(1) Lakers Vs. (8) Thunder

[benji]

That'd be pretty stupid. Every single key player is already under contract for next season and that will leave room for a max contract. Westbrook and the rest outside of Durant and Green they can keep cheap for two or three more seasons. Yeah, yeah, small market team but they won't get another shot at a max money star like this after those guys all get new deals.

[dare]

Very good game by LA, it seems Bryant on Westbrook is effective. Pau and Bynum very good game too

[Jackal]

I'm not sure if it's the home crowd or the fact that they got slapped last game, but the whole "inside every time" offensive plan is working to perfection this time around. Maybe they just needed that kick in the ass OKC gave them last week to get them paying attention and focused?

Phil Jackson made the right adjustments. Instead of letting OKC front the bigmen and take them out of the game, he brought Gasol out to the elbow-area where the OKC players arent fronting him and then they're just running the triangle. If you look at the previous games, as soon as Bynum went out they only had Gasol playing the inside game, but now when Odom comes in, you see Artest posting up a lot more, thus still staying with two players in the post. (Because Odom is roaming on the perimeter.)

Bryant on Westbrook was nice to see too, you could see it actually affected Westbrook when he didnt go in for that dunk because Bryant was around. That's just a growing up process though.

The Lakers played like the defending champions for the first time this series. Here's hoping they can finish it off in 6.

[Phil89]

I guess OKC may continue with their youth policy as they have 4 picks in the draft. (21, 26, 32, 51) How good is this years draft class though?

[Andrew]

Shaping up to be another good one after the Thunder's slow start.

[Andrew]

Thunder are hanging in there, but there's no way they're forcing a game seven if they continue to shoot this poorly. Funny to see Kobe chew Gasol out over a turnover that was clearly Kobe's fault, but the bigger story than that one play is that the Lakers are on the verge of blowing the game wide open in the third and finishing the series on cruise control. The Thunder have been scrappy and resilient so far, they're getting to the line and they avoided falling in a huge hole early after that slow start, but Durant's got to start knocking down some shots.

It might also be time to put Durant on Kobe; if the game's close in the fourth, then Scott Brooks should definitely go back to that as it worked so well in Game 3. The series is on the line, the game is still winnable, go for broke. With a whole half to go you've got to think about foul trouble and Durant has two already, but you've also got to place that trust in him and try to exploit that matchup.

[atlwarrior]

Durant's got to start knocking down some shots.

Yeah hes struggled the whole series with that jumpshot. I like how hes being aggressive but I feel like hes trying to do too much. Gotta love how he's doing on the defensive end though.

[Andrew]

Hasn't happened yet and time's running out. Still a close game and it's been a good one so far.

[dare]

Good game by L.A's bench but still a pretty close game

Gasol and Bynum should get it going in this final 4 minutes

[Dee.]

16 boards by Gasol already.

[Phil89]

Here come the Thunder. Westbrook gives them the lead with a 3 point play.

[dare]

Gasol wew

[Dee.]

Gasol hit the game winner?

[Breine524]

Lakers survive! Haha! Nice and exciting game!

[dare]

Gasol hit the game winner?

follow up on Bryant's shot

[Dee.]

Fuck them,i wanted a "We Believe" repeat.

[atlwarrior]

Fuck them,i wanted a "We Believe" repeat.

What he said.

[Andrew]

Great game, I feel bad for the Thunder but tremendous effort by Gasol on the offensive glass. The Thunder missed a few opportunities to extend that lead and it cost them but still, just half second from forcing a seventh game against the defending champions. The blowout in Game 5 aside, they put up a respectable fight against the Lakers despite shooting poorly throughout the series. I say congratulations on a great turnaround season for the Thunder, but congrats to the Lakers for pulling it out and moving on.

Ibaka's going to be a player to keep an eye on next season.

[Phil89]

Tough loss, but there's no shame in losing 4-2 against the defending champions. OKC exceeded the expectations of many people in this series.

[Lamrock]

Fantastic game. Thunder have won me over in this series. No antipathy towards them (besides their cunt owner) now. Was a little bummed to see Gasol get that tip and Westbrook miss that decent attempt I must say.

[|)e8*]

Thank god it was Gasol who hit the shot instead of Kobe Beef

[NovU]

LA Ladies took a game longer than I thought and most of all, the series was really close to be at even again. Props to the young Thunder team. What a step they made this season. It was just unbelievable till the last moment.

[john26]

For OKC fans, there are no such things as moral victories, win or be a loser.

Just kidding, the Thunder played great.

[Sauru]

Ibaka's going to be a player to keep an eye on next season.

someone might want to teach him about boxing out though. gasol didnt do anything a middle school player could not have done there. one simple box out and this is going 7 games

[Jackal]

LA Ladies took a game longer than I thought and most of all

Your favorite player is the little bitch who can't win without the refs and you dare call the Lakers Ladies? Don't make me laugh so hard.

Great series, I'd said it during the course of the season that the Thunder really had LA's number. As a Laker fan its frustrating to watch OKC which says a lot about how good the team really is. Great way to open up the playoffs for me. Ibaka made me like him more than Odom...I usually never like opposing players and certainly not over Odom. So yeah, he seems like a guy I'd bandwagon in the future.