THUNDER -at- LAKERS - 2-13-14 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

All Star Break…Finally… The Lakers became the only team this season, according to TNT, to lead the Thunder at the half. They’ve been a decent first half team all year. It’s the third quarters or crunch time where things have consistently fallen apart.

The Lakers led by 15 with under a minute left in the third quarter. Nearly escaping the third without disaster. Just 4 minutes later the Thunder had reeled them in as the Lakers went scoreless.

The momentum shifted and the Lakers were back on their heels again, trailing by 5. The Lakers have always seemed to have some fight in them against the contenders this season. They didn’t go away.

With chances to tie or take the lead down the stretch, they battled to the end, but couldn’t overcome the Thunder or Kevin Durant, who had 19 points in the fourth quarter.

It was an entertaining, hard-fought 107-103 loss. In the end, it was also the Lakers seventh straight home loss, a franchise record.


Blake -- -- Nothing seemed to come easy for Blake in this one. He had his moments, including a huge And-1 throw in from deep in the left wing in crunch time. He had a chance to tie the game up when Ibaka fouled him from behind and Blake was still staring at an And-1 layup. It didn’t drop. Then he missed one of the FTs. He got the start at SG and settled into that role, letting Marshall run the offense for the most part. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 4-10 shooting (3-8 from three, 2-3 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, 4 turnovers and 2 fouls in 38 minutes. He was a +1. The Action: He missed an open wing three. He lost his man on a fake, but got swatted at the rim. His bounce pass was picked off next time down. He swiped a bounce pass on iso. He missed a jerked wing three. He sank a corner three on a cross-court pass from Kaman. Not close on a step-back wing three after letting a man fly by. Lazy pass at the top of the arc to give up a breakaway layup. He stepped into a three and swished. He scored 6 points on 2-6 shooting. Second Half: He hit Johnson on an oop for the throwdown in transition. He sank a wing three in his defender’s face. He threw a kickout away. He was blocked on a three. With the shotclock low, he pumpfaked, leaned in, took contact and heaved in the off-balance And-1 wing jumper to give the Lakers a 1-point lead with 3:34. He missed a wing three. He attacked a bigman, had the whistle blow and an And-1 layup in front of him, he couldn’t finish it to give the Lakers a chance to tie the game, he then missed his first FT…could have had three points only came away with one. Loss secured.

Kaman -- -- As a starter this season, Kaman has averaged 14 points, 10 boards and 2.2 blocks prior to this game. He gave the Lakers 19 and 10 with 6 assists. Pau-esque numbers for sure with efficient shooting. He had a huge score on iso with 22 seconds left, taking it to his man and stepping through on another defender for an And-1. That was balling. Unfortunately, he missed the FT to tie it up (with Shawne talking to him). He was pumped on that move and score. Loved the fight in him. No, he’s not tanking. The Stats: He scored 19 points on 7-13 shooting (5-7 from the line) to go with 10 boards, 6 assists, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 35 minutes. He was a -4. The Action: He scored a layup around the help D off the slip screen. He missed a step-back jumper in the post. He jab stepped and hit the sideline jumper. Nice challenge to force Ibaka to miss a layup. He was blocked on a slow developing play, he got it back and found Blake for three. He missed a fading elbow jumper. He missed a short lefty finish down low. He was rejected badly on a dunk attempt. He tipped in a miss on the break. He had 6 points, 7 boards and 3 assists at the half. Second Half: He missed a long wing jumper. Nice work on the offensive glass to regain possession as the Thunder lost it out of bounds. He jab stepped and sank the wing jumper. Nice challenge on help D to force an airball. He attacked, spun one way, went the other and banked. He grabbed a low pass, attacked and reversed. He lost the ball in the post, turnover. He found Wes backdoor off the split for a dunk. He rejected a shot off a man to get a stop. He fumbled a dribble away out of a timeout. He was fouled for FTs, he made both. He had a brick land in his hands and he drew FTs attacking, he made one. Huge attack with 22 seconds down 3, he dribbled left, spun back middle, stepped through and scored the And-1 layup, he missed the FT to tie it, ouch!

Johnson -- -- He got the Durant assignment, matching length and athleticism as best we can. Durant struggled to get into a comfort zone early on and the Lakers pulled out to a double digit lead. In the fourth, Durant took over. He was scoring like Kevin Durant – 19 points that quarter. That’s probably the toughest assignment in the league defensively right now. Offensively, nice job leaking out for some easy breakaway scores. Those were backbreakers when the Thunder were trying to make a third quarter push. Wes scratched out a few scores in the half court sets in the fourth quarter. The Stats: He scored 19 points on 8-13 shooting (1-2 from three, 2-4 from the line) to go with 1 steal, 3 turnovers and 5 fouls in 42 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He swished a wing jumper off a jab step. He forced a wing three and missed. He swished a wing jumper elevating over DFish who tried to strip down low. Not close on a long jumper in early offense, uggh. He was yanked down by Durant on a drive for FTs, he missed both, argh. He stripped the ball off Durant on the drive. He missed a short one in the lane. Second Half: He was blocked on a drive. He hammered down an oop from Blake in transition next time down. He attacked from the wing and had Kaman pushed into him for FTs, he made both. He drew a moving screen on Perkins. He sank a long corner jumper. Not close on a wing jumper. He cut backdoor and dunked when Kaman found him. Indecisive, he traveled off the three line. Next time down, he was decisive, but still traveled not putting the ball down before attacking. He slammed off another bust out ahead of the D when Marshall quickly outlet. Sloppy post entry and it led to a Thunder layup. He swished a three to answer a Durant three. Poor reach and he gave up a drive and foul to Durant. He swished a toe-on-the-three line jumper. He backed down Ibaka and drew FTs with 1:22 left, he made both.

Marshall -- -- He didn’t get much rest tonight because he was carrying the fight to the Thunder, and D’Antoni rode him like he was Kobe from last season. He got off to a quick start, hitting the Lakers first couple of hoops and then assisting on the next two. He had 10 points in the first quarter and 9 assists by halftime. When our PGs are aggressively scoring, the offense opens up as the D can’t try to defend the pass as much. He kept piling up the assists with 6 more in that third quarter. He’s clearly showing he belongs in the league and will be player for many years. A scrub doesn’t just drop 14 points and 17 assists against upper competition. He played a very savvy game with vet moves, using his body well on finishes, putting some spin on bounce passes, ball fakes to freeze the D. There’s a lot of skilled play going on out there. Lakers may have traded some picks away, but they got one back here. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 6-13 shooting (2-7 from three, 0-1 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 17 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers and 1 foul in 44 minutes. He was a -5. The Action: He drained a wing three on a kickout up against the shotclock for the Lakers first score. He attacked off the three line and scored a layup next time down. He missed a heat check wing three next time down. He hit Kaman off the slip screen for the layup. He attacked and kicked to Wes for the wing jumper. He threw a kickout out of bounds. He missed a three straight away. He attacked from the wing and scored the layup as Ibaka goaltended. He drained a three out of a timeout. Nice challenge on Fish’s three. He had 10 points in the first quarter. He attacked deep, drew the D and kicked to Williams for the three. He missed a layup he should have had around Ibaka. He called for the Kaman screen to reset the offense, attacked and bounced with some back spin to Williams cutting backdoor for the reverse (that was pretty). He beat his man off the dribble after winding the clock down, looked off a help defender and scored the layup. He scored 12 points on 5-8 shooting to go with 9 assists and 4 boards. Second Half: Nice close out on a three to force an airball. He missed a wing three. He found Kaman for a couple of hoops. Perfect long outlet and he hit Williams leaking out for the breakaway layup. He attacked, ball-faked and then hit Hill for the highlight score. Quick outlet to Wes for the breakaway dunk. He attacked the paint and dumped it right to Hill for the layup. He had 6 assists in the third quarter. He was called for an offensive foul when the set busted and he tried to attack. He got tapped on a wing three. He sliced through the D and scored a huge And-1 layup to regain the lead, he missed the FT, though. He missed a long three attempt in the final possession, percentage buster.

Williams -- -- Great first half, hitting all three of his threes, scoring in double digits and blocking a couple shots. Very active first half and one of the reasons the Lakers had the lead at halftime. He then missed his next five threes. He just could not connect down the stretch. He missed some big threes in the fourth from the corners. He then held a conversation with Kaman while he’s trying to shoot his FT to tie the game. Kaman missed it. I’m more irked he couldn’t connect on at least one of those key kickouts in crunch time. Just one of those would have been huge. Overall, good game and effort from Shawne. A make or two down the stretch would have been huge. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 6-16 shooting (3-8 from three) to go with 9 boards (3 offensive), 1 steal, 2 blocks, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 35 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: He missed a long sideline jumper after pulling down a board. He was blocked on the breakaway dunk attempt, but TNT analyzed it like he made it…even after the replay, lol. He sank a quick-fire wing three in transition. He attacked and hit an off-balance wing jumper against the shotclock. He telegraphed a pass, had it picked off but didn’t give up, he tracked down Lamb and rejected him off the glass to get the stop. He swatted Durant’s drive on one end and missed a layup in transition. He sank a wing three on the kickout from Marshall. He sank a corner, heat-check three, firing quickly over the Ibaka D. He cut baseline off Marshall’s drive, took the bounce pass and scored the reverse. He scored 13 points on 5-8 shooting (3-3 from three) to go with 4 boards and 2 blocks. Second Half: He attacked and was blocked, not using his body well on the finish. He missed a wing three off the Kaman behind-the-back dish off the dribble (got to get Kaman a highlight knockdown on that one). He missed a three on a kickout. Nice job leaking out and Marshall found him for the layup (should have been an And-1). He missed a corner jumper. Nice crash of the glass to get a second-chance possession off a Marshall miss. He missed a corner three off the kickout. He missed another corner three. He missed a huge corner three to tie it with a minute left.

Kelly -- -- He had some poor moments in the third quarter that helped the Thunder stay within striking distance. He struggled from the FT line, as well, tonight. You know things are going bad for him when he can’t knock down those easy ones. He’s been a little bit of a slump lately. All Star break came at a good time for him. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 2-6 shooting (1-3 from three, 2-5 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 16 minutes. He was a -4. The Action: Nice challenge on Lamb to force an airball. He missed a layup on a drive from the wing. He was fouled on a wing three, he made just one, ouch. He cut backdoor to lose his man, took the pass and scored the layup in one motion without coming down. Second Half: Poor zone and he gave up a dunk when our D was out of whack. He missed an open wing three. Not close on a wing jumper, leaning too far. He drew FTs attacking the paint, he made one. He was stripped on a drive. He missed a corner three. He drained a corner three to start the fourth. He blocked Lamb with Sacre from behind. His pass was picked off.

Hill -- -- He couldn’t seem to get a grip on the ball in the first quarter, bobbling passes that forced him into challenged shots, turnovers and misses as the D caught up with him. He battled back and got to double digits. Wish he was more effective on the offensive glass in this one. Kaman and Shawne were the guys getting it done there. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-8 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 3 turnovers and 1 foul in 19 minutes. He was a -9. The Action: Weak kickout and it was picked off to force a Laker foul. He was stripped in the paint bringing the ball down low. He missed a jumphook after bobbling the pass. He missed a tough chuck from the wing against the quarter buzzer. He missed a short one in the paint. He sank a 20-footer. He swished a face-up wing jumper. Second Half: He drew FTs on a post move against Durant, he made both. He scored a layup off the Marshall drive and dish. He hit a jumphook off the Marshall drive and dump. He missed a step-back jumper in the lane. He was stripped in the paint and wanted the foul.

Sacre -- -- He was shooting everything about two feet two long tonight. He banked in a couple of long jumpers straight away. He airballed one from the side with no backboard there to help him that time. He needs to compensate for windage or something. That jumpshot was not close. His minutes between the third and fourth quarters really helped the Thunder turn things around (Kelly was poor, too, in that stretch). Sacre has really been struggling to make an impact and is slipping into Kaman’s still warm doghouse. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-4 shooting to go with 4 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 4 turnovers and 3 fouls in 11 minutes. He had a +/- of 0. The Action: He banked in a 17-footer straight away, oops. He was set up for a layup under the hoop. He banked in a 20-footer, lol, on his next jumper. He hit Kelly backdoor for the layup. Second Half: He missed a baseline jumper about two feet too long, no backboard in play to bank that one in. He was stripped, not protecting the ball well.

D’Antoni -- -- Good effort from the guys tonight… With Nash out, he moved Marshall into the starting lineup. The Lakers got off to a 9-2 lead getting 2 scores and 2 assists by Marshall to force the timeout… The Lakers led 19-13 when the timeout came with 3 minutes left… He brought in Kelly, Hill and Sacre for Blake, Williams and Kaman… The Lakers led 24-17 after the first… He started the same unit, but with Williams out there instead of Johnson, who was smartly resting while Durant sat… He sat Marshall for Blake up by 7… He brought back in Wes to cover Durant, and they forced a timeout up by 12… He sat Sacre for Kaman… He called a timeout with the Lakers up by 8 and sputtering a little on offense… They finished the quarter strong… The Lakers led 54-45 at the half. They shot 51% (23-45, 7-13 3PT, 1-5 FT) to go with 17 assists and 10 turnovers. The Thunder shot 41% (19-46, 2-11 3PT, 5-8 FT)… The Lakers pulled out to a 13-point lead, forcing a timeout. They forced another timeout a couple minutes later, up 14… He sat Williams for Hill… He sat Kaman for Kelly up 12. Lakers getting some nice breakaway scores off good D… Sacre, Hill, Kelly, Williams and Marshall in now. Crazy lineup, but not a lot of options… Poor close to the third by that unit as the Lakers had a 15-point lead cut to 10 in a minute… The Lakers led 82-72 heading into the fourth… He ran the Sacre, Hill, Kelly, Johnson, Marshall unit… Up 8, he sat Sacre for Kaman after a couple minutes. Poor minutes from Sacre… Up 6, he sat Kelly for Blake… D’Antoni called timeout when the lead was trimmed to 3 with 9 minutes left, a 10-0 run by OKC… The Lakers trailed by 2 midway through the quarter when the timeout came… Down 1, they had to intentionally foul. Unfortunately, it went to DFish. He’s not missing those with 16 seconds left… They trailed by 3 and called a timeout… Lakers had an opportunity to tie it, but Blake couldn’t get the And-1 layup to go… Game over after he missed one FT…

[SweetP]

It was an entertaining, fun game to watch. I almost thought we had a chance to win it and then...but we got beat by one of the best. Marshall was impressive.
Thanks.
_________________
“There is always light if only we're brave enough to see it, if only we're brave enough to be it.” --Amanda Gorman

[lakersfreak]

Thx DB

[leor_77]

Would have easily won if we didn't go away from Marshall.

Every time we threw it into the post, it would turn into a turnover. It kept happening over and over and OVER again, and yet they STILL kept throwing into the post - Should have just let Marshall create. That's when a competent coach steps in, and makes adjustments.

[lakerjoshua]

A loss I actually enjoyed. Marshall is a keeper for sure.

Thanks DB.

[Omar Little]

[Shaber]

On Williams:

[Cha*n]

It was maybe the best game I've watched in some time. These guys have promise. Thanks DB, always love these.

[OregonLakerGuy]

Thanks DB

[A Mad Chinaman]

As Kaman stated in his post game interview, the vast majority of the Lakers on the court don't know how and what it takes to win games

Kenny the Jet says that good teams know how to win close games and bad teams don't get blown out of games. Interesting that the Lakers are above .500 in games decided by 4 points or less.

As identified by the TNT crew, OKC has a closer in Durant. The Lakers had Blake and Marshall taking the clutch shots with Kobe, Pau, Young, Nash, Meeks and Farmar on the DL

[LakerEric]

Forfeit the entire season already! Sick of it already!

[Chronicle]

Just yesterday in one of the lounge threads people were going on about durant's elite ball handling.

He is not an elite ball handler, as evident by this game

Was very pleasantly surprised to see the lakers play defense for once
_________________
Kobe

[LGTownDrunk]

No way OKC should have won this game: they didn't shoot as well as the Lakers, and were out rebounded.

OKC was asleep for 3 quarters and the Lakes were playing their best ball.

The 4th quarter highlights the main problem with the turnover-prone Laker offense: it gets crushed by high pressure defense, which drives the opponents offense. 35 points in the 4th quarter for OKC, 21 for the Lakes, at home.

Thanks DB.
_________________
We want Soon now....we want Soon now....we want Soon now!

[ForrestHump]

Not surprised we lost, I want us to finish with a top 3 worst record in the league so we would have a great chance at landing the first pick. I really like Marshall though, he's one of the best passers in the league no doubt and I think we should keep him as a back-up. Wesley impressed me, too.

This team could have won 40 something games with Pau and Young healthy, but I'm glad we're not a middle of the pack team like we were for most of last season. Shut down Kobe & Nash for the season and build a solid roster for the next one.
_________________

[LakerEric]

[ElginBaylor]

We have a great bench. Too bad they're all starting.
_________________
Not a legend

[A Mad Chinaman]

[lakerican]

[A Mad Chinaman]

[Romano338]

With how the game was going, I was really starting to think that winning against that team would be great! Not for the draft, but watching the Lakers dominating the Thunder for 3 quarters was great!
But I was expecting the Thunder to win at the end.

[audioaxes]

this game did not surprise me. I expected us to play up to our competition while the best teams kind of slack off. Also expected us to shatter in crunch time. But oh well winning this game only puts up further out draft position