SportsNation Blog Archives
Oklahoma City Thunder
The Lakers are in dire straits against the Thunder, as they've fallen into an 0-2 hole after a 77-75 loss on Wednesday night. Los Angeles actually had a pretty good chance to win late -- if Steve Blake's open 3-pointer had been an inch or two shorter, we might be talking about how the Lakers' savvy veterans managed to bring some dignity to a series that looked like it was devolving into farce. Instead, the Thunder are in command, and things are getting desperate for the Lakers.
Did the Lakers lose it?
The Thunder were down by seven with two minutes remaining in Game 2, but the Lakers were unable to stop their comeback.
Wrong decision?
Kobe Bryant is clearly the Lakers' best player, but did you take issue with Metta World Peace deciding to give the last shot to the open man?
Game 3 winners?
If there's any place in which the Lakers can turn this series around, it's their home court, the Staples Center -- they're 26-7 at home this season.
The Lakers are an aging team, and aging teams don't deal very well with long playoff series. That was evident from the first few plays of a 119-90 loss to the Thunder in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal series. Los Angeles looked listless and exhausted and never really seemed to be into the game. It's pretty clear that the Lakers need to change something fast if they're going to make a series out of it -- but what that change should be is anybody's guess.
Series winners?
The Thunder were already favored in this matchup, and a Game 1 blowout has done nothing to significantly change that perception.
Exhaustion a factor?
It's difficult to be taken to the brink in a first-round series without being affected by it in the remainder of the playoffs.
Kobe's role?
Kobe Bryant had a relatively low-scoring game by his standards, which seemed to work for the Lakers early in the playoffs but definitely did not on Monday night.
Kobe or Duncan?
Bryant and Tim Duncan are likely the two most significant veterans left in the playoffs, both taking on younger teams intent on dethroning the former champions.
Kobe Bryant needs 38 points Thursday night to beat out Kevin Durant for the scoring title, and he'll be doing it with the Lakers' backups starting the game. Will this end up helping him?
- E_cox310: "Kobe is going to put on a show, especially since he'll be playing with bench players. he'll have to put on a show if they want to win"
- thegreatma3: "i guess in this scenario it would be ok for kobe to chuck up 60 shots. he'll make at least 13...and there you go...the scoring champ!"
- buffalo_soldier81: "Would it be classy if the kings put all 5 players on Kobe and let the rest of the Lakers score at will? What do they have to lose? "
- cwear11: "I think its pretty obvious that they're gonna try to get Kobe the scoring title. I think they said he needs 38 to do so, and if he's starting with the bench, you know that he'll come out taking 50% of the Lakers shots."
- swimbikeron: "If he can only shoot 43% with 2 dominant bigs on the floor, how much worse will it be with a bunch of scrubs?"
- thejennings3: "Kobe will shoot a minimum of 40 shots tonight, but considering how badly he shoots on most nights he still won't win the scoring title "
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Derek Fisher has been the president of the NBA players' union since 2006, but rifts are starting to appear with the union's executive committee. The committee sent out a memo saying that Fisher had refused to cooperate with executive director Billy Hunter. Is Fisher an effective leader and player representative?
- Stuffs23: "I don't know much about Hunter, but Fisher has always been an upstanding player/citizen. Hard to see him being in the wrong here."
- FloridaSoonerFan: "Odd timing that Hunter tries to destroy Fisher as soon as Fisher pushes for an audit. Anyone who is siding with Hunter here is delusional. Fisher is doing the right thing here, and he should be supported."
- darkyam: "Agree on the audit part, not sure I agree about supporting Fish. If he hasn't been going to meetings or working with Hunter for months, that's not doing his job. If you have a disagreement with a coworker, that doesn't give you the right to not show up for work."
- AndrewKarkenny: "Fisher is in the wrong here. Players don't even want him to be president. He should resign."
- akiometa: "No doubt Fisher seems like the good person in all of this. I'm trying to seeing it from Hunter's POV, but he appears to just be wasting the players' money and is angry that anyone would try to mess with his business as usual. I do think it's funny that he hired a PR firm."
- Imrighturwrongdealwithit: "Both are bad for business at this point. Both should step down for the better of the Union. "
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Lost among the chaos that resulted from Metta World Peace's violent elbow of James Harden was the fact Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant are neck-and-neck for the scoring title -- they're within four hundredths of a point of one another with only three games left between the two of them. To put it lightly, this is pretty important to (at the very least) Kobe, and we can't imagine that he'll go at anything less than 100 percent in his last game against the Kings. That being said, Durant may be more concerned about Harden's availability, as he's day-to-day with a concussion from World Peace's strike.
Who ends up on top?
The difference between Bryant and Durant's scoring averages this season is so slim that it could come down to a thousandth of a point.
Last shot?
Bryant has been the go-to gunner at the end of games for a number of years, but the younger Durant could take that crown from him this year.
Championship threats?
The Lakers beat the Thunder in their latest matchup, but it's anyone's guess as to how a theoretical playoff series would play out.
On Monday, "First Take" debated which team will end up winning the Western Conference. Right now, it looks like a three-team race between the young and exciting Thunder, the veteran Spurs, and the Kobe Bryant-led Lakers, but that's not to rule out a surprise team like the Clippers making a run. What's your take?
Lakers forward Metta World Peace was ejected from Sunday's game after landing an elbow to the head of Thunder guard James Harden during a post-dunk celebration. Is receiving a flagrant foul 2 and being sent to the locker room early the appropriate punishment, or is a suspension warranted?
- AndrewOKC: "Ron artest should be suspended for the entire playoffs there is no place for that kinda stuff"
- turbobas: "He should be kicked out of the league for good. The second brawl he almost started"
- vangundyfan12: "Artest was just trying to fist pump. Calm down people. They just happen to do it sideways in LA."
- HuPerfection: "I'M A THUNDER FAN, BUT ARTEST DID NOT INTENTIONALLY HIT HARDEN. HARDEN FLOPPED. LET'S GET REAL."
- btrain1991: "Why was Harden getting all up on World Peace when jumping around? Not saying what he did is ok, but it just makes you wonder."
- EvolutionaryMokeski: "Been watching the Lakers my whole life, and that's the most embarassing moment since Van Exel pushed the ref over the scorer's table. What a cowardly move."
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The Heat and Thunder are set to square off in Miami on Wednesday, and it's tough to imagine a bigger marquee matchup in the NBA this season. Kevin Durant and LeBron James are 1 and 1-A in the MVP consideration (we're not saying which is which -- we'll leave that up to you), and the Heat and Thunder have been seen as favorites to meet up for the title since at least midseason. The Bulls could put a halt to those plans, but they're not playing the Thunder Wednesday, are they?
Championship preview?
It'll be awful tough to stop LeBron James or Kevin Durant if either really turns it on in the playoffs.
MVP race?
James' MVP qualifications diminished slightly when the Heat hit a rough patch recently, and Durant has been making his case much stronger in the interim.
Future champs?
Neither James nor Durant has won a championship yet, and it's a sure thing that they'll need to acquire a couple rings before being put in the greatest of all time discussion.
Derek Fisher didn't take all that long to find a new home, as the Thunder had him in uniform on Wednesday night. Is he a good fit in Oklahoma City?
- goodfella2903: "I applaud him for not settling for the Rockets when he could be on the Thunder and possibly have a shot at another chip before he retires."
- giannou: "I just looked at Fisher's stats, I was quite surprised that throughout his carreer, his stats are at best very ordinary.... what's so special about this guy? Just the leadership?"
- KNOP89Lane: "I don't think he is gunna be a good fit there. They have too many guards."
- GetEmJov: "D-fisher at his age as a starting NBA PG averaging 30-35 minutes a night is not as effective as he can be in spot minutes as a backup PG playing 15-20 minutes, that's why I think he will be the perfect fit for OKC."
- zachrlee: "OKC wasted all their mid-level exception on a old, short and slow dud."
- joevonr: "I could actually see Fish disrupting OKC's chemistry. They're a very young, tight-knit group, and he may prance into the locker room acting like a father figure, trying to direct traffic."
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What if Oden gets healthy?
You have to feel for Greg Oden -- the guy just can't stay healthy. He hasn't played since 2009, and his latest surgery has turned into a third microfracture procedure that seems like it'll just delay his career further.
Turn back the clock?
The decision to take Greg Oden over Kevin Durant has turned into a big regreat for the Trail Blazers, given Oden's extensive injury history. He was a highly touted pick, however, and if he had never gotten injured, do you see him potentially having been better than Durant over the past five years?
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