THUNDER -at- LAKERS - 3-1-15 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Thunderless Thunder?… No Durant. No Westbrook. No problem for the Thunder.

They may not have had their big guns but they didn’t need them to pull off the 108-101 win over the Lakers.

Serge Ibaka and Enes Kanter combined for 29 boards (and 9 of their team’s 16 offensive boards) along with 34 points.

“They were just more physical,” Scott said.

Jeremy Lin led the Lakers with 20 points, 8 assists and 3 steals, but the Lakers defense was unable to consistently get stops and one-and-out possessions.


Clarkson -- -- He struggled a bit early on connecting on his midrange game and never really got on track in this one. He did sink a couple of threes and finish on the break. Ibaka might have been in his head some by the time this one was over. Ibaka swatted a couple of his shots and Clarkson was called for a clear-out foul trying to finish around Ibaka on another. Defense was a little loose tonight, particularly on the screen-rolls. “They were killing us on those,” Clarkson said. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 5-14 shooting (2-4 from three) to go with 2 boards, 4 assists, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls in 34 minutes. He was a -14. The Action: He scored a layup for the Lakers first score. He missed a pull-up 20-footer in early offense. He was called for a travel. He missed a wing three. Overly tight pressure D in the backcourt and he was called for his second foul. He sank a 30-foot three with the shotclock about to expire. He attacked and missed a wild drive (nearly follow tipped it in). He missed a pull-up jumper in early offense (a two-for-one jumper, but cutting it close). He pushed out a rebound with 4 seconds left and finger rolled in a layup at the quarter buzzer. He missed a top-of-the-key jumper off the two-man game. He had 7 points on 3-9 shooting and 3 assists. Second Half: He was blocked by Ibaka in transition. He attacked in transition and couldn’t finish. He hit Sacre in early offense for the short jumphook. He was called for a clear-out foul trying to fend off Ibaka on a finish. He sank a three on a kickout. He dunked off a steal at midcourt. He was blocked on a three at the buzzer.

Boozer -- -- Slow start from Boozer missing some elbow jumpers and chippies around the rim. Scott limited his minutes, which is what you want to see this time of the year so that the young guys can get some experience and develop their game. The Lakers were outrebounded 16-9 on the offensive glass in this one. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 4-11 shooting to go with 6 boards, 1 assist, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 19 minutes. He was a -15. The Action: He threw an outlet away. He missed an elbow jumper. He scored a layup off the high-low bounce pass from Kelly. He missed an elbow jumper. He attacked from the elbow and missed. He missed another elbow jumper. He scored a layup off the drive and dump off from Ellington. He blew past his man then choked the uncontested layup. He missed a runner across the lane. He had 4 points on 2-8 shooting. Second Half: He barely hit rim on an open wing jumper. He scored a layup on the break. He swished a wing jumper.

Ellington – -- He set a new career high in assists tonight with 6 (his previous high was 5). Some very good playmaking out of the offense. It seems like our two-guard fronts have gotten much better at playing with each other and working with their bigs on quick-strike two man actions. He had a highlight reel play on a double-team split and behind-the-back pass to Davis for a dunk in the first half, which was very un-Ellington-like…but sweet, for sure. If you like D’Angelo Russell, he’d fit very well in this role in this offense. Picture how Ellington playmaked in the first half of this one, but with much more consistency every night. Not a good three shooting night for Wayne, making just one in eight attempts. Some wide open looks, too. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 5-15 shooting (1-8 from three, 1-3 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 6 assists, 1 steal and 3 fouls in 35 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: He missed a wing three. He missed a tech FT. He attacked and scored a layup. He missed a step-back corner three. He scored a layup when Hill played PG on the break and bounced to him filling the lane. Highlight reel split of the double team, he drew a third defender and went behind his back to Davis rolling for a dunk. He worked the two-man game and hit Davis for another dunk. He found Wes for the sideline three next time down. He curled off the down screens, drew the D and dumped it to Boozer for the layup (very nice…early in the season he would have settled for the long jumper). He moved in off the three line and hit the pull-up jumper. He drew FTs, pulling up off the handoff at the wing. He missed a pull-up at the wing (poor clock management at the end of the half). He had 7 points on 3-6 shooting and 4 assists at the half. Second Half: He crossed over and hit a 20-footer. He sank a pull-up three working off the high screen. He pushed out the break and fed Boozer filling the lane for a layup. He hit Sacre rolling for the runner. He missed a wide open sideline three. He missed another from the other side. A bit of a selfish play bringing the ball up and forcing a three with a man on, and he was blocked (we gave up an And-1 layup the other lead, so the Lakers went from possibly cutting it to 3 to trailing by 9 on that sequence). He attacked in early offense and missed a layup. He missed a wing jumper, then missed a three on the same possession. He missed a wing three.

Kelly -- -- Kelly sank a couple of threes tonight and got to the line to help him get to double digits. If you are pro-tank, then you like Kelly at the SF. It’s been fairly consistently poor offensively. Many of the matchups pair him up against much speedier players. He gave up a dunk in transition D unable to stay with his man on a Laker missed layup tonight. Scott tried to take advantage of mismatches in the post offensively when he had it against smaller guys, but it’s really not effective. Late in the fourth he brought Kelly back in at PF. It didn’t make much of an impact, but the guards would appreciate having the floor spacing. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 3-8 shooting (2-5 from three, 3-5 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal and 2 fouls in 27 minutes. He was a -12. The Action: He was called for illegal D. He flashed to the ball and missed a flat FT jumper. He got it back and bounced to Boozer for the layup. He was bumped on iso and drew FTs chucking it up, he made one. He posted up a smaller man, drew an illegal D and hit that tech. He attacked when his man fell and missed a layup. Second Half: He hit a pull-up 17-footer working out of the horns set. He missed an open wing jumper, foot on the three line. Wide open in transition and he knocked down the three. He popped out from behind the screen, took a pass and made another three from the same spot. He missed a corner three. He missed a wing three. He was pushed in the back on the defensive glass for FTs, he made one.

Sacre -- -- Just 2 boards in 18 minutes. “I just think their bigs are more physical. It’s just that simple,” Scott said. When will Tarik get his minutes? When Sacre doen’t board, I wouldn’t reward him with more minutes as a starter. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-5 shooting to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 blocks and 2 fouls in 18 minutes. He was a -14. The Action: He sank a face-up midrange jumper. He stripped Kanter. He missed a jumphook. Second Half: He airballed a turnaround in the paint on iso. He sank the runner working off the two-man game. Excellent low position in early offense, Clarkson found him and he scored the easy jumphook.

Lin -- -- He led the team in scoring, assists and steals. Good second half, particularly the fourth where he did most of his damage. “We just didn’t get the stops we needed,” Lin said. He said in the previous two games, they did get those. This was his fourth time scoring 20+ this season. It seems like he’s starting to get things rolling now and is much more comfortable out there. “I’m being trusted with ball,” he said. “I’m being given those opportunities, given the minutes, the spacing and the style of play. So It’s kind of a lot of different things meshing together.” He said that because the ball is given to him every possession in the fourth quarter that it’s on him as quarterback on how they execute or don’t. A couple of airballs tonight before he really picked things up and got going. The Stats: He scored 20 points on 7-14 shooting (1-3 from three, 5-6 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 8 assists, 3 steals, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 32 minutes. He was a +6. The Action: He attacked the rim and missed a backhand layup (dunk the other way). He drew FTs on the perimeter and made both. He caught the D sleeping and scored a layup down the middle of the lane. Nice job finding Davis in early offense for a layup. He airballed a step-back wing jumper. He scooped up a loose rebound and scored the layup. He hit Davis rolling for the slam. He had 6 points on 2-4 shooting and 3 assists at the half. Second Half: He airballed a wing three up against the shotclock. He slipped and traveled on the sideline. Not close on a wide open wing three. He had a pass deflected right back to him and drew FTs trying to finish in the paint, he made both. He attacked from the wing and slipped in a layup between defenders. Quick attack from the wing and he scored a layup before hitting the floor. He knocked a ball loose on D. He sank an early offense pull-up wing jumper. He no-looked to Hill for the baseline jumper. Quick burst of speed down the middle of the lane and he drew FTs, he made one. He lost his man and missed a short bank trying to hit over the help. He attacked in early offense and missed in a crowd with no other Lakers around (not a good possession). He swished a wing three. He attacked off the high screen and scored a layup over the help D. He missed a short jumper. Looked like he slapped a ball loose, which Clarkson then swiped and took for the dunk.

Hill -- -- A double-double for Hill tonight, but it sure didn’t seem like the impact was there. When he’s doing that off of offensive boards and putbacks, it’s a different animal than when he’s the first option. The lack of impact might also have been apparent because of some of the early misses and various miscues. He lost the dribble trying to create on iso a couple times tonight. He was blocked badly by Ibaka on a dunk attempt. And Kanter went for 16 and 15. “We didn’t box out, we didn’t help each other out,” Hill said. He drained a three tonight. I’d actually like to see him take that a little more. He’s not efficient enough as a long two shooter, but if his range can extend a couple more feet out, that’s a better weapon. He should still crash the offensive glass and work on regaining possessions and second-chance opportunities. That’s where he makes his team better and where his double-doubles are much more valuable. But his pick and pop, high screen game would be a much more viable weapon if he could knock down threes off that. So I wouldn’t mind seem him take a couple of those vs a couple of 20-footers a game. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 5-10 shooting (1-1 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 12 boards, 2 assists, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls in 29 minutes. He was a +8. The Action: He missed a short jumper from the right side. He iso’d and lost the dribble. He faced up and sank the wing jumper. He missed a jumphook off a drive. He pushed out the break and hit Ellington for a layup. He missed a long jumper. Second Half: He drew FTs trying to power it up in the paint. He sank a top-of-the-key set shot. He lost the dribble trying to create. He sank a 20-footer straight away. He threw an outlet away despite having Lin right next to him to hand it to. He sank a baseline jumper off the Lin kickout. He attacked baseline and was fouled by Ibaka for FTs, he made both. He gave up an offensive board and putback, just getting out worked. He was rejected badly by Ibaka trying to dunk, that one was easy. He missed a short jumphook next time down. He grabbed a board, pulled it out and swished a three.

Davis -- -- The guards were doing a good job running the two-man action for dunks to Davis. He didn’t miss a shot as they were mostly dunks. All of his scoring took place in the first half. He jammed a finger in the third quarter, not sure that really affected him much. All but one of his boards were in the first half, as well. “They beat us up on the glass,” Ed said. Good job by him blocking shots on that end. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 5-5 shooting to go with 6 boards, 2 blocks, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 23 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: He was called for an illegal screen. He scored a layup when Lin found him open. He tipped in a missed Hill layup. He slammed off the two-man game, getting a behind-the-back feed from Ellington. He dunked off another two-man sequence with Ellington. He slammed off the two-man game pass from Lin who spotted him free on the roll. He had 10 points on 5-5 shooting and 5 boards. Second Half: He rejected Ibaka on iso in the post. He erased a guard drive with a nice help-D rejection at the rim.

Johnson -- -- Good job helping out on the glass. We could use more of that from him with regularity. “Second-chance points and the offensive rebounds tonight really hurt us,” Wes said. He sank a couple of threes and had a nice shotblock. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-8 shooting (2-4 form three) to go with 6 boards, 1 block, 1 turnover and no fouls in 21 minutes. He was a +5. The Action: He stayed on his man’s shoulder and rejected his drive badly. He sank a baseline pull-up. He missed a sideline three. Not close on a wing chuck. He was rejected on a soft finish off a great pass by Lin. He airballed a pubtack after grabbing Lin’s airball. He sank a sideline three off the swing pass from Ellington. He sank a three straight away. He missed a three in transition. He had 8 points on 3-8 shooting. Second Half: His bounce pass was picked off for a layup the other way.

Scott -- -- The Lakers trailed 14-9 when Lin came in for Ellington midway through the quarter… They were down 9 when the timeout came… He sat Sacre for Davis… Hill in for Boozer, Lakers down 10… Wes in for Kelly shortly later… The Lakers trailed 28-19 after the first quarter… He started the Hill, Davis, Johnson, Ellington, Lin unit to open the second quarter… They cut the lead to 3 behind some playmaking by Ellington and two-man action. He brought back in Sacre, Boozer and Clarkson. They tied it up shortly later. Then lost the lead… Kelly in for Wes to complete the starting unit with a couple minutes left. Lakers down 6… The Lakers trailed 56-48 at the half. The Thunder shot 6-17 from three, the Lakers 3-8… Neither team had a turnover in the second quarter. The Lakers had 4 turnovers, the Thunder just 3… Laker bigs getting killed on the offensive glass to start the third… He sat Ellington with 6:12 left for Lin, Lakers down 11… They cut the 13-point lead down to 8 and forced the timeout… He sat Sacre and Boozer for Hill and Davis… The Lakers trailed 84-72 heading into the fourth… Same unit to start the fourth as we had in the second quarter… Down 9, he brought in Clarkson and Kelly to go with Hill (Kelly at PF)… They trailed by 10 when the timeout came with over 3 minutes left… Lakers never able to string together stops in this one with any consistency… In the tank standings all the other teams lost their games, as well.

[summerly]

Thanks DB!

[Quartz888]

so many blown assists... Lin could have gotten 15 assists easy.

[Lorenzomax]

Thanks DB~!

No Kobe, No Boozer, No Nick Young...

then...

Linsane numbers happened...

He just can't play with any ball-dominant or high-usage player who can't play a lick of defense. Or he will just take a back seat and become a ROLE-player. Who did ask him to take the back seat though? It's the coaches. Lin was asked to get everybody involved by Byron Scott... that means the ball was taken out of his hands most of the time. Swaggy P chucked up a clank, Boozer went for a missed layup and Kobe tried to do it all. No BALL, No picks, no Linsanity. Just that simple.

[tyusedney1]

Hill's emoticon is too cool for his defense today

[OregonLakerGuy]

Thanks DB

[emaildoesntwork]

I only saw the highlights but it would seem that WE and ED had a great game.

[H0B0]

THX DB. GO LAKERS

[yinoma2001]

Tank you very much.
_________________
From 2-10 to the Western Conference Finals

[fafan]

Thank you, feel much better than the DIY of last game.
_________________
"Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience." --Sarah Cook.

[briedfox]

[Lorenzomax]

[Shaber]

[Captain America]

[briedfox]

[Hurrican]

[Captain America]

[LIN17]

[swoosh-it]

Thanks DB. Great game even for a tanker. Sorry, no tacos though.

[Annihilator]

[Lorenzomax]

[Richmond]

[jlinfan]

Thank you DB

[cdg]

Thanks DB. Your summary is a guaranteed bright spot every game.

I thought the game could was within reach but losing is not all bad,
cos there is really nothing to gain by winning except for professional pride
and the draft pick to lose, as everyone knows.

[Lakers#1Team]

Thanks DB!