John Rohde: Thunder players fired up for Lakers

By John Rohde Comments 0
Published: November 3, 2009

If the wind chill is 10-below on a February night and the Minnesota Timberwolves are visiting the Ford Center, it’s understandable how Thunder players, coaches and fans might struggle warming up to the task at hand.

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A visit from the Los Angeles Lakers, no matter what time of season, presents no such problem.

Such is the difference between the former Minneapolis franchise and its current franchise.

(By the way, the Timberwolves visit Feb. 26 this season. Kind of gives you a chill, huh?)

An 82-game regular season is a grind, but the blood has no problem circulating when the Lakers come to town, which happens to be tonight at 7.

Thunder players couldn’t throw the ball into the Pacific two nights ago in a home loss against Portland, but they’re juiced about facing the reigning world champions.

"I’d be lying to you if I said I didn’t get any extra motivation,” Thunder backup point guard Kevin Ollie said of playing against the Lakers, which he has done 27 times in his career before tonight.

Ollie is in his 13th NBA season and Oklahoma City is his 15th stop. None of his previous jobs was with the Lakers.

Instead, Ollie’s association with the Lakers has been face-to-face, which included the 2001 NBA Finals as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers, whom the Lakers beat 4 games to 1.

A product of Crenshaw (Calif.) High School, Ollie loved the Lakers and even attended a Magic Johnson summer camp when he was 8 or 9 years old, but Ollie never got the chance to see the Lakers play at the Fabulous Forum.

"Their tickets were kind of hot back then,” said the 36-year-old Ollie.

Thunder coach Scott Brooks played two years at Cal-Irvine and remains the most prodigious Anteater ever to make the NBA.

Though he was only 50 miles from The Forum, the Lakers were probably Brooks’ second-favorite team.

His heart belonged to the Philadelphia 76ers, for whom Brooks played his first two seasons in the league.

"I only wanted to play for the Sixers,” Brooks explained. "I loved Dr. J (Julius Erving) — loved him. Obviously a lot of people in California love the Lakers. I was never a (Laker) hater. I liked what they were about, but I wanted them to lose when they were playing against Philadelphia.”

Brooks got his wish in 1983, when the Sixers swept the Lakers in the finals.

Since moving to Los Angeles for the 1960-61 season, the Lakers have won 10 world championships. The Los Angeles Clippers have won 10 less than that.

Thunder backup guard Shaun Livingston played for the Clippers his first three years in the league and had to share the same town and home arena as the Lakers.

The Lakers and Clippers have cohabitated in Staples Center since it opened in 1999. Livingston said he has never visited in the Lakers’ locker room, which is a cut above the Clippers’.

The Clippers didn’t play second fiddle to the Lakers during Livingston’s first two seasons (2004-06), when the Clippers finished with a better regular-season record.

"It’s a Lakers town because of the tradition they have,” Livingston said. "The city is so big, there was still room enough for Clippers fans, but you could always feel the presence of the Lakers.”

As for tonight’s game, Livingston said, "Obviously, you get geared up to play the best. You’ve got all those superstars coming into your arena and you have a chance to really show your game.”

Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant and Co. are the guys to beat, the team against which you gauge your team. The Thunder is better, but how does it stack up against the best?

Brooks insists he prepares for the Lakers the same way he prepares for, say, the Timberwolves.

"We don’t put more into it just because it’s the Lakers, or less because it’s a lesser team with a bad record,” Brooks said. "We’re real consistent and diligent with all of our (preparation).”

The X’s and O’s are the same, yet different.

"There are tweaks defensively on what we have to do to stop their best players from going nuts against our defense,” Brooks said with a smile. "When you have Kobe coming to town, the Lakers and one of the best coaches ever, there’s definitely a little more excitement.”

John Rohde: 475-3099. John Rohde can be heard Monday-Friday from 6-7 p.m. on The Sports Animal Network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1.