It’s February 23, 2012 and the (20-13) Los Angeles Lakers are in Oklahoma City – the state capital of Oklahoma and its largest city – to do battle with the (26-7) Thunder. The Lakers got a huge road win in Dallas, arguably their best road win of the season. It was a solid team effort, but they had to hold on at the end and came close to giving the game away at the end by missing free throws.
It is imperative that the Lakers put on a much better performance tonight in the last game prior to the All-Star break against the Western conference leading Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder is arguably the most balanced and athletic team in the conference.
L.A. won last season’s series (2-1), after claiming the 2009-2010 series (3-1) and have actually taken the last six season’s series from the Thunder. The Lakers have gone 8-2 in their last 10 games overall in Oklahoma City. In the last meeting on April 10, 2011, the Lakers were up by one point in the fourth quarter with 2:59 remaining, but were outscored by the Thunder 15-0 down the stretch and lost 120-106 at the Staples Center.
The Thunder has won eight of their last 10 games and is riding an 11-game home win streak. It is a talented young team with solid depth. The Lakers need to continue to execute the game plan of pounding the ball inside to Andrew Bynum & Pau Gasol, playing solid defense, moving the basketball and moving bodies and knocking down open shots.
L.A.’s guards have to stay in front of Oklahoma guard Russell Westbrook and force him to be a jump shooter with a hand in his face. The Lakers have to do a solid job of defending the pick-and-roll play. They must literally build a wall in front of Russell Westbrook, control the tempo, get back in transition, control the boards and quickly rotate out to open shooters.
Despite starting two seven-footers, offensive rebounding for L.A. remains an issue. The Lakers need to treat every shot as a miss, box out their men and rebound. They have to slow down the combination of Westbrook and his teammates: forward Kevin Durant and guard James Harden. This group is averaging 69 points, 17.1 rebounds, 13 assists and 4.21 steals per game.
The Thunder’s big-three pose many challenges and will be difficult to stop but L.A. has to ensure that, with the primary focus on the big three, they do not inadvertently make someone else a star. The Lakers need to play with a high energy level, defend, play with a sense of urgency, make precise passes, limit their turnovers and receive a consistent contribution from their reserves.
Lakers: D. Fisher, K. Bryant, M. Peace, P. Gasol, A. Bynum
Thunder: R. Westbrook, T. Sefolosha, K. Durant, S. Ibaka, K. Perkins
Tip-off: 6:30 PM PST
Television –
- Los Angeles: TNT
- Oklahoma City: TNT
Radio –
- Los Angeles: 710 ESPN (John Ireland & Mychal Thompson)
- Oklahoma City: 640 AM & 98.1 FM (Matt Pinto)
Injuries –
Lakers:
- Steve Blake (Costochaondral fracture) Probable
Thunder:
- Nick Collison (Left Quad Contusion) Day-to-Day
- Eric Maynor (Torn Right ACL) Out
- Lazar Hayward (Orbital Floor Fracture) Out
- James Harden (Sprained Left Ankle) Day-to-Day