Oklahoma in charge out West
The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Los Angeles Lakers 102-93 on Thursday night and in the process showed the Western Conference they are here to dominate for the foreseeable future.
On the day that Derek Fisher made his emotional return to the Staples Centre, having signed for the Thunder last week, it was the Lakers who started out bright. Solid work from Andrew Bynum inside and good ball movement by Mike Brown’s side gave them a 12-point advantage towards the end of the first quarter.
Kobe Bryant kept his Laker team in the lead heading into half time but a reenergised Oklahoma side emerged at the beginning of the third and an 11-0 run left LA with a lot to do.
Russell Westbrook dominated the third, scoring seventeen points as the Thunder dictated the play, outscoring LA 34-19 in the third period alone. The final quarter saw an improvement in Kevin Durant’s play including a vicious dunk over Pau Gasol on a 10-22 shooting night that saw him fight for every point.
Scott Brooks’ side have now won five straight games and sit atop the Western Conference with a 39-12 record. Winning their second straight game against the Lakers this year, the Western Conference power certainly appears to have shifted from LA to OKC.
Following last summers playoff ‘s, the mood in either camp is contrasting. After their first trip to the conference finals last season, the Thunder have tasted success and are eager to go a step further this year with an NBA title in sight.
Lead by the leagues highest scoring duo, in Westbrook and Durant, Oklahoma is a young side already stacked with talent. Head up by the western conference’s all-star coach, Scott Brooks, and with a side desperate to prove their worth in the league, all the signs are promising for OKC.
In LA, meanwhile, things don’t appear to be getting any better. If a whitewash by the Dallas Mavericks in last year’s playoffs wasn’t enough, letting Bryant’s closest friends, Lamar Odom and Derek Fisher, leave for close to nothing was bound to disrupt the harmony in Lakerland.
Losing Phil Jackson and replacing him with Mike Brown has not gone as badly as some expected but an aging side who still find themselves replying on the 33 year old Bryant, night-in night-out, are coming to the end of the road.
The addition of Ramon Sessions has certainly helped the tempo of Los Angeles’ play and the vast playoff experience within their team is sure to help come crunch time. With Bryant, Steve Blake, Pau Gasol, Matt Barnes, Metta World Peace and Troy Murphy all on the wrong side of thirty though, the effects of this congested season may already be telling.
Bryant finished the game on Thursday night with 23 points and although he recognises the quality throughout Thunder’s team, he knows how things can change over an NBA season.
“We were in that position a few years back. We had to struggle, fight, scratch and claw with teams in those positions, and we got to the playoffs and won a championship,” he said. “Last year against Dallas, I think we beat them every time during the regular season. So it’s all about how teams continue to improve during the course of the regular season.”
Nevertheless, in the second half of Thursday night’s matchup the Thunder showed the energy and motivation that is going to become their biggest ally come playoff time. Almost unaffected by the shortened season, the Thunder’s young squad will have their best opportunity to date to win an NBA championship this June.
With the ageing Lakers and Mavericks still their toughest opponents in the West, the Oklahoma Thunder must be sensing their time is now.
