With the already horrid LA Lakers only down 60-54 at halftime inside Chesapeake Energy Arena, it got worse for the Lakers in the second half without not only Lonzo Ball, but without Kentavius Caldwell-Pope who left the game late in the second period with a strained Achilles. Without two of LA’s better players, OKC’s Thunder came out in the second half and steamrolled the Lakers in coasting to an easy 114-90 win.
With this Thunder team, any win over any team under any circumstance is a good win. This has been a mentally fragile Thunder team to date. Baby steps are good steps. I love you, you love me. It’s a lovely day in the neighborhood. Training wheels aren’t a bad thing. Thoughts which can’t be dismissed or denigrated just because the team LA had on the floor in the second half was a piece of trash. You take the win, improve to 25-20 and see what you can do in Cleveland on Saturday against LeBron.
Both Steven Adams and Carmelo Anthony had really good games against the Lakers. Carmelo went 10-15 with 27 points, while Steven went 10-12 for 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Combined, the duo went 20-27 on the night which was a good thing because both Russell Weestbrook and Paul George both struggle. Carmelo gets the nod for player of the game though, you know…that smile. I love his smile. If only Paul George would smile.
Bad Little Dude went 8-22 for 19 points while missing a lot of good looks. Paul George finished 5-14 for 13 points, but that was kind of misleading in that Billy Donovan reinserted Paul George late when both teams had already acknowledged the Lakers’ surrender. George hit two completely meaningless three pointers which in essence made a 3-12 night with 7 points look much better.
It must just be me with Paul George. I just don’t see a guy playing with much joy or happiness out there. He looks more like a guy serving the remainder of his jail sentence in Oklahoma City than a guy all in. Maybe I’m wrong. Hope I am, but to date he just doesn’t look like he wants to be here. I wonder if he and Jerry West are already texting? Wouldn’t this be a bitch if OKC and the Clippers somehow find themselves playing against each other in the playoffs? Trust me, the Clippers are not going to suck much longer with Jerry West in the guru advisory role. Paul George wants to live by the Pacific Ocean, not Lake Arcadia. What more does Jerry West need to sell other than the Lakers are horrible. I hope Sam Presti has a plan on February 8th….even if it’s just a draft pick and a functional two way nonstar player. My guess is Paul George will play well against the Cavs on the national ABC game. These are the type of marquee games he’s been trying in while serving his jail sentence in OKC.
Back to Steven for a moment. Remember when some in OKC wanted to acquire Brooks Lopez at a trade deadline to replace Steve Adams? In case you weren’t watching…Steven Adams completely destroyed Brooks Lopez on Wednesday night. Good decision, Sam Presti. I can be fair, I’m a Libra. That’s what we Libras are…the scales of fairness.
Andre Roberson returned and it was great to see him on the floor. Other than for the free throw shooting–you’ll never see me diss Andre on here because he busts his ass every night and does so many little things only a coach could appreciate. Welcome back, Andre.
Bench was okay, nothing special though. The storylines in this one were the combined nights of Carmelo Anthony and Steven Adams plus the return of Andre Roberson.
The Thunder are now 5-3 in the month of January with six games remaining in the month. This is where losing those three straight games to the Suns, the Trailblazers, and T Wolves really hurts. If OKC had played with some focus and passion they’d be 8-0 in the month and 28-17 heading into Cleveland.
But when you’re dealing with dysfunction you can’t think that way. It’s one day at time. When you’re a team in rehab you have to be okay with being 5-3 on the month even though you should be 8-0 or 7-1 at the worst. You can’t dwell on what ifs or whys.
Storylines are simple in this one…Carmelo, Steven, and Andre.
Thunder in Cleveland on Saturday against the struggling Cavs.