THUNDER -at- LAKERS - 12-19-14 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Kobe For The… Clank. He just hasn’t been himself this season.

Kobe was stone cold, but we called his number for the final shot. “32,000 plus points,” Scott said. It was a good look for Kobe. One right in his sweet spot with a defender off balance. He just came up short at the buzzer for the win, and the Lakers fell 104-103 to the Thunder.

With Kevin Durant out with the injury in this one, the Lakers had a chance to take this game. They got some hot shooting early on from Ronnie Price that made the defense pay for helping elsewhere. The Lakers would push out to an 11-point lead in the first half, before losing that before the half was over.

When Nick Young got kicked out early in the fourth, Jeremy Lin throttled it up to fill the void. He attacked the paint with speed for scores or to set up teammates again and again. The Lakers erased a 9-point Thunder lead and changed the game.

They got scores from Kobe, Boozer and Lin down the stretch (Scott trusting Lin for a huge jumper with 32 seconds left). They also had misses from Kobe and a key foul from Boozer with a minute left that was probably a 4-point switch. Just one too many mistakes and the game slipped from their grasp.


Kobe -- -- “I didn’t have my legs. It was pretty frustrating. I’ll figure it out,” Kobe said. It’s definitely foreign territory for him. The Thunder was sending a lot of help on Kobe early on, but he was moving the ball well and had some support from teammates making shots early on. They tried to free Kobe up with some screens to get open in the post. In the second half, Kobe started to shoot the ball quicker, before the D could get there. He didn’t play with that chip on his shoulder to light up an opponent himself. You could tell he wasn’t feeling it. He was stone cold down the stretch, but he did hit a turnaround and also found Boozer with a bounce pass for layup. But the big miss came at the buzzer. Down 1, he attacked left, had a good look at a jumper with his man off-balance trying to avoid a foul, but he came up short. Lakers lose. Not looking super sharp at the end of games this year, but he was off all game this one. Probably needed to go elsewhere or back to Lin again with the play call. Triple-double sort of ball from Kobe, but would have been better had he any kind of shot tonight. Kobe said he hasn’t developed a good system to get consistency in his legs yet. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-15 shooting (0-3 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 8 assists and 3 turnovers in 35 minutes. He was a -6. The Action: He missed a layup over his shoulder off a nice cut off ball, should have had that one. His pass on the two-man game was picked off. He attacked and kicked to Price for the open three. He airballed a 40-footer trying to beat the shotclock. He airballed a three, getting crowded and unable to get his legs into it. He had the ball poked free on iso, dunk the other way. He iso’d in the post out of a timeout to draw FTs, he made both. He drew a post double and hit Davis in the paint for the dunk. He posted up and hit the elbow turnaround. He missed a long fallaway in the post next time down. He missed a long wing jumper on a kickout. He hit Ed on the screen-roll for a layup. He was called for a travel. He had 4 points on 1-6 shooting, but 6 assists in the half. Second Half: He popped out off the screen under the hoop and drew FTs to start the quarter (a variation on the play they use to free him up in the post), he made one. He missed a quick-fire elbow jumper trying to hit before the help came. He backed his man down, swung into the pant and scored the off-balance, short jumper. He missed the turnaround in the post and wanted the call. He missed a wide open wing three in transition next time down. He drew a double team 25 feet from the hoop and whipped a bullet feed to Ed for FTs under the hoop. He posted up and kicked to Wes for open three. He missed a baseline jumper. He posted up, spun, pumped and hit the tough turnaround. He drew the D on the screen-roll, bounced it to Boozer cutting, who scored a layup with 2 minutes left. Way short on a turnaround with 1:13 left, good look though. Not close on an 18-footer, looked like he wanted the foul on an undercut, but he didn’t hit rim, odd he would miss it that bad unless he was anticipating a foul that did not come (or did get fouled…either way awkwardly bad miss). He got the inbounds, attacked left, got the defender off-balance and missed the wing jumper short and a little right.

Hill -- -- He has been feeling under the weather the past couple of days. Davis was killing it this game. So down the stretch we saw a change with Ed on the court at the C spot. Whoever is our most active big between the two should probably finish games. Okay effort from Hill tonight despite not feeling well…just an excellent game by Davis. “I just didn’t see a whole lot of energy,” Scott said about keep Hill out after his first few minutes in the second half. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-8 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 21 minutes. He was a -1. The Action: He was blocked on a soft finish over Ibaka. He drew contact but no whistle on a post move and missed. He popped Ibaka on the post move and hit the jumphook (down went Ibaka). He bricked horribly on the long jumper. He took the inbounds and hit the baseline jumper with 0.6 on the clock (we’ve run that a few times, I think that might be the first time he’s hit on that). He worked his way down low, but was blocked by Ibaka on help D. He drew FTs trying to dunk over Ibaka, he made both. Second Half: He couldn’t handle an interior feed from Ed, turnover. He swished the open wing jumper on the kickout. He bounced in a jumphook in the post with the shotclock low and mismatch.

Davis -- -- Season high scoring night from Ed. “He was an animal tonight,” Boozer said. He had some early success when his man would leave to double Kobe and Kobe would find him for scores. Late in the game, he also worked in the hustle on the offensive glass. At the end of the night, great numbers working off ball and taking advantage when the D overplayed elsewhere. Good to see the first unit doing a better job of finding him. More games like this, please. Defensively, some good challenges and shot alterations in this one, too. He had a couple of blocks, but several other strong challenges. Got to string these games together. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 8-10 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 9 boards, 2 assists, 2 blocks, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 32 minutes. He was a -5. The Action: He couldn’t finish a dunk down the middle of the lane. He grabbed a Hill miss and regained possession. He took a post entry on the move as the D got confused and dunked. He altered a layup and controlled it. He switched on Westbrook and altered his layup with a good challenge. He attacked and kicked to Price for the open wing three. He scored a layup rolling off the screen. He was blocked on a layup from behind. He dunked when Kobe drew a post double and found him. He took contact on a score off the screen-roll with Kobe, but got no FTs. He had 8 points on 4-6 shooting and 5 boards. Second Half: He altered another layup, forcing an airball. He scored a layup off the bounce pass from Wes. He recovered to reject his man from behind. He threw down a lob dunk when the D didn’t match up in transition and Wes found him. He drew FTs on the bullet feed from Kobe when his man left to double and Ed rolled to the hoop, he made both. He tipped in the Boozer miss in the paint. He tipped in a missed Kobe jumper.

Johnson -- -- He had some moments passing the ball to Davis tonight, a lob in transition for a dunk and another nice bounce pass out of the corner to him. He only hit one of his six threes he took. Just not enough all-around dynamic from him on court. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-8 shooting (1-6 from three) to go with 3 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal and 3 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a +10. The Action: He missed a chuck from three, not squared up. He drained a wing jumper on the inbounds pass. He missed a long wing jumper. He stepped around the post entry pass and swiped it. He challenged a jumper cleanly, but on the way down, it looked like Westbrook grabbed Wes’s arms and drew the FTs (Wes was ticked and looking for a replay). Second Half: He missed a long chuck at a three. He missed a corner jumper. He made up a tough turnaround jumper to beat the shotclock. Nice bounce pass from the corner to Davis for the layup. He pushed it up, slowed it down, then lobbed to Davis for the dunk when he was left open at the rim. He swished a wing three on the Kobe kickout. He airballed a wing three.

Price -- -- Career-best first quarter for Price with the 14 points. It made a huge difference. Kobe could draw attention and the ball could swing to the open shooters making the Thunder pay. The Lakers had 9 assists in the quarter and the offense looked smooth and natural. That was it for him offensively, but we were able to at least not dig a hole for ourselves in the first quarter. As I’ve mentioned before, one of Price or Johnson has to step up with that unit or it’s instant death. Defensively, a very tough assignment against Westbrook. We left Ronnie on him all by himself quite a bit, but struggled on help D to keep him from the rim. Later we mixed it up with Ellington, Lin and even Wes briefly. “That’s tough to keep a guy locked down when he’s getting to the FT line like that,” he said of Westbrook’s 13 FTs in the first half. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 5-8 shooting (4-7 form three) to go with 3 assists, 1 block and 2 fouls in 26 minutes. He was a -5. The Action: He swished a baseline pull-up jumper off the pinch post for the Lakers first score. He swished an open three, squared up well and hit it. He came down court and buried another one in early offense on the next possession. He bit on a pumpfake and gave up an And-1 jumper. He sank another wide open wing three on a kickout (initiated off a Kobe double team strong side). Heatcheck three next time down and he missed. He hit Davis rolling for the layup. He swished a wing three on the Kobe kickout. He missed a wing three next time down. He missed a long three right after returning. He had 14 points on 5-8 shooting (4-7 from three) in the half. Second Half: Great hustle D in transition to save a layup with a strip at high speed.

Young -- -- He hit threes to start both the second and fourth quarters. After the one in the fourth quarter he took exception to a screen set by Adams and put a forearm into Adams neck, flagrant-2. He was in disbelief. Not a lot of mercy from the refs these days when it’s anything over the shoulders. This came just when Nick really looked like he was starting to heat up. That ended that. “I got caught up in the moment. Adams is a sneaky, dirty player,” Nick said, mentioning that there was some previous incidents between those two. Lakers missed him down the stretch with Kobe stone cold. He would have had a shot or two down the stretch. Could have made the difference. Got to keep your cool, Nick. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-8 shooting (2-4 from three) to go with 2 boards, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 13 minutes. He was a -7. The Action: He missed a long heave at three at the end of the quarter. He popped open up top coming off a screen and drained the catch-and-shoot three to start the second quarter. He missed a three trailing the break. Great move on iso, then airballed the long jumper. He hit Boozer open for FTs on the jumper. He took the inbounds, attacked baseline, hung around the D and scored the layup. He missed a baseline step-back jumper. Second Half: He drained a three, twisting his body to try to draw the foul on the three. He drained a wing three on iso to start the fourth.

Lin -- -- He mentioned several times about how playing quick helped them a lot. It shouldn’t be such a mystery that we somehow can’t unlock when he’s out there. Scott just needs to let him do it and Lin needs to be more aggressive about making it happen. When Nick Young got ejected in the fourth, Lin started playing his game. “We were just trying to play fast, move the ball, spread the defense,” Lin said of the fourth quarter run that turned the game around for the Lakers. Unfortunately, they fell short after digging out of a 9-point hole, but they had the game in their grasp despite being outscored by 15 between the second and third quarters. Down the stretch we even trusted Lin enough to take a critical two-for-one jumper in the final minute. He sank it and would have liked the opportunity for the final shot, but it went to Kobe. “How many game winners has he hit like that, you know?...It’s just a matter of time before he hits those game winners,” Lin said. “I like game winners, too. I’d love to shoot some. I get it. That guy is the kind of king of game winners. He’s going to that shot. He’ll figure it out. That’s why he is who he is.” Glad we at least integrated him a little in the final minute. Baby steps. The team needs to repeat how they played in the fourth quarter with Lin on the floor. Make it part of an identity instead of a stretch of ball that briefly happened. Scott on Lin’s game: “There were a couple of dumb mistakes as far as turnovers, but other than that I thought he played solid,” Scott said. The last game left a lot to be desired from Lin and he regretted how passively he played. Glad he throttled it up in this one. Hopefully, that would have happened even if Nick was still in the game and Lin didn’t need to fill that void. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 5-7 shooting (0-1 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 5 assists, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls in 22 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: Quick burst of speed on the catch and he scored a layup down the lane. He attacked the paint next time down, stopped on a dime and banked it on a two-for-one possession. Telegraphed pass on the two-man game, stolen and a score the other way. Sloppy on the break, turnover, instead of a Laker score. Second Half: He curled into the D off the dribble and hit Boozer at the FT line, who attacked for an And-1. He was called for a charge on a drive down the paint. He drained a pull-up on the sideline. He attacked aggressively next time down for FTs, he made both. He attacked with speed, drew the D and whipped a pass out to Ellington open for the three. He probed with speed in early offense and whipped a pass off the dribble to Boozer in the lane. Pressure D on Jackson on the other end and he drew an offensive foul to get a stop. He attacked with speed, stopped on a dime and hit the pull-up elbow jumper. He collapsed the D off the dribble and kicked out to Ellington for the three. He took a three in early offense himself next time down and missed. He pushed it up with speed and missed a layup (might have been pushed from behind). Kobe stone cold, we called Lin’s number out of a timeout with 38 seconds left, he attacked to his right, stopped and hit the clutch wing jumper.

Boozer -- -- He had the tank special play of the night forcing an unnecessary outlet pass at the end of the third right to the Thunder, who then hit a three at the buzzer. Painfully bad. He also had another tanker special play down the stretch when he fouled a smaller man off ball when Ellington was shooting a jumper with a minute left. It was unnecessary and cost the Lakers a key possession. Just a couple of little plays not using his head that made the difference. Some credit for getting some scores, as well. One of our go-to plays down the stretch was running the Kobe/Boozer two-man game and Boozer came away with a layup. Key foul, key layup in those final two minutes. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 6-12 shooting (2-5 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 2 assists, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: Not close on a scoop in the post. They dumped it to him in the post and he hit the turnaround (nice for the second unit to be able to do that). He drew FTs trying to score in the paint in a crowd, he made one. He was fouled on a FT jumper, he made one. He missed an elbow jumper. Second Half: Soft And-1 foul at the rim to give up an easy score to Ibaka. He scored an And-1 layup with a quick attack off the catch at the FT line, he missed the FT. Really dumb outlet with a second left and it went right to the Thunder to hit a three at the end of the third quarter (tank you very much). He sank a 17-footer after a play busted. He missed a short one in the paint setup by Lin, but Ed tipped it in. He couldn’t finish a layup in the paint. Ellington found him in semi-transition for the layup. He was rejected at the rim by Ibaka, should have tried to finesse it over him. Soft D on Ibaka and he gave up a good look at a jumper with 2 minutes left, Scott called a timeout. He scored a layup off the two-man game with Kobe when his man trapped Kobe and Boozer rolled down the middle of the lane with 2 minutes left. Dumb foul with 1:05 left, off ball, knocking over a smaller man under the hoop unnecessarily and he gave up two FTs and the lead.

Ellington -- -- He got the tough assignment of trying to shut Westbrook down on D down the stretch. He probably did better than anyone else we threw at Westbrook. Not an easy cover. Offensively, he hit some key shots for the Lakers in that fourth quarter. With Nick out, we got to run him on the floor to close the game. I’d like to see that a little more with the starters. No reason, he can’t cut into Wes’s minutes as we slide Kobe to SF. We could start Ellington instead of Wes and have more balance to our starters than we do now. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-6 shooting (3-4 from three) to go with 2 boards, 3 assists and 2 fouls in 20 minutes. He was a +1. The Action: He sank a three on a kickout from Sacre. Second Half: He was blocked, forcing up a jumper on the split play after not getting separation. He drained an open three when Lin drew the D and found him up top. He drained a sideline three off the Lin drive and kick. He missed a pull-up three a little off balance. He pushed it out with speed, pulled it back out, noticed no one was covering him and attacked to dish to Boozer for the layup. He was blocked on a wing jumper.

Sacre -- -- The second unit offense wasn’t clicking as well as it had been in the first half. This was evidenced by the several dump-ins to Sacre in the post when we had nothing flowing. That changed in the second half when we went to Lin’s speed attack and had the Thunder on their heels. Some better defensive rotations on help in this one by the Laker bigs. Just wish Sacre had 3 or 4 more inches to alter shots better. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-3 shooting to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block and 3 fouls in 14 minutes. He was a +6. The Action: Way short on a baseline jumper. Not close on a turnaround on iso in the post next time down. Second Half: He bricked a face-up wing jumper with the shotclock low. Nice rotation on help D and he knocked a ball loose to get the stop.

Scott -- -- Price’s jumper looking good to start with two threes and a baseline score and the Lakers led 12-4 after a few minutes, forcing a Thunder timeout… He brought in Boozer for Hill midway through the quarter, the Lakers up 8… Young in for Johnson a minute later, up 8 still… Ronnie going off this quarter with more points than the last several games combined. Makes a world of difference… The Lakers were up 22-17 when Lin came in for Price… The Lakers led 26-20 after the first quarter… He started a Sacre, Boozer, Young, Ellington, Lin unit… They pushed out to an 11-point lead… He sat Sacre for Hill, Lakers up 8 after 4 minutes… Price in for Lin with more than 7 minutes left, Lakers up 8… Scott brought back the rest of the starters with 6:24 left, Lakers up 38-32. Feels like one of those dry spells offensively coming on. This lineup will need to dig in defensively. We got to Kobe in the post out of the timeout to get him his first score with 5 minutes left in the half… The score was tied 3 minutes later… Westbrook living at the FT line or scoring layups… The Lakers went to Kobe in the post coming off a screen by Davis and scratched a couple of scores out of it… The Lakers trailed 52-50 at the half. Westbrook had 21 points with 13-13 shooting from the line… Down 1, he sat Hill for Boozer… Lakers briefly go to a zone and give up the inevitable wide open jumper… He brought in Lin, Young and Ellington with 2:37 left for Kobe, Price and Johnson, Lakers down by 2… The Thunder started to stretch out the lead against the second unit… A 4-point play for the Thunder and the Lakers trailed by 9… The Lakers trailed 82-73 heading into the fourth. Usual lineup to start the quarter… Nick ejected less than a minute into the quarter and Wes came in for him. Just when Nick was looking like he might get hot… Lin got aggressive, picking up the speed in the offensive zone and the Lakers cut the lead to 3, forcing a timeout… Ellington on Westbrook defensively… He sat Johnson and Sacre for Davis and Kobe, Lakers up 3… Timeout Scott with 2 minutes left after Boozer gave a soft challenge on Ibaka’s open jumper. Out of that timeout, layup for Boozer off the Kobe two-man game…Down 3 with 38 seconds left and he called a timeout. We called Lin’s number and he hit the two-for-one jumper from the wing… With 6 seconds left down 1, would we go to a stone cold Kobe or go back to Lin? Kobe missed a pretty good look, just short once again... Good effort, but clunky again down the stretch…

[H0B0]

THX DB. GO LAKERS

[mhan00]

So close, just fell a little short. Both the game and Kobe's shot.

[Unstable]

Thanks db,

Painful loss, but I am glad we were competitive. Kobe just didn't have his legs today....
_________________
Calling another person idiotic does not necessarily mean you are less idiotic than that person. The best way to improve oneself is to focus on the positive things in life and build on them.

[koen]

Game__________BS_____KB_____JH_____CB_____WJ_____JL_____ED_____RP_____NY_____WE_____RS_____JC
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11/19/2014 DIY
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12/19/2014_____ ____ ____ __ _ ____ ____ __ ___ _____ _____ ____ --

[OregonLakerGuy]

Thanks DB

[fafan]

Thank you, DB. The loss is on BS. He doesn't know how to close a game. Only depends on Kobe's iso, never changed.
_________________
"Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience." --Sarah Cook.

[cheesysapien]

Thanks DB and Koen! that is a very cool thing to see ...
_________________
"We have a lot of guys that have been kinda discarded ... Myself with the injury and the age. Jeremy ... a bunch of players who other teams really felt they had no use for. So we have that kind of attitude built into ourselves" -- Kobe Bryant

[tw-lakbfan]

Nowadays, Kobe should take straight shots instead of turn-around jump shots or fakes. He seldom made those tougher shots.

As I suspected, Scott again couldn't design a better last shot for the Lakers. If it were to go to Kobe, come on, set the pick for him.

[KLS]

Kobe is just human and aging. Why they couldn't play like they played when they turned around the game with the 2nd unit with Lin attacking. Yet BS went back to an aging Kobe on tough iso which is quite predictable to the thunder defender. Kobe could make the final shot easily before but his legs are no longer able to give him the lift at his age near the end of the game. BS should just tell Kobe to work with screen or just dish out to open guys, or better yet let the pg lead the offense. It has been working in the 4th quarter, so why not in the last few possessions?

[Laker's Fan]

My sense is that Boozer is a net negative player. He definitely provides positives, but they are less consistent and less potent than his negatives.
_________________
Austin Reaves keeps his game tight, like Kobe Bryant on game night.

[vixvolatility]

thx db

[htc]

as always, thank you db. this team really isn't as bad as a lot of people say it is, obviously they won't win too many games and no they are not playoff bound, but games like today's where it is exciting and competitive should be more of the norm, this team should strive to be a bada$@ prick, not some darn rollover team. With Kobe's competitive "j**ka$$$ nature" and the rest of the staff this could be a team where opponents say "OK cr -at- p they lack pieces and we will win but it will be a pain in the xxx". It is such an interesting team to watch with kobe and with lin young boozer who can really ball when they are on, and wes and davis who at times seem to have so much potential. anyways... yup, thanks db.

[LakerEric]

$23,500,000

[Richmond]

You gotta love BS...qualifies Lin's game with "couple of dumb mistakes".. Really coach? Can we go through the laundry list of "dumb" mistakes by the rest of your team...
Great overall game by the Lakers that they just couldn't close out. One or 2 plays at the end (the Boozer shove on a MUCH smaller Jackson )

Excellent analysis DB and thanks for taking the time to do this!!!

[Richmond]

Just saw the discrepancy in foul shots... Lakers 11-15 OKC 22-29.
Part of that is aggressiveness but it sure seems like the Lakers don't get the "James Harden" fouls.

[catman2u]

[catman2u]

[catman2u]

Thanks to DB this forum has the best analysis of any forum I've read, laker or otherwise. I do wish there was an option to "like" a comment as in FB and other forums. I often feel its redundant to comment but like to concur with a commenter.

[bws94]

[Lakerscode]

What's really the purpose of our team this season?Kobe had already reached the milestone being the 3rd highest scorer of all time.I hope Scott is not aiming for Malone's number otherwise we will be facing a big disappointment for this season and the next.Let's start playing the right way and we can probably attract a good free agent next year or we can catch a big fish whoever in the trading block.

[option_nerd]

[fiendishoc]

The team's offense looked better tonight, due to the particular actions that they were running. Mark Jackson said that it was the best he's seen the Lakers offense all year. (He also related Wes Johnson to Magic Johnson after a good play that Wes made, but I'll try to forget I ever heard that).

The final shot was a good look- Kobe just didn't have it today, due to fatigue or whatever, so the main change to make is to limit his minutes, and perhaps rest him some games.

WHAT I LIKED:

Motion offense involving Ed Davis

In the X's and O's thread I mentioned I liked one play from the Pacers game that was a Princeton-based motion that got Ed Davis to the basket. In this game, they ran it (and similar actions) over and over again in the first and third quarters. It's good because it gets most of the players involved, lets the guard attack middle after getting multiple screens and a handoff, and more importantly terminates in an Ed Davis roll to the basket. Also there are variations based on different reads players make on the floor, which also gave the guards off ball cuts to the basket. Definitely a lot better than the iso and pindown fest we saw in the previous game.

Ed is showing that he can become one of the Laker's most valuable players on offense, because he's the only big who will roll hard, and because the Lakers don't have too many other ways to get to the basket. He showed much improved vision and recognition kicking out to shooters. Even if he doesn't touch the ball, his roll opens up other shooters like Hill from mid range and Wes from 3. When they hedged or trapped the screen, Ed also showed good recognition in finding the open spot and then attacking off the bounce.

More sensible substitutions

For the most part this season, the substitutions have been mechanical. Players come out at around a predetermined time in each game, regardless of how well they happen to be playing. This game was much better. Ed Davis was playing well so Hill was the first sub out instead of him. He also rode Davis for most of the second half. And then Byron left Lin in when he jump-started the team. Was it because Swaggy got ejected? Perhaps, who knows? Yes, these are the things we would take for granted with other coaches. But I like to think of this hopefully as progress.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:

Lack of awareness

At the end of the half there was a ridiculous sequence where there was one second left and the Lakers let the Thunder inbound it full court and take a wide open 3. Kobe was angry over a call so he just ignored everything and walked back as he's done too often this year. Both Ed Davis and Jordan Hill were completely zoned out in their minds so they didn't even notice the pass and the open player. I didn't see if Byron got on the team about that that but they need to be held accountable.

Also of course there were those two Boozer boneheaded plays. He doesn't get away with that pushoff nearly as often as he seems to think.

[Crystal99]

[Lakers#1Team]

Thanks DB!

It's definitely foreign territory for us Lakers fans to see Kobe with no legs or lift the entire game after a few days off. Not easy for any of us to deal with...

Scott made a little progress with substitutions and the end game players. We talk about it a lot but it doesn't matter who starts. Scott could have inserted Price into crunch time but he stuck with Lin because he was playing well. There definitely is legitimate criticism towards Scott but it's beating a dead horse if it's about who's starting or who takes the last shot.

Regarding Kobe taking the lost shot, no player said he thought someone else should have taken the shot. No prior coach of Kobe has prevented Kobe from taking the last shot. Having said that, I do wish Kobe would trust his teammates more at the end. Especially those with the hot hand.