Lakers have another contender to worry about after Thunder trades
By
Billy
Witz
FOXSports.com
WITZ
ARCHIVE
LOS ANGELES -- Andrew Bynum, Kobe Bryant and several other Lakers sat around the locker room early Wednesday evening in Portland, watching on a flat-screen TV as the final minutes played out of San Antonio's victory over Oklahoma City.
The game ended when Oklahoma City's Jeff Green threw up a what-was-he-thinking fade-away 3-pointer with 5.4 seconds to play. It did not even hit the rim.
It was a familiar sight for the Lakers, who were happy to have Green shoot rather than Kevin Durant or Russell Westbrook. In his past 10 games against the Lakers (including the playoffs), Green has shot 32 percent from the field and 23 percent on 3-pointers.
When the Lakers travel to Oklahoma City on Sunday -- and perhaps again in the playoffs -- they won't have Green to help them, or Nenad Krstic, the soft-as-butter center who never bothered them either.
Instead, the Lakers will get a look at two tormenters -- Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson -- who were traded from Boston to Oklahoma City for Green and Krstic.
The Celtics' stunning decision to deal two key players highlighted a final flurry of activity on the final day of a trading period that continued to shift the balance of power toward the Eastern Conference.
That is certainly good news for the Lakers. Deron Williams and Carmelo Anthony continued the Western Conference's talent drain that began last summer with Amar'e Stoudemire and Carlos Boozer.
Like the Lakers, the two other top Western Conference contenders -- San Antonio and Dallas -- did not make a move, though the Mavericks tried desperately to ship the injured Caron Butler's expiring contract but could not get a deal done.
But the Thunder, which also acquired backup center Nazr Mohammed, now become a scary proposition for the Lakers.
Perkins, who might not be healthy enough (knee) to play Sunday, may be just 6-foot-9 but he brings a mental and physical toughness that should be a huge boost for the Thunder, and has been an often unpleasant matchup for Bynum and Pau Gasol.
If chasing Westbrook around wasn't hard enough for Derek Fisher, now he has to run around Perkins' sturdy picks, too.
Robinson, in his brief time in Boston, has nevertheless been an influence against the Lakers. His 12 points sparked Boston to a Game 4 victory in the Finals, and he hit three 3-pointers off the bench to spark Boston to a win in Los Angeles. He should ease the burden of bench scoring from James Harden, who is more a facilitator than a scorer by nature.
Meanwhile, Mohammed significantly bolsters the Thunder's frontcourt. In his past two games against the Lakers, Mohammed has worked them over for 39 points and 20 rebounds. After the latest effort, two weeks ago in Charlotte, Ron Artest joked:
"I hope he gets a max contract, six years, $80 million -- even if he's 38."
Mohammad, for the record, is 33.
A more under-the-radar move that could be of concern to the Lakers is Memphis' reacquisition of Shane Battier from Houston, along with Ish Smith, for Hasheem Thabeet and a first-round pick.
The Grizzlies, who earned a season split of their series with the Lakers, are in eighth place now, but they are only two games behind fifth-place New Orleans, meaning they could see the Lakers in the first round. Memphis beat the Lakers twice, despite not having anyone who could remotely bother Kobe Bryant. Now they do, along with another 3-point shooter to balance the floor with Rudy Gay and Mike Conley.
So, while the talent continues to flow east, the Lakers' road to the Finals might be a little more uphill than it was the day before.
