Westbrook takes fun out of Lakers' reboot - ESPN (blog)

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Westbrook takes fun out of Lakers' reboot - ESPN (blog) Mar 30th 2012, 07:19 LOS ANGELES -- When Ramon Sessions arrived in Los Angeles at the trade deadline, he was able to heal the Lakers by injecting them with something you can't find in some laboratory in Germany -- fun. In the wake of their second straight title, bodies began to age, injuries began to pile up -- particularly for their most dynamic player, Kobe Bryant, who was being held together by duct tape and gum toward the end of the season – and the oversized frontcourt that powered them past the Celtics in the 2010 Finals was not only still the team's strength, but it became their identity as well. Showtime became Slowtime. Even with the star like Kobe, the Lakers seemed boring. But ever since Sessions' arrival here in Tinseltown, the fun factor has returned. The rather quiet 25-year-old point guard doesn't have much of a presence in the locker room, but he commands attention on the court, his quick bursts and dishes set to a different speed than the rest of the team. The competitiveness hasn't really waned, but in five games Sessions has played at Staples Center since the trade on March 15, the crowd seems to have an extra shot of adrenaline, the stadium a little extra electricity. And Sessions, playing for a team located outside of middle America for the first time in his career, enjoyed all that came with it. But in perhaps the Lakers' biggest game since they acquired him, the team now housing the veteran leader they shipped out to clear space for the former Cavaliers 1 was a total killjoy. Derek Fisher certainly had his moments, more with his presence than his points off the Thunder bench (seven points), but it was the other OKC point guard, Russell Westbrook, in charge of the No Fun Police. The hard-charging fourth-year player finished with 36 points on 13-for-27 shooting, six assists and only one turnover in Oklahoma City's 102-93 win, one in which even the joy of free taco coupons was taken away from the crowd. "I'm glad I played my career when I played because I couldn't stop players like Russell," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. The Lakers held Westbrook in check in the first half, holding him to just nine points on 3-for-10 shooting. But the Thunder point guard seemed to get whatever he wanted in the third quarter, scoring 17 points on 6-for-10 shooting while L.A. could muster only 19 as a team (none of which coming from Bryant, who was 0-for-6 in the game-swinging quarter). "In the third quarter he just came out, put his head down and went one-on-four and either scored or got fouled every time he came down the floor," Lakers coach Mike Brown said. With three fouls, Paul Gasol played only 2:22 in the third, leaving a 7-foot hole in the paint. But Westbrook surprisingly did most of his damage from midrange, burning the Lakers' decision to constantly go under screens and allow the barrel-chested point guard to beat him with his shot. After laying it in on a fast-break layup early in the third, Westbrook's next five buckets that quarter came from 13 feet and out, including a buzzer-beating bank shot in which the point guard let out a loud scream and holstered his hot hands, each holding up three fingers. "Kevin (Durant) and I started a little slow and the game kind of got out of whack," said Westbrook, who has been in the game-high scorer in each of the Thunder's three wins against the Lakers over the past two seasons. "My job was to pick us up and do whatever we need to do to win." With the Thunder's lead snowballing in the fourth, Bryant tired his hand at guarding Westbrook. But after keeping close outside the 3-point arc for the first few seconds of the shot clock, Durant used a Nick Collison screen at the top of the key and found Westbrook all alone on a backcut for an easy bucket. "I didn't really get much of a crack at him tonight. But, I'm looking forward to it," Bryant said. "He's one of my favorites. He's developed his outside shot a great deal and tonight he went to the post a little bit as well. So, he's ... he's a problem." Sessions, meanwhile, went quietly into the night. After reaching double-digits in five of his first six games, the point guard scored seven points for the second consecutive game, this time on 3-for-6 shooting to go along with as many assists as turnovers (five). The Lakers seemed on the verge of turning a corner into West elite territory when he arrived, winning three of their first five with him in the lineup, but have since lost two of three, with the lone win an ugly one in Oakland against the Warriors on Tuesday. Even though he's found a place to live in L.A. and his dog "Sesh" has arrived safe and sound, Sessions admitted that he's still trying to get comfortable in a gold uniform. "[I'm] playing off the ball a little bit more than usual, a little less pick-and-rolls," he said. "You just have to continue to get familiar with the guys. It's only been about six or seven games for me. Just learning to get comfortable each night and playing off the ball more." After watching Westbrook have his way with the defense, Sessions certainly has some homework ahead of him before the playoffs. And that's certainly no fun. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.

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