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Lakers elude Thunder 101-98 to start road trip with a win

The Lakers narrowly escaped the clutches of a sell-out crowd at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City earlier this evening by eluding the Thunder with a deceptively hard fought 101-98 victory.  Kobe Bryant – perhaps the greatest “flu-like-symptoms” player the league has ever seen – led the way for the Lakers with 31 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists, but was harassed most of the night by the pesky Swiss swingman Thabo Sefolosha, who is starting to develop an annoying reputation for being something of a Kobe-stopper.  On a night when the officials seemed perfectly content to let the players play, Kobe was harassed into 9-22 shooting from the field, fouled relentlessly on his way to a 12-14 performance from the free throw line, and harried into turning the ball over a team leading 7 times.

Andrew Bynum had another effective start in the absence of Pau Gasol, finishing with 22 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals, but it was after he torched Nenad Krstic in the first period that Etan Thomas was brought in to try and slow Bynum down while also keying a fierce defensive response from the Thunder bench that turned what was shaping up at time to be a track meet into a much scrappier, defense oriented slugfest.  Just the kind of game that Ron Artest could appreciate and relish in – he finished with 20 points, 6 assists, 5 steals and 3 rebounds in one of his better starts as a Laker.  Thriller also helped to somewhat contain Kevin Durant (28 points on 10-24 shooting) and harass the young Thunder shooting guard and franchise player in 7 turnovers of his own to match Kobe’s embarrassing total.

This was another ineffective night by the Laker bench, who were outscored 22-6 by their Thunder counterparts, forcing the Laker starters to carry the team through this first game of a two-game back-to-back set that continues in Houston tomorrow night.  Lamar Odom chipped in with 13 points and 8 boards, and old man Fisher held his own with 9 points on 4-6 shooting to go along with 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and even a blocked shot, while lending a steadying hand in his 35 minutes in what was otherwise a fairly chaotic game.  At this point there is absolutely no doubt that the Lakers really do miss Pau Gasol’s deft reads on both sides of the ball, smart ball-handling skills, sure-shot, underrated defensive ability and overall smarts.  As good as Bynum has been offensively as the Lakers’ second leading scorer through these first four games of the season sans Pau, it is clear that he is not ready to inherit the role of being the Lakers “second option” just yet.  Bynum still needs to improve his rebounding – there were times in this game where Andrew seemed to have no idea where the ball was off the glass – work harder on boxing out, and must do a better job of establishing his position in the post.  This is something that will undoubtedly improve once Pau gets back.

The Lakers have now managed to win 3 out of their first 4 games in Gasol’s absence – but one wonders if they can keep this up as it is becoming more and more evident with each game that passes that Pau’s presence is sorely missed and that his unique skill set makes the game so much easier for the Lakers.  As of this writing, the Lakers still have yet to release the more definitive results of Gasol’s MRI on Monday.  An initial sonogram had revealed the possibility of a tear of his right hamstring, but the MRI results are what will ultimately determine how much longer Pau needs to sit out.  There were reports that Pau was working out with the team prior to the start of this game.  At best, the Lakers are hoping that he makes his Laker debut at home against his former team the Grizzlies on Friday at Staples.

Until then, he remains on the shelf as the Lakers now find themselves at 3-1 and readying themselves for a date against Trevor Ariza and the Houston Rockets tomorrow night.  The coming Artest/Ariza match up should prove to be a doozy!

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