|
Oklahoma City Thunder
vs
Los Angeles Lakers
Preview
The Lakers views
http://www.with-malice.com/
http://www.forumblueandgold.com/
http://www.silverscreenandroll.com/
The History
The Lakers and Thunder played a heck of a game back in early Nov. An overtime thriller that OKC had a couple of chances to win but just couldn't pull out. Going into the fourth quarter the Thunder had a lead but just couldn't finish the game. Since then the Thunder has beaten San Antonio, Miami, Orlando, and Washington each time protecting a lead and learning how to finish the game and get the win. The Lakers were missing a very key piece in the first matchup, one Pau Gasol. It's going to take a quality defensive effort down low to keep this one from getting out of hand..
The Matchups
Derek Fisher v Russell Westbrook
Westbrook is coming off another good game 6-12 from the field and 11-12 from charity with 7 assists and 2 steals. against the Lakers he went 5-12 had 7 assists but also had 6 turnovers and only go to the line 3 times. Meanwhile Fisher went 4-6 had 2 assists to 4 turnovers. Westbrook is without a doubt a much bigger part of the Thunder offense than Fisher, so Fisher limiting Westbrook in the first game was a big advantage to the Lakers. Westbrook will need to take better care of the ball for the Thunder to take this one on the road.
Edge
Kobe Bryant v Thabo Sefolosha
This is really where it all started. This is where Sefolosha started forcing people to talk about his defense. Kobe went 9-22 and got to the line 14 times but Thabo forced key turnovers and really gave the Thunder a chance to win the game late. Sefolosha also had a breakout offensive game going 5-9 for 12 points. Last game against Washington Sefolosha was very effective driving into the lane and taking short jump shots. Tonight if Sefolosha can keep up the offensive onslaught and prove to be another offensive weapon it can only help to keep the Lakers off balance.
Edge
Ron Artest v Kevin Durant
Artest had a great defensive stop against KD last time they played, the last shot of the game the Thunder get the ball to KD and Artest is able to harrass him into a very long three as the shot clock wound down. KD went 10-24 including 0-8 from three in that game. KD has struggled from three all season so far, he is shooting .216 on the season from three. Without those 8 threes KD shots a great 10-16 so if he can improve his shot selection and take fewer threes or find his stroke from three again he has the potential to put up some real points tonight.
Edge
Pau Gasol v Jeff Green
Pau Gasol came back for the Lakers with a vengence against the Bulls, he went 9-15 for 24 points and 13 rebounds in 35 minutes. This is a tough matchup for Green against the bigger Gasol. Against Washington Green broke out of his slump and looked healthy for the first time in a couple of games. Green was a factor on the offensive glass he got 5 offensive rebounds and added 9 defensive for a total of 14. The Thunder will need Green to be active again tonight to keep the Lakers from dominating on the boards. Without Gasol the Lakers were outrebounded 37-36 by the Thunder, I expect that will change with the addition of Gasol but if Green can put together another good rebounding night he might be able to keep it close.
Edge
Andrew Bynum v Nenad Krstic
Bynum is averaging 20 and 10 while Krstic is around 9 and 5. Against the Lakers Krstic went 3-8 for 6 points and only had 1 rebound in 18 minutes. Etan Thomas got 36 of the minutes down low and wound up with 9 and 11. Bynum meanwhile played a season high 49 minutes in the paint and finished with 22 and 10. So between Krstic and Thomas the Thunder went 15 and 12 to the Lakers 22 and 10 not bad. Krstic has the potential to go off on any given night and if his shot is falling it makes things alot easier on the Thunder.
Edge
Bench v Bench
Lamar Odom, Jordon Farmar, and Shannon Brown are the only bench players that get significant minutes on a regular basis. Odom has been moved back to the bench with the return of Gasol, and provides much needed rebounding and scoring punch to a lackluster second unit. Odom it seems is always good for 12 and 8 either off the bench or starting, against OKC he had 13 and 8. Farmar only played 8 minutes in an overtime game in OKC last time. Of late he has been good for about 15-20 minutes and has been doing a better job of protecting the ball. Shannon Brown also is good for about 15-20 minutes off the bench and has had a couple of good games, his only bad game was against the Nuggets when he went 1-8 for 2 points.
Right now the Thunder are running 9 deep with Ollie, Harden, Collison, and Thomas getting most of the minutes off the bench. Occasionally Ibaka gets into games usually when Collison or Thomas is struggling. The second team is still struggling moving without the ball and getting good shots. Ollie has one turnover in the last 12 games, granted he doesn't really handle the ball much but when he does he takes good care of it. Etan has struggled at time this season but against LA he had a season high 9 points 11 rebounds and 35 minutes against Bynum. Collison has been good for 15-20 minutes a game and has shown off a nice midrange jumper to provide some efficent scoring when the Thunder needed it, he is shooting a team high .615 and has only two games where he missed more than 1 shot. After scoring single digit points the previous 11 games James Harden has exploded the last two going for 24 and 25 each. Harden also continues to make plays in other parts of the game he takes care of the ball and makes good passes, He has yet to turn the ball over more than twice in a game.
Edge
The Prediction
Coming into the game against the Lakers to start the season Durant was really struggling, he had just gone 3-20 against Portland and going against Artest was going to be trying. KD had a couple of chances to win the game but couldn't seem to get a shot to go down or had Artest all over him. Since then KD has hit some good game winning shots and started to play better but still is missing his stroke from three. It would be sweet to go to the Lakers house and get the win but it will be tough. The Thunder have shown on any given night they can play with anyone, but with the addition of Gasol and at home the Lakers should win this game.
|
Bloguin is the revolutionary blog network specifically focused on helping bloggers get the most out of their websites. We're currently working on building a large network of online communities and hope to expand our blogging coverage to include a wide range of topics. 
The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.
The Bloguin Network is always looking to expand. Here are some of our high-priority areas that we're specifically looking to grow. If you're a blogger and interested in joining our network, please fill out our application form.
The Bloguin Login gives you full access to everything our network has to offer. Your name and password will work for each and every one of our sites. Signing up is simple, and will allow you to post in all our forums, create member blogs, and access other cool features! What are you waiting for? Create an Account! 