Game Rewind: Control the Tempo – Lakers 111, Thunder 108

The Lakers may have won this one, but it wasn’t always pretty.  Despite digging themselves an early hole, the Lakers came roaring back into the game once they finally figured out how to control the tempo, an all too common problem for them of late.

The Lakers might fall and stumble, but you can’t keep them down for long.

In the NBA, the best team is supposed to dictate the pace of the game.  But when the Lakers are involved, it seems that old adage goes right out the window with tonight being a perfect example.  The Oklahoma City Thunder are an up and coming team in the NBA, but on an overall talent level, they don’t hold a candle to the Lakers.  By all rights, the Lakers should have ground this game to a halt, taking advantage of their massive size advantage (that’s what she said) up front, but for some reason, it was the undersized, under-talented OKC squad breaking the game wide open in the first half.

Seeing how the Lakers actually play at one of the faster paces in the league (seventh fastest in the league, actually), you’d think this wouldn’t be a problem for them.  They have the firepower to do real damage in the open court themselves, where it all goes wrong is when they face teams that outclass them athletically, like OKC, and put pressure on their shaky transition defense.  If LA is going to insist on letting young, athletic clubs try and turn games into a track meet, they are going to have a lot more nail-biters in their future.  The Lakers are either going to have to find a way to add some more athletic defenders to their roster (not going to happen) or be a lot quicker about recognizing when they need to wrest control of the tempo from their opposition and make these youthful, undisciplined teams prove they can beat them in the half court.

This may seem like I’m harping on a minor detail right now, but remember this game a few months from now if the Lakers find themselves struggling in the playoffs against a team like Denver or Orlando who can push the ball in transition and actually defend the Lakers own offensive attack.

• How huge was it that Kevin Durant fouled out of this game?  If it was Durant shooting that potential game-tying three instead of Russell Westbrook, you have to believe this game would have gone to overtime.
• Pau just keeps adding new tricks doesn’t he?  Apparently tired of racking up 20+ rebound games, Gasol decided to go shot blocking crazy tonight, swatting a season-high six shots.
• Seriously, another 40-point game for nine-fingered Kobe.  If anyone still wants to debate who is better between Kobe and LeBron, they really need to factor in the degree of difficulty because Kobe clearly has LeBron aced in that category.

Lake Show Outtakes:

• That replay of Kobe twisting his knee looked pretty bad.  Everyone in LA was about to have a very unhappy Christmas.  Disaster averted though.  Phew!  Still, let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves until Kobe’s knee has a chance to get all sore and swollen tomorrow before we really know how hurt he might still actually be.
• I called it before the game that Russ Westbrook would be the player to watch.  Sure enough, he went off for 10 assists in the first half as he almost single-handedly shredded the Laker defense into ribbons leading the OKC transition attack.
• As bad as the Laker defense was in the first half, they really should have been much closer, if not winning, at the half had they not blown nine layups in the first two quarters.  And most of those weren’t even difficult shots either.  Even the best players in the world blow the bunny sometimes, I guess.

Tags: Game Rewind, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, Oklahoma City Thunder, Pau Gasol, Russell Westbrook