Tough game to swallow for the Lakers. They had this. But that's how you beat OKC. For them to turn it over (and they are prone to do so), and force them into jumpers. They turned over 13 times, which is still great for OKC. But again, Artest locked down on Durant (only 15 shots) so he still needs to work on getting his shot anytime. WB is still on and off with that J. So that's the recipe to beat this team. Too bad the Lakers' best player took a whopping 25 shots, and choked the game away.
Eh, not sure if it was just Artest locking down Durant, or if it was just Durant being passive. Locking Durant down would be something like Durant going 9-25, like Kobe's line. Westbrook, however, just kept shooting and shooting. Even when the jumper wasn't falling, there was no dribble penetration, but instead, more shots. The Lakers had this game. But now that OKC has experienced an almost-loss against the Lakers, I'm sure OKC will work hard to try and win games 3 and 4.
Locking down on guys can also be denying them touches/shots. It's like a shut-down corner like Revis or Bailey. QBs don't even throw at them, so you minimize their impact on the game. 15 shots on KD is HUGE. I didn't watch the game, but from hearing sports radio on the way back, it seems like Artest did a great job on KD. Even if the games are tight, Lakers won't win more than a game in this series. Kobe is not the same Kobe anymore. Dude needs to chuck 25 shots to get 30+ points, and that's if he's "decently" hot. Bynum/Pau needs 20+ shots. I don't care if it's forced or whatever. Taht's better than Kobe jacking up fadeaway shots that aren't even hitting rim at times.
Still not sure why anyone would draw up that final play if the goal was to get Kobe open. That's not on Artest - Magic, Stockton, Nash, nobody was tossing Kobe a ball that would get to him on that play. If Sessions is seriously thinking of opting out to try for a multiyear deal....someone needs to sit him down and talk sense into him. Instead of $4.5M next year, he may end up with 2 years at a total of $4.5M, with the second year a team option. Beyond this series, bad times ahead for these Lakers. Kobe's finally like Jordan - Washington Wizards Jordan. And he's due $28M next year. Lakers probably staring down over $80M payroll next season. Yikes.
Sessions is a lost puppy. A couple of times in the 2nd half last night when Sessions had the ball far away from the basket, it seemed like Westbrook walked up to him, said "Boo!" and Sessions panicked and nearly lost the ball. The guy is in shambles. 2-10, 4 points total in the first 2 games. Hope he opts out and signs a multi-year deal with the Lakers.
Sessions is the poster boy along with Lin to an extent this year of NBA scouting. It's one thing to have a hot stretch but generally the NBA will scout you and find the best way to neutralize you.
Honestly, I've never seen a single player choke this bad to blow a playoff game. 0/5 and two turnovers the last 7 possessions while up 7 with 2 minutes left and allowing a 8-0 to lose by 2? Unheard of.
Yes, Kobe definitely did a favor to LeBron. Hopefully LeBron sent a thank you note first thing this morning.
But Lebron's last two minutes was blown way out of proportion compared to Kobe's? It's all how the media perceives things, but if we look deeper we can find the true facts.
To me, he looks like a guy who has never been in the playoffs which is what's happening. I think when westbrook locks into you, he can shut just about anyone down at the point. I've seen westbrook ballhawk cp3 and make him look like sessions in a game before. Sisnce his shot wasn't falling,westbrook turned his defense up.
Of course, it is, if you were to go by some analysis observations or writer's pieces in the media, you would get the sense that Lebron has never scored any points in the 4th quarter, much less the last 2 minutes. The Heat were toast in game 2, almost regardless of what D-Wade/LeBron. The Pacers played good enough to win, I really hate how people aren't giving them credit or other teams, when the Heat lose. Everything is thrown on how well Lebron/D-Wade did. Same with the Lakers, it's like other teams are incapable of winning In reality, I think simply just scoring in the last two minutes is a little overblown itself. For reasons, I said earlier, you still have to play defense, (if you are point guard or playmaker) you still have an offense to run, avoid turnovers, and one that alot of people tend to ignore, THE OTHER PLAYERS on the team. From some personalities in the media, you get the sense in football/basketball that it's one man-show. I have seriously question, whether they understand the word "team" vs. "individual superstar" (or "individual player, who is not a top level talent"). It's exploited when people use it to build up a player or tear down a player. Tim Tebow is a good example, some of his cheerleaders, thinks he will be a successful to great NFL QB. Yet, compare him to last year's rookies and the rookies coming out of college right now, he might not even be the 6th best QB/passer out of this group of QBs: Andy Dalton, Cam Newton, Jake Locker, Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, Ryan Tannehill, Russell Wilson, and Brandon Weeden. I'll even throw in players who haven't even gotten on the field yet, like Ryan Mallet and Colin Kaepatrick. The thing with Tebow, he's been in the league two or three years longer than those QBs, yet I do not think he can out throw them, throw for accuracy as well, read defenses in the same way, and etc. I just cannot see him being a great QB, maybe adequate, sort of like Vince Young. People have tried to compare him to Michael Vick, even he had better accuracy (arguably played with an equally as good supporting cast) and has much better arm. Skip Bayless is a great example of this, he says Tebow wins games, but how. Yet tears down Lebron James, A-Rod, and sometimes Kobe. Other times, any QB compared to Tim Tebow. It's also funny how he picks Drew Brees or Aaron Rodgers a part. Earlier in the year, he pointed out how Brees lost a few games in a given season, or how Aaron Rodgers does not win games late or has very many 4th quarter comebacks (kind of hard to do that when your team does not trail, very much). Which is why I think this nit-picking should be put into perspective, because it is only showing that a particular critic, poster, or person simply dislikes a certain superstar, especially when they point out most of their flaws without regards to their advantages or successes.
I don't know if Sessions is really himself to blame for his recent play. Seems more of a matter of how the Lakers have used him. Sessions is a driving/pick-and-roll PG. The Lakers traded for him because they want someone playing differently than Blake and Fisher. He looked good when the Lakers let him play his game for the most part in the regular season and while he was shooting really well. It seems the Lakers have made him play more of the Steve Blake/Derek Fisher spot-up game while having the ball go through their 3 stars more than usual. It make sense for the team since the Lakers don't really want to play at a fast pace against either Denver or OKC. Also, guys tend to revert back to their comfort zone (i.e. rely on the most familiar way of playing) when faced with tight situations. However, it really isn't Sessions' strength-- while he shot a high % from distance this season, it's not really a consistently reliable part of his game yet. He only took 1.5 3 pt attempts a game and never shot nearly as well in prior years. If the Lakers are really committed to have a non-Blake/Fisher type PG, the may need a full offseason to implement the game plan.
Three people who voted the Lakers in 4 are likely Barkley, Smith and O,Neal. They all think Fakers can beat OKC, but it seems that O,Neal has to say for Lakers because he was a former Lakers, and Barkley really think Lakers are much better than Mavs, and can beat OKC.
I think it's how Brown doesn't know how to utilize him. He's a creator, not a standstill player on the perimeter who just takes jumpshots. He's extremely quick/speedy and can get to the rim at will if you put him in pick and roll situations. But the Lakers offense doesn't run too much of that. He's basically what happened to Ron Artest. Used in the wrong way and looked bad. And his poor defense so far in the playoffs has made it looked worse.
