the adjustments.
Like Kobe Bryant said in his post-game presser, the Lakers need to “think the game through” and make the necessary adjustments heading into Game 2.
Here are five for Mamba and Co. to ponder.
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Thunder clobber Lakers 119-90 in Game 1 (Yahoo! Sports)
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) When the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City last met, Metta World Peace delivered an elbow that sent the Thunder’s James Harden home with a concussion.
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7 Reasons Metta World Peace Will Propel L.A. Lakers Past OKC Thunder
If you said, back in 2004, that Ron Artest would change his name to Metta World Peace and be Kobe Bryant‘s most essential teammate, nearly everyone would have laughed at you. However, that is the case.
World Peace has become a huge asset to the Lakers late in the season and in the playoffs so far. He’s averaging 15 points a game, and every point is sorely needed. The Lakers tend to lose motivation, quit on defense and lack offensive flare on many an occasion. This is why Metta World Peace will help the Lakers.
With World Peace in the game, the Lakers will be propelled past the OKC Thunder in the 2012 NBA playoffs.
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Lakers vs. Thunder Video: Watch Devin Ebanks Get Tossed from Game 1 Blowout
We all knew it was coming. The only question was, who?
Who was going to be the Los Angeles Laker that lost his composure in the 119-90 Game 1 blowout loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in which the Purple and Gold entered the fourth quarter down by 30?
The answer ended up being Devin Ebanks.
Logging a grand total of two points, one rebound and one assist in four minutes, Ebanks still managed to get tossed and made an ugly exit by ripping his shirt off. Yahoo! Sports’ Marc J. Spears found out why Ebanks got the hook:
Ref Greg Willard said Ebanks got second technical for something he said.
— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) May 15, 2012
It didn’t look like he did anything terribly wrong on the court, but who knows what exactly he said. I’m sure a parental advisory sticker would be attached.
Instantly, Lakers fans were reminded of the disgraceful exit that both Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom made last year when they were blown away in four games by the Dallas Mavericks.
But that was in Game 4 when the series was all but over. This was Game 1.
It was icing on the cake for the worst defeat of the season for the Lakers.
The Thunder raced out to a 15-point lead at the half and the beating only got worse. Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook shot a blistering 10-of-15 from the field for 27 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. Kevin Durant wasn’t far behind with 25 points, eight rebounds and four assists. And both did it in just 27 and 29 minutes of action, respectively.
Kobe Bryant and Bynum both had 20, but when you allow the opponent to shoot 53 percent from the field, you have virtually no chance of winning a playoff game.
It’s unlikely Ebanks gets suspended, but the Lakers have to figure out a way to keep their composure, or risk losing all dignity in looking like sore losers.
Nobody likes a sore loser.
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Analysis: Who has the edge, Thunder or Lakers?
The home team Oklahoma City Thunder hold the cards in their Western Conference semifinal series starting Monday vs. the Los Angeles Lakers.
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Lakers vs. Thunder Game 1: Pick and Prediction Against the Spread for 1st Game
The Los Angeles Lakers are traveling to Oklahoma City on Monday to take on the Thunder to start off what should be a great series.
It should also be an awesome series for gamblers, as there will be plenty of action and smart plays to be made on the games.
Let’s take a look at some of the possible wagers for the first game and predict which side will win.
All lines from ScoresAndOdds.com.
Lakers +7.5 at Thunder
Los Angeles matches up well with OKC and should be getting more respect.
The Lakers have bangers down low who can score in Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol. They have Metta World Peace back from suspension, and of course, the Black Mamba himself—Kobe Bryant—will be taking over like he does in most playoff contests.
L.A. last played the Thunder back on April 22—the game in which World Peace viciously elbowed Harden and drew the suspension—and came out on top in a double-OT thriller.
The Lakers may not win this, but they will easily cover such a large spread.
Over: 191.5
If you like L.A. to make it a close game, as I do, the over is a natural play as well.
It’s going to be tough for the Lake Show to keep Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook in check defensively, which is why they’ll have to score points to keep this respectable.
They certainly have proved capable of doing so, and Bryant can score at will from anywhere on the floor. This total could realistically end up in the 200s before the final buzzer sounds.
There are plenty of bets to put on this epic game between the Lakers and Thunder, but these are two of the safer ones you will find. Good luck tonight!
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Thunder, Lakers buzz continues to grow
Rick Carlisle whined and Jason Terry and friends fired verbal daggers in the first round of the playoffs.
Shame on us for thinking all of that silliness was a big deal.
It’s the second round of the playoffs as Oklahoma City takes on the Los Angeles Lakers. We have subplots and twists, brothers at arms and ones who do harm. There’s drama and there’s revenge in the making. And we haven’t even got to game one yet.
The Thunder will see the Lake Show, but it feels more like the Ricki Lake Show, just without the couch and the crying. If anyone thought the Dallas series was too much of a made-for-TV kind of a series, get ready to set the DVR.
And that’s not even taking into consideration the actual games. We’re still waiting on game one which will tipoff at 8:30 Monday night. Right now, the talk is the talk. Excessive in the first round vs. Dallas and deafening with the Lakers.
If the Thunder can somehow stay focused, avoid eye contact and pay attention, they’ll be fine. They’ll advance because they’re better than the Lakers.
But it may not be so easy. The circus is in town and it’s dressed in purple and gold.
“The sub-plots are part of NBA basketball,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. “If you focus on that, that’s not where your attention needs to be.”
Avoiding them, certainly in this case, is nearly impossible, as they are prolific in number and thick with intrigue.
“It’s not a concern,” Collison said. “That’s one of the things about having playoff experience. You see that the stuff seems to happen every single series. You also realize that stuff doesn’t mean anything at all. What happens on the court matters.”
You could say it started mattering two seasons ago when the Lakers needed a late basket from Pau Gasol, who snuck around Collison, for a tip-in, in game six of the first round of the playoffs to beat the eighth-seeded Thunder. But really, the rivalry exploded at the end of April when Laker forward Metta World Peace struck Thunder guard James Harden with a vicious blow with his elbow that caused a concussion for Harden and a seven-game suspension for himself. Now, the story has extended to World Peace’s hand as he has said he will not be extending it to Harden and will not be apologizing.
“I’m not worried about him or what he has to say,” Harden said of World Peace. “We have four games to win. That’s what we’re focused on.”
Collison suggested shaking hands is “so low” on the list of concerns. Brooks said the Thunder have moved on since Harden was floored.
We’ll see. We’ll also see if, Laker-spurned-now-Thunder-turned, guard Derek Fisher has, too.
Lord of the Rings with Los Angeles, Fisher won five championships as a Laker before he was set to the side before the trading deadline, winding up in Oklahoma City. Only right he’d face his old team and face off against Kobe Bryant, who made mention it was like taking on “his brother.”
“I think any time teams play against the Lakers, it just means more,” Fisher said. There’s more emphasis, more spotlight and there’s more people watching and paying attention. But those things aren’t important in terms of how the games are played. You have to find a way to block all those things out. You have to concentrate on basketball.”
That’s the issue: Can the Thunder block out before they worry about blocking out?
They did against Dallas, discarding the Mavs despite Carlisle who complained to anyone who would listen, cursed in a press conference in the press conferences and called Thunder players “Dirty.” Mavs’ forward Shawn Marion said OKC’s Thunder Durant got “lucky,” and guard Jason Terry said the Thunder were like “little brothers.”
But that was a broken Dallas team, still hungover from its 2011 title. Los Angeles presents more drama and more challenges, namely the fact World Peace will certainly be treated as a hostile enemy.
“We understand it happened, and we’ve moved on weeks ago,” Brooks said. “We’re not focused on what they say and what they don’t say. That has no bearing on how the series will go about. I’m not real focused on how he (World Peace) responds to our crowd. That happened. It was a bad play and hopefully he has the same feelings that we all have. It should have never happened. We’re focused on playing good basketball. It’s not between James and Ron (Artest).”
He’s right almost. If the Thunder get caught up outside the lines, they could suffer. On the court, they shouldn’t. The Thunder beat the Lakers in two of the three meetings this season, losing only the last one, when the Thunder had no incentive to win and no Harden in the second half, thanks to the elbow from World Peace.
The Thunder needed four games, two of which Durant struggled in, to beat the defending champs. Meanwhile, when the teams play Monday night, the Lakers will be just 48 hours removed from a seven-game series where they were extended by an average Denver team. Kobe Bryant was sick, Andrew Bynum was present, but not in spirit, and the Lakers have relied on the shooting of Steve Blake and the return of World Peace.
The Thunder, on the other hand, have had more than a week off. Plenty of time to let the talk marinate. Plenty of time to think.
“(We need to) get into some basketball instead of all the other side-track stuff,” Harden said. “The same thing happened last series, but we can’t get into that. We have to focus on trying to win basketball games . That’s the most important thing.”
Sounds simple enough.
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