On Monday, May 14, the Los Angeles Lakers suffered a humiliating 119-90 defeat at the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal series. Andrew Bynum led the Lakers with 20 points and 14 rebounds.
Here are three thoughts on the game:
It's all about the defense
There are other factors that contributed to this loss, but none are greater than the Lakers' failure to defend on the perimeter. Let's give credit where credit is due. The Thunder are one of the best clubs in the league; however, the Lakers didn't have to make Oklahoma City's night any easier. The entire team failed to keep a man on Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook throughout the game. Head coach Mike Brown was hired to bring defensive discipline to the team, but that wasn't evident at all as Thunder players continued to find open looks at the basket.
Tired Lakers
The Lakers were horrible in Game 1, but it would be wrong to discount fatigue as a factor in this loss. They've played three games in the past six days, including two road trips. Of course, if the team had put away the Denver Nuggets like it should have, then it would have had more rest.
However, I don't see why the NBA is scheduling only day off after a playoff series. I've seen plenty of teams get blown out in the opening game of a series simply because they were tired from their previous playoff victories. When will the NBA realize that this type of scheduling isn't good for the league? I'm sure there were plenty of fans who turned off their televisions when the Thunder pushed this game out of reach midway through the third quarter. That's not good for ratings or for the quality of basketball. The NBA has been scheduling playoff series like this for years, and it's time for it to stop. All teams should have two days off to prepare for their next matchup. It just makes sense for both clubs to be 100 percent when their series starts.
Metta World Peace and James Harden
If there is anything positive that came out of this game, I think it's fair to say that the Metta World Peace/James Harden fiasco is finally over. I just want to see these two teams play basketball. I don't want to hear announcers keeping the story alive just to add some intrigue to the game. This series should be about the Lakers and the Thunder, not World Peace and Harden. World Peace served his suspension, and Harden is recovered from his horrible injury. Let's just get down to the real reason we all tuned into Game 1 on Monday night: playoff basketball.
Derek Ciapala has been a fan of the Los Angeles Lakers since childhood. His favorite Lakers' moment is when they beat the Detroit Pistons 108-105 in Game 7 of the 1988 NBA Finals. You can follow him on Twitter @dciapala.
No comments:
Post a Comment