Thunder makes it interesting, but Kobe did what Kobe does

i kept thinking that the lakers without kobe are a well-coached average team. the thunder could beat that team. but with kobe, they're a contender. it's amazing the way one guy can take over a game.

Can Brooks please just get one technical foul? There was a stretch where Green and Durant got hammered on consecutive plays and Brooks didn't even ask for an explanation. Nothing would make me happier than to see him get fired up about a call.

And also, (I'm probably the only person that cares about this) but did anyone else LOVE the black sneaks with the white home unis? Because I sure did. It looked fantastic I thought.

And about Thabo - his length and size of his hands is unreal. He could back off Kobe and give him space, but still have a hand in his face. That's a big time advantage. Give him a year or two to really settle into defensive stopper and he could be a really, really great addition.

I like Thabo. A LOT. Dude's got some serious length, and excellent timing. I noticed in the second half, the Lakers started running Kobe off screens and pick and rolls instead of the one on one thing with Thabo, and of course it worked like a charm. At least three times, Kobe runs off the screen, and who is there to switch on him? Nenad Kristic and his whopping 2 inch vertical. Weaver didn't do too bad, but he bit hard twice in a row on a Kobe pump fake. It's okay Weave, half the league does too, and sometimes a cameraman.

RW lost his focus a few times tonight. The Lakeshow caught him gawking at Kobe, and he left Fisher wide open several times. You can tell when RW is worried about his dribble. He either picks it up and waits for someone to come to the ball, or he uses his light speed to charge to the bucket in a very out of control maneuver that ends in him crashing through pins like a bowling ball. The refs swallow their whistle, and they should. You can't reward a player for being so out of control. If he were in control, he'd get that call.

I felt bad for Jeff Green. Lamar is a tough match for him. It was two weeks ago, and it was last night too. He just met his match on the defensive end. Lamar makes him slightly alter his shot, just enough that it doesn't swish. You could see the frustration all over his face at the end of the game, when the whole "let the game come to you" patience was wearing out. Lamar has just enough length and athleticism to beat Jeff to the boards too.

I hate seeing Kristic play in games like this. His athleticism can hide when he's playing most teams, but in games like this, he just looks like the stiff he is.

I'm a lifetime Laker fan but I've been watching the Thunder a lot on off nights for the Lakers because they're a very fun team to watch. You guys are lucky to have such an exciting young team with such a high ceiling. All they're missing is experience. I've noticed (as have all of you) that they seem to stay close in a lot of games, but start pressing a lot near the end and end up almost stealing points from themselves. That tendency will be gone in a year or two.

I've been telling people since last year that once Kobe retires, KD is the only person that will stand between Lebron and 10 straight scoring titles, and maybe even rings. That kid is effortless, and I swear is developing the same killer instinct that Kobe has (their expressions with the game on the line are nearly identical...check it out).

The funny thing is I used to tease my cousin -- a lifelong Blazer fan -- about how the Blazer's better hope they're not making another mistake like the one they made when they drafted Bowie instead Jordan. I was kidding at first because I didn't realize how special Durant is going to be. Now, though, I don't joke about it because I think it's really starting to become a sore spot for Portland fans.

Anyways, great job on the blog. It's a fun read and one of the few non-Laker ones I hit consistently (even when not playing the Lakers lol).

@Paul
That's truth. I heard that story from someone else as well. The best citation I can find is on Durant's Wikipedia page it says it (at the bottom of NBA Career) and on a random blog on Sporting News.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Durant
http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/m-mac09/184705

Hey Royce i was just reading around on the net and found that KD apparently met Michael Jordan at the 2009 All Star Game. Jordan nicknamed him 'Flight 35'.
I was just wondering is there any truth to this and if you havent already, could you find some more information about the meeting and post it on the site.

When we first traded for Weaver from the Bobcats, I thought he'd be a perfect six man off the bench and one of those essential glue guys that any contending team needs to make a deep run. The X-factor has always been his jump shot but if it's hitting, and he continues to improve, he could work his way into a starting slot.

Thabo did the best job he could against Kobe because Kobe is going to get his points (help from the zebras or not, though he definitely gets a HUGE benefit of the doubt everytime he makes a loud noise of any kind after contact, no matter how slight). Thabo's jumpshot mechanics aren't bad, he has a nice little jumper but he raises the ball higher sometimes and kicks his feet more other times as well. I really think it's just going to come down to him getting out there in the off-season like Green did and simply practicing so much that every shot is the exact same pull, jump and follow-through without any variation.

Once again, turnovers really destroyed us. I think the Lakers had something like 17 points off of 20 some odd turnovers. Again, we're young...but eventually we need to limit that (though some credit to the Lakers and their defense).

Lastly, it's games like this, where the Thunder play above average defense against the best team in the NBA, that make losing to lesser teams unbearable. I know that every young team plays down or up to their competition, but if the Thunder play like they did last night and Green, Krstic and Westbrook's shots are even remotely falling, we blow out a team like the Kings or the Wizards.

Also, in Darnell's blog he mentioned that Brooks in his opening comments in the post game said "well, our defense improved..." Even though he allowed all those points.

Actually Brooks is right. We held them to an offensive efficiency of 112.6, and they average 114. I know it's a small improvement off of their season norm, but with our shaky defense, it is a step forward. All of those little things throughout the game, the box outs, the rebounds, the individual defensive strategies on the pick and roll, all the different screens and such, they all add up. It was refreshing to see this team play like this rather than like they played against GSW and PHO the last two. What we really needed was more offensive contribution from people other than Durant and Weaver as Royce noted.

I agree with you Royce. T-bone is a worker on defense. And tonight he hit a couple of midranges too. He got called for those 'superstar' fouls, but that's just the NBA these days. Ten years ago that was perfect defense in the NBA.

After I wrote that Weaver is in a slump,and after Tbone gets here, Weaver comes out and has his two best games as a pro. His shot was shaky at WSU, and I had some doubts about him offensively, but he doesn't need to be a big scorer, just ten key points here and there would be great along with stiff defense. The Weaver of the last two has been a very pleasant surprise.

My friend and I walked out of tonight's game making a few comments, and it looks like you saw many of the same things tonight.

We made some excellent passes early, but failed to make the open shots, which was the biggest factor in the first quarter deficit that was created. The Lakers made their open shots, and we didn't.

A small piece of me dies every time Earl Watson shoots a three-pointer.

After Durant had a great first half, the Lakers consistently double-teamed him in the second half, getting the ball out of his hands. While we're a better passing team than we were at the beginning of the year, we still can't quite take advantage of the double-team and find the open man very consistently.

Kyle Weaver gets the hustle award for the night. He came down with some big rebounds in the second half, and hit his open shots. While he can't quite handle Kobe on defense, he still had a nice game.

The team feels like it's a piece or two from getting over the next hump. Maybe it's a little more maturity in RW, or maybe it's Krstic really developing a more consistent offensive game, or perhaps Thabo developing a favorite shot (see: Bowen, Bruce - from the corner). And this is a big change from the beginning of the year - but I really feel like we're just a good summer of development away from having plenty of these close games fall our way.

one thing I noticed... how the Lakers play as a team. We are getting better individually and we are getting better as a team. But for sustained success we have got a long way to go as a team. I'm not worried about it though, these guys are young and will continue to grow together.

Perfect assessment Ben. You basically nailed every thought in my head.

I was at this game. One big thing I noticed is how the Lakers carry themselves as a team. They just have a look of confidence about them, they don't get rattled and when it was crunch time you could actually see them turn up the defensive pressure. Kobe was unstoppable but that bench is unbelievable. If the Lakers don't win the championship this year I would be shocked. They have too much, and Kobe. This was a great measuring stick for our team. I took away from it that in spurts we can be really really good. We just haven't developed to be consistently good yet. We need a few more pieces, particularly off the bench and we will be a nice team for years to come. As a basketball fan, I love watching the Lakers play whenever I can get the chance, they are really fun to watch. Hopefully our Thunder can get there one day