NBA Playoffs Series Preview – #8 Oklahoma City Thunder vs #1 Los Angeles Lakers

For the first time in its history, the Oklahoma City Thunder will play in the NBA Post-season. That’s not technically correct, of course, since the Thunder used to be the Seattle Supersonics, but for all intents and purposes, this is Oklahoma City’s first foray into the NBA Post-season.

Series Start: 4/18/2010 3:00 pm EST
Series Format: 2-2-1-1-1

What a foray it figures to be, right? The Thunder has to battle the #1 seeded Los Angeles Lakers in the 1st round of the NBA Playoffs. Luckily for the Thunder, the Lakers have been playing badly lately. Have they been playing badly enough, though, is the question.

NBA Playoffs Series Preview:
#8 Oklahoma City Thunder (50-32) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (57-25)

Offense: The Lakers’ offense has been dreadful lately because Kobe Bryant hasn’t been hitting a lot of his shots. The Kobesters who averages 27 points per game hasn’t scored more than 31 points once in his last 7 games. He’s scored under his average in 5 of those 7 games.

Without Kobe’s production, the Lakers have absolutely no shot of winning the championship, but they could still take out the Oklahoma City Thunder because Lamar Odom, Ron Artest, Derek Fisher and Pau Gasol can all have big nights offensively on any given night.

Oklahoma City’s only chance of winning any game during the playoffs is if regular season scoring champ Kevin Durant who averages 30 points per game puts up at least 35 to 40 per game. That’s because the Thunder really has nobody who can score after Durant.

Edge: Lakers

Defense: Oklahoma City’s defense is pretty good allowing only 98 points per game. Durant actually plays defense. That’s something that, inexplicably, some writers have knocked him for not doing. Durant averages over 1 steal and close to 8 rebounds per game. He’s not a bad defender and neither are his teammates.

In fact, the Lakers don’t play defense much better than Oklahoma City. The Lakers allow 97 points per game. They should be much better defensively in this series but based on the current states, I can’t say that they will be.

Edge: Even

Intangibles: Nobody in the NBA is more competitive than Kobe Bryant. LeBron might be as competitive as Bryant but he definitely isn’t more competitive.

That competitiveness is a huge intangible for the defending champs who will need Bryant to be at his bes in order to repeat as champions.

Predictions: L.A. Lakers in 4

They probably won’t need Kobe to be at his best in order to sweep the Oklahoma City Thunder, however.

The Lakers have the Durant stopper in Ron Artest. After Durant, Oklahoma City really doesn’t match-up well with the Lakers. Russell Westbrook is a terrific guard but the Lakers play all 12 of their guys and all 12 of them can score and defend. If Kobe and Gasol are having bad days, Fisher, Artest or Odom will put the ball in the basket.

The Lakers should roll in this series.

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