First things first: Today is the 15th anniversary of the Alfred P. Murrah bombing in Oklahoma City. 168 Oklahomans died that day. Take a moment, reflect on it, think about where you were when the bomb went off or say a little prayer.
A nice story from Casey Wilson of the Oklahoma Daily on the connection between the bombing and the Thunder: ”Fifteen years after 168 people lost their lives in the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, life in downtown Oklahoma City is thriving while living in the shadow of the deadliest domestic terrorist attack on American soil. Today, the Ford Center is filled with thousands of people united in cheering on the Oklahoma City Thunder. This team is, for Mayor Mick Cornett, a prime example that shows how the city and the state has moved forward after the bombing. For many years, Oklahomans allowed for the bombing to define them, Cornett said. But now the Thunder allows the city and the state to connect itself to something more positive, he said.
Darius from Forum Blue and Gold: “But, I should also add that Durant did the Lakers a big favor by continuing to rely on long jumpers in isolation situations. Based off his regular season stats, Durant shot only 40% from the field in isolation situations but took a bit over 25% of his shots in those exact scenarios. Coming into this series, I mentioned that this would be a major factor in whether or not Durant would be successful and today that held true. If KD is going to be content with settling for long jumpers with Ron playing him in close proximity, I’m unsure as to whether he’ll play substantially better than he did today.”
Bill Plaschke on Ron Artest’s defense on Durant: ”If somebody else did this, they’d be happy, but I’m not satisfied,” said Artest after what were surely his three most satisfying hours of the season. He may profess to not know where he is, or who he is, or what he’s doing, and after spending six months listening to his mind roam, you may be inclined to agree with him. But make no mistake: On this suffocating Sunday afternoon, Ron Artest was completely cognizant of Kevin Durant. Artest shoved him, squeezed him, shouldered him, turned the league’s leading scorer into just another confused tourist from Oklahoma City, Durant wandering aimlessly off the Staples Center court with 24 points on 24 shots after the Lakers’ 87-79 victory over the Thunder.”
Kelly Dwyer: ”And they were playing the Thunder, who defend, so that all fell apart as the game went along. Didn’t matter to me. For a little while, the Lakers seemed to see the light. Russell Westbrook saw the light, too. That LED tracer that lines the perimeter of the backboard, as he was getting to the rim whenever he wanted. Good thing, because Kevin Durant (if I can go the cliché route) looked a little nervous in his playoff debut. Hesitant, in spite of the 24 shots he put up. Hopefully that goes away by Game 2.”
Silver Screen and Roll: “The Thunder’s other main source of points, guard Russell Westbrook, had a fairly brilliant day. After a first quarter in which he deferred to Durant and tried to get other guys going, he started attacking the inside of the Laker D in the second. Derek Fisher did his best but obviously isn’t equipped to stay with Westbrook. Even with OK help rotations and with Kobe Bryant and Shannon Brown occasionally taking over defensive duties, Westbrook still went off for 23 points on 65% True Shooting and eight assists with only one turnover. During one stretch at the end of the second quarter and beginning of the third, he scored on five straight possessions. He’s going to have a huge series; the issue for OKC is whether he and Durant can get enough scoring help from the Thunder’s role players.”
Ian Thompson with five thoughts: “The explosive second-year point guard scored the Thunder’s final eight points of the second quarter to drive them within 47-39 at halftime. Westbrook won his matchup overall, and yet the last laugh went to 35-year-old Derek Fisher, whose guffawing three gave L.A. a 10-point lead with 90 seconds to go. Westbrook did much of his damage in transition, but the Lakers can live with those moments so long as their team defense keeps Durant muzzled. The question now: Can Westbrook exploit his matchup to create opportunities for Durant? Because the Thunder have no hope if the point guard is their most efficient threat.”
Mike Baldwin: ”But here’s a dose of reality: The Lakers didn’t exactly bring their A game either and still won. The Thunder should play better Tuesday night. But so should Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. Bryant, like Durant, didn’t shoot well. Maybe his banged up index finger and leg injury will affect him the entire series. Maybe not. And trying to contain the Lakers’ inside trio of Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom will be a daunting challenge the entire series. And for anyone dreaming of Oklahoma City winning the series, here’s another dose of reality. Phil Jackson coached teams that win Game 1 have gone 44-0. It’s one reason the man owns 10 NBA rings. When a Jackson coached team jumps out to a 1-0 series lead it’s been game, set and match.
Jordan Schultz of FanHouse says this series is still going to be a good one: ”Two huge elements stuck out most during Sunday’s Game 1 that hint towards this being a longer series than many people think. First, Russell Westbrook is a problem. His explosive drives in transition made Derek Fisher look every bit of 35. A 9-for-15 shooting performance is one thing, but the ease in which he got those points — blowing by everybody and hanging in the air to convert seemingly every opportunity around the basket — is another. We know Fisher isn’t the defender he once was, but Westbrook’s ability to beat him off the bounce is an issue for LA.”
Shoals: “But the Thunder forced the Lakers to think about basketball, instead of just waiting to win out on talent alone. Incomplete as the Lakers effort was, it at least saw them taking the series seriously. It says a lot about Scott Brooks’s young team that they pose a strategic challenge as much as one predicated on athleticism or raw talent. In a way, though, that might be the kind of challenge this Lakers team, and especially Kobe, is most comfortable with.”
I don’t really know what this is, but someone sent it to me. It says Greg Oden has KD as his MVP but starts it as, “As much as I hate to say it.” Odd.
For any Chinese speaking DT readers, here’s a great preview of the series.
Game 2 tomorrow night. I’m already anxious for it. And then playoff basketball in the Ford Center. I think Governor Brad Henry should call it a holiday and let everyone off work and out out of school for the day. Just my thinking.
Those 2 lineups played about 12 minutes and won by 11 points. The other lineups played 36 minutes and lost by 19.
... just one game. If you decide to emphasize these lineups you probably need to like the way the tape looks.
But the fact that the first lineup did really well with the 38 minutes it got in the regular season might help some. And the second one did really well in the 149 minutes it got previously. If you were going to play the stats or hunches or a combo, I'd especially give these 2 lineups a lot more time and see what happens.
The two lineups that happened to yield a good result in game 1 were
Westbrook- Durant- Green- Ibaka- Collison
Maynor- Harden- Durant- Ibaka- Collison
Both Ibaka-Collison, so maybe Ibaka on Gasol is worth a further look. Collison was on Gasol at C more than Bynum but overall he had good team +/- results.
It is small sample but who in the league had the best match-up results against Odom, Gasol and Bynum in the regular season?
Odom was beaten most by Dirk. Gasol by Amare. Bynum by Nazr Mohammed.
The message, if any? Maybe with Odom and Gasol you have to try to outscore them more than stop them. With Bynum, the right guy, long and strong enough can stop his offense.
Not sure this changes things is this series much.
What % of time was Green on Odom? Fairly small wasn't it? The least of these challenges and less than Kobe but one that Green can handle. He probably does need to be a scoring force. From outside or inside, whatever works.
They probably aren't going to stop Gasol or Bynum with who they have.
Though one strategy would be to put Krstic on Gasol regardless of whether Bynum is in the game. Krstic had a good game against him in March when Gasol was forced to play center.
What if you started Krstic PF / Collison C? Would that throw the Lakers off-stride? I might try it. Different might be worth a try. I only found 1 minute of regular season play where Brooks went Krstic-Collison against the Lakers in the regular season and he didn't at all in game 1. Collison is not a 7 center but given the choices is he the best defense on Bynum? Take a charge or two?
@chris66
I'd go with Russ, he had the most to prove this season, and has dealt with it amazingly. The dude deserves more love from the fans for all that he does.
@chris66
Ibaka. It's gonna be my first jersey ever next year, but I'm gonna wait to see if they reveal a nice alternate jersey before I bite.
@chris66
Ibaka
Harden .. if for no other reason than to counter all the hate he's received the last 2 days. Show him a little love for the player he will be and for all the talent he's shown all year long .... just not on Sunday.
The DT needs to hold an official poll. WHOSE JERSEY SHOULD CHRIS66 BUY NEXT? Russ, Harden or Ibaka. I expect a post with this poll ASAP. ;)
@Chas
Because in the playoffs, for whatever reason, it is supposed to be a much more physical brand of basketball and you can get away with more stuff. Personally, I think it is a load of crap. The rules don't change from game 82 to the first game of the playoffs, but the way they are officiated does.
Just another example of how the officiating in the NBA is really the last thing the keeps me from being a full-on NBA fan. All the superstar calls, whether KD gets them or not, and the obvious breaks the home teams get (see Jazz, Utah), and all the other subjective nonsense the NBA officials call. I know there is some subjectivity in other sports, but in the NBA it changes games. Some of it really makes me think what Donaghy (or however you spell it) said might have some teeth. Especially the part about making sure some people do or don't get the benefit of the doubt.
should have said... Kobe has had one clunker game like the last one each of the "last 2" playoff seasons. I didn't go back any further.
KingGondo, Kobe did have some bad games in April, so I hear your point.
He was average for him in March though. I'll admit I am not really on top of his injury situation. I don't tend to read about Kobe.
I thought Green responded in the proper way to that shoulder. If he had thrown a punch or made something of it then he'd be suspended like KG. Now, if Green wants to sneak an elbow to the throat while in the paint battling (I wish!) for a rebound then I would think that only proper. And, why didn't the refs see something like that?
@KingGondo
thabo only played 21 mins, most of the game other people were on him, gree/harden, with kobe not 100% thabo isnt needed as much.
Crow :
One more thing, looks like Kobe has had one clunker game like the last one each playoff season. But just one the whole playoffs that bad. I wouldn’t expect another that bad. But if it happens, that would be a story.
Kobe has been struggling for the last few games of the season. I would actually be more surprised if he bounces back than if he continues to play the same (especially with Thabo on him). He's playing hurt--I respect that, but it's clearly hurting his team.
Then again, I'd probably rather have a hurt Kobe playing minutes than a healthy Shannon Brown or Farmar.
One more thing, looks like Kobe has had one clunker game like the last one each playoff season. But just one the whole playoffs that bad. I wouldn't expect another that bad. But if it happens, that would be a story.
I guess Vegas has the line at 6 1/2 points, or about 2 pts better than an average regular season opponent actually performs against the Lakers at home. Strictly by the numbers you might expect it to be a little closer, maybe by another point or point and a half. But it is the playoffs and that Vegas adjustment is probably proper.
... beating a team as strong as the Thunder "by 8" is exceeding expectations even at home.
AC :@Crow
Are the thunder an average home opponent for the lakers?
Not really, so good point AC. I guess beating a team as strong as the Thunder (by their overall and road record) is exceeding expectations even at home.
You can trot out the playoff experience excuse but hopefully they put that away next game.
@The DON
That kind of attitude (and quote) is likely to draw more scrutiny in future games from the refs, as well as a tech from the league office. We want players who won't back down from a challenge, not players who retaliate when they themselves don't even know what happened.
From an ESPN article about that incident with Bynum and Green in game 1:
"The aggressive nature led to great plays like the Thabo Sefolosha first-quarter shot attempt that Bynum's arms swallowed whole, not giving the ball even a glimmer of a chance of going in. It led to the Thunder's settling for jump shots when Bynum was roaming the lane and ending up just 2-for-16 from 3-point range. But it also led to a shoulder shove to Jeff Green after Bynum thought he got pushed to the floor by him. Jackson might not have a problem with it, ("He wanted to make an issue out of it, that's alright, he's saying, 'I'm not going to stand around and get picked on,'" said Jackson) but the NBA league office might after hearing Bynum's quotes about the incident.
"That was a response because I kind of got taken out on that same play," Bynum said. "I didn't know if [Green] fell into me or he pushed me or what, but I wasn't going to let that happen without retaliating. That's just part of being aggressive, part of letting people know, part of having a presence out there."
^^^This is kinda attitude by Bynum this team lacks (outside of Westbrook & Ibaka)
@Crow
Are the thunder an average home opponent for the lakers?
@justin
Why must you get my hopes up about Bosh. Having him next to KD would be incredible, and now I have to go play 2k10 to make it happen.
I think that while Bynum certainly had a sizable impact on the game, the greatest was simply that it allowed Gasol to be guarded by Jeff Green or Ibaka. Green is simply too small to stop Gasol in any way, and Ibaka has a bad habit of roaming off his man (something you can never do while guarding Gasol). But that's also something we just can't really do anything about right now. We have a small, below average frontcourt. The only things we can really work on are better ball movement (and player movement without the ball), player tendencies (take your man off the dribble, Green! Shoot a ball, Thabo!), and getting rid of jitters.
On the road both teams have won by about 1.5 pts on average and they had the same road record. The better road team performance will likely influence the series outcome.
The average Thunder home win was by 5.5 pts.
The average Laker home win in the regular season was by 8.5 pts.
So, based on the final score at least, that was just a home team meeting expectations in game 1.
Lakers hit all those threes when Bynum went to the bench the first time.
Lakers did well when Bynum went to the bench at the end of 1st quarter but they lost the time he was on the bench late in the 2nd. 3rd and 4th by 4-6 pts each time. Maybe just a one-off occurrence or maybe not? Will look further. In the 3 regular season games the Lakers more often lost the non-Bynum minutes.
@justin
the plus side is that thabo doesnt cost much, so even when he moves into a backup role he isnt costing us much.
With the correction I guess the starters and rest of lineups were almost equally responsible for a modest loss margin.
A home team winning by 8 is pretty typical really.
Correction. I missed a 4 minute block. I guess the starters were -4 in about 19 minutes. Will wait on game 2.
@Crow
That's Jeff Green at PF for you.. of all the times not to play Green at PF this is probably the time to make the adjustment.
Man I know I've said I'm against it but imagining going up against the Lakers right now with Chris Bosh in our front court with Durant...
Yesterday the big 3 was held under 60 pts and nobody else really stepped up.
And the starting lineup was -7 in about 15 minutes of play. The rest of the time they played the Lakers almost even.
kev :Ibaka almost never plays center for us, so that should tell you what Brooks thinks of him in defending the big guys . . .
Plus Ibaka himself has stated that he is a PF, will not be gaining weight to play center, etc.
should be
... clearly "ready for a big role" in game 1
If they given Harden more shots or let him take more shots maybe Durant wouldn't have won the scoring title (though nobody says that was a priority- I think it was for him and the team) and maybe Westbrook or Green would have had to settle for notably less than 15 pts a game- again not talked about, but I think important to them and maybe the team and maybe too much. So Harden averages 7.5 shots per game and isn't exactly clearly in game 1.
I've really soured on Thabo over the course of the season. When the year started I loved him, by the All Star break it was 'this guy is pretty good', and now it's basically I can't wait for Harden to be able to take over.
It's depressing how little we get from the highest scoring position in the NBA.
Harden was gotten 10+ shots in a game less than 20% of the time. Curry has gotten that in 80% of games. Maybe you bring Harden along slowly but maybe they should have ramped it up more late in the season. He only got 10+ shots 4 times after the all-star break. Developing Harden into a 10+ shot a game shooter would seem to me to be a proper item for the development list. Doesn't appear they made it a priority this season.
Ibaka almost never plays center for us, so that should tell you what Brooks thinks of him in defending the big guys . . .
Why is anyone clamoring for Ibaka to start instead of Collison. Watching the game, it seemed painfully obvious that Krstic and Collison were by far our best bigs. Ibaka isn't any bigger than Collison, and his athleticism is easily tempered by Collison's more refined game. I think, if we want to really push the Lakers, we need to match Krstic with Bynum and Collison with Gasol. Further, Harden needs to pull his balls out of his purse and play like a man. He doesn't need to dominate, but he can't let Kobe back him down every play or play hesitant on offense.
Thabo is defending on the strength of Kobe's finger, not because he's really shutting him down, and his offense is completely worthless. We NEED Harden to take the majority of the minutes and actually hit a shot, else we have no chance going forward.
@John
Yup and with Nellie ball you get a lot of chances to try things and make mistakes. Can lead to bad habits but also it give s the players a lot of experience... not only did Curry play a lot but he had the ball a lot and tried a lot of things (same for Tyreek with the Kings). That gives these guys almost 2 years of experience compared to other prospects who play 15 minutes a game and get pulled as soon as they make mistakes.
All that being said I think it is great that the coaches found as much playing time for the 3 rookies this year... I don't see a lot of other coaches feeling very comfortable with that ... especially as our other rotation players have little experience.
@justin
No certainly not on a consistent basis. Chances are he would be more of a PG with OKC except when they want to play small ball which a lot of teams do more and more (have seen Maynor and RW playing at the same time). Team defense is very important when deploying that type of lineup.
Curry might end up being the best thing since sliced bread or a total flop... as all the rookies. Will be interesting to see how they all turn out.
I think Harden is a great fit for the Thunder and I think he will have a better game tomorrow. With the limitations that you often point to with our starting SG it would be great to see Harden play like he did his first game back from injury.
harden is going to improve, how many rookies don't improve? Plus I would expect him and westbrook to work out together over the summer as they live in the same city. It would be really nice if the team would hire a shooting coach for them over the summer, maybe improve their fg% by a few next year, no reason both of them cant shoot mid 40s.
Don't forget that Curry has been playing Nellie ball in GS all year. His stats need to be interpreted with that in mind.
@MarcUpNorth
There are plenty of other examples.. do you think Curry has the size to defend SG's in this league?
@justin
I don't agree with taking one example of someone failing to mean illustrate that their evaluation is done. It is easy to point out how everyone in the NBA fails at some point or other... and if Harden isn't a finished product why not give others the same benefit of the doubt.
No way was Harden a flop. Geez, one bad game and you guys are quick to condemn him.
FEAR THE BEARD!
@clarkem
clarkem :
You guys are crazy calling for curry over harden now. ... Let him not be a rookie before you say he was the absolute wrong pick.
I totally agree... just normal to discuss what Curry could have brought and how well he fits.
I would also extend your comment regarding the first game of the playoffs... rel fans shouldn't be so fast to dump on KD and other players because of how things turned out after one game. Give them a little time...
I remember when RW made his first (and only) turn over on drive in the first half and people were all over him for being turn-over prone and making dumb plays... his aggressiveness turned out to be the highlight of the game for me as he quickly took-over after that!
The Harden-Curry debate doesn't make a lot of sense to me. The team needed a true SG, and Harden remains the best true SG in the class. He's gotten a lot better defensively and hits the three well. The wealth of early bloomers from this draft has made it easy to lose perspective, but Harden is on track for a good career. For this season, Curry would have probably been a better 6th man, but long-term Harden is the best fit.
James has had a hesitancy about him all season. Maybe being a part of such a good season made him nervous to try too much. When the game begins to click for him, all that athletic and scoring ability will speak for itself. Hopefully.
Jennings is helped by his experience overseas IMO... this isn't his first 'pro season'.
Steph Curry got torched by Shaun Livingston. I think that's "nuff said" about him and his ability to defend the SG position for us.
@justin
I guess he probably did flop. But I think my point does stand though, the thunder need to get more aggressive and match the lakers push for push
@justin
justin :
James Harden’s a good player and has better tools to play SG than Stephen Curry, who would get murdered worse than Harden in this series.
I just think it’s in the team’s best interest to acquire a veteran for the rotation who also fills a need (PF or C).
Not sure you can make that conclusion... they have different skill sets and physical capabilities (Curry is small for a SG but he would create a hell of lot of problems with mismatches and would be ideal to face small line-ups). The pair of RW and SC would be very tough to guard, especially since SC is proving to be a very competent PG, thing which wasn't guaranteed at draft time. With OKC he would have been the back-up point guard too. But that is neither here nor there... Harden is here and he brings a lot to the table.
For those who say that all rookies would poop their pants against the Lakers... just look at what Jennings did in his first play-off game. He didn't play scared at all.