Lakers beat Sonics 123-121 in OT
The Lakers vs. the Supersonics was a great offensive battle as for most of the game the teams were scoring at will. Kobe put up a solid 48, but the Sonics looked pretty good offensively last night led by Luke Ridnour and Nick Collison. In the end, the Lakers prevailed 123-121 in OT.
This was a throwback game to the 70’s as the game had 206 shot attempts. The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the better offensive teams in the league, and they only average 82 shots a game. Kobe himself had 44 shots and was sharp enough to hit 21 of them, many of which came at key moments.
In Andrew Bynum’s absence Rony Turiaf and Kwame Brown combined for 24 points and 12 rebounds. However, they failed to provide the low post defensive presence Andrew does and Nick Collison just went off aggressively attacking the rim. Collison went for 24 points, 18 rebounds and 2 blocks. He had two jams that were just bully baskets. One of them a high flying two handed dunk, that would have been a felony in some states. To Collison’s credit, he did all this without any trash talking, finger pointing or hoopla. The guys a class act, love to have him on my team.
Luke Ridnour was also extremely impressive. Supposedly the Sonics have been marketing him around the league, and from what I saw last night, this guys deserves to start in the NBA. He was consistently beating his man off the dribble, and pushing the ball very aggressively. He astutely got the ball in the hands of the scorers where they needed it and he posted 11 assists and 1 turnover in 24 minutes of play.
Getting back to the Lakers I was happy yet disappointed with Rony and Kwame last night. Rony played great offensively last night scoring 14 points in only 18 minutes of playing time. The problem is, he only had two rebounds. Many of those rebounds went to Nick Collison and this is a huge concern as one rebound every nine minutes is what you might expect from a point guard or shooting guard, not a center/power forward. Putting that on the side, Rony played a great game and became a big part of the offense when he was in there. However, unless he rebounds better, he’s not going to see the court and none of that will matter.
Kwame also had a decent game number wise with 10 points and 10 rebounds in 38 minutes. Kwame looked good in his position defense, but failed to be the shot blocker the Lakers really need down low. That was the area where the Lakers really missed Andrew Bynum. Kwame is big and strong, but is a very slow leaper and doesn’t block many shots. Kwame blocks .7 shots a game for his career and that might not be good enough for the Lakers.
Lastly, Javaris Crittenton played well again with 8 points in 10 minutes. This kid did a spin move in the lane that was Bayloresque last night. The only reason I bring him up after every little thing he does, is because this kid is going to be a star. He’s one of the better unknown talents in the NBA; again a future all star.
It’s official that the Lakers have contacted Chris Webber. Webber is supposedly looking at 3 teams that have a shot at winning a championship. Chris also is running a restaurant (Center Court with C-Web) in Sacramento and may want to stay as close as possible. All things considered I think Chris would pick from one of these teams, Lakers, Suns, or Golden State.
Golden State is very close to Sacramento, has old Friend Don Nelson coaching and had a nice playoff run last year. They definitely could be one of the three teams. The Suns are a possibility because everyone wants to play for the Suns. However, when they traded Kurt Thomas in the summer, they sent a message of not wanting to pay the luxury tax and that may take them out of the Webber sweepstakes.
The Lakers on the other hand have a roster spot open, a 2.7 million exception to use, and the biggest caveat of all for Chris……playing time. We’ll keep you updated on this story as it develops.
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