Throughout the playoffs, we are going to be looking at the teams that lost their last game and look at what they can do to try and get a win.

For most of the first two games Thabo Sefolosha was the one responsible for covering Kobe Bryant.  While Kobe got his, Sefolosha did a very good job of making him work for his points.  However, in the final quarter of Game 2, Thunder coach Scott Brooks decided to match-up Jeff Green with Kobe Bryant, while he left Thabo on the bench (he sat the entire 4th quarter).

I understand why Coach Brooks made this decision (he wanted Jeff Green out there to be an offensive threat), but he has to understand that Green was even struggling on that end (2-11 for 12 points).  With Green struggling, you can say that he and Sefolosha are even on that end, so with Thabo being the better defender he should have been in.  Also, Thabo has been covering Kobe for 7 quarters, so he is familiar with his game and how he works.  Jeff Green on the other hand, hasn’t been covering Bryant and it is hard for him to get the timing down.  A perfect example of this is the following two plays:

Above are two plays with similar situations (a Kobe Bryant pump fake), and you can see how Thabo and Jeff Green handle it differently.  Thabo Sefolosha stayed down with his hands in his face, avoiding the foul, and forcing Bryant into a tough jumper.  Jeff Green on the other hand bit on the pump fake hard and fouled Bryant, giving him 2 free points.

This is because Sefolosha has prepared himself for defending Kobe.  He probably watched a ton of tape and knows when Kobe is going to throw up a pump fake, and knows when to stay on his feet.  Jeff Green on the other hand is covering Bryant for the first time this series, and he was put in a tough position.  He doesn’t know when Kobe is going to pump fake and how to handle it, and he bites on it.

If the Thunder are in a similar situation in Game 3, I expect to see Thabo on the court covering Kobe.