The fact that the Lakers traveled back to LA for Game 5 with their series against the upstart Thunder knotted at two games apiece Thunder shouldn’t have been too surprising, really. While Oklahoma City does boast the league’s youngest squad, they were not your typical 8-seed given their 50 wins this season and a certain budding superstar with an excellent nickname. And most pundits recognized this, picking Phil Jackson’s squad to advance in a six or seven game series.
Lakers Blog: Now That’s More Like It, As LA Rolls Thunder In Game 5
So the mass hysteria rampant among Lakers fans after getting blown out in Game 4 was probably a tad overdoing it. Or maybe a lot overdoing it, considering the way they bounced back with a dominant performance in pivotal Game 5. As SB Nation’s Silver Screen And Roll explains, they can thank two small adjustments for their dramatic turnaround:
Two schematic innovations - one on offense, one on defense - powered this blowout, and for all the heat we've at times given Phil this season, he owned this one completely. On defense, he correctly realized he could no longer live with Derek Fisher "defending" Westbrook and handed that assignment to Kobe Bryant. Kobe rewarded the decision with a sparkling effort. The days off seemed to do wonders for his physical condition, as he looked more laterally mobile than at any time in the series. His long limbs, agility and unmatched instincts turned Westbrook back into a turnover-happy 21-year-old. The kid is the nerve center of the Thunder's offense, and knocking him off his game induced system-wide failure. The Thunder appeared not to know where their shots were coming from and reverted to the sloppiness they displayed in Games One and Two.
On offense, the Lakers approached the task of scoring with a new philosophical bent. There was no more tossing it around the perimeter, and then maybe tossing it into the post, and then maybe tossing it back out. Kobe put the ball on the floor early and often, sometimes dishing to Andrew Bynum for a series of dunks out of the Vintage Shaq highlight reel, sometimes working a devastating pick-and-roll with Pau Gasol. The Thunder looked at an utter loss. In the first half the Lakers made an incredible 71% of their two-point shots in the course of building a 21-point lead. The second half was extended garbagio time.
Kobe and Co. will have their chance to close the series out in Game 6, on Friday at 9:30 PM EST.
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