The Lakers could not afford to go down 0-2 heading back to Staples Center, considering the fact that both of those games will come on consecutive nights. Many people already called off the Lakers in the series after Game 1, and it was their duty to change the perception tonight.

First Quarter

Neither team was able to score in the early going and their offenses looked a little stagnant. The Lakers were getting nice looks in the paint, but they were not able to convert. The Thunder were also missing on some open looks, and their jumpers were not falling through. At the 9:35 mark of the period, the Lakers were up 4-2.

Kobe Bryant started the game shooting 1-4 and the Lakers continued to struggle on the offensive end. Los Angeles was able to penetrate into the paint but it either could not convert or got rejected by Serge Ibaka. Due to a  3-11 start, the Lakers were down 10-6 with 6:18 to play.

The Lakers started to pound the ball inside and their big men where able to knocks down shots in the paint. The Thunder’s frontcourt had trouble guarding them, and it was easy offense for the Lakers. However, the Lakers still had trouble defending the Thunder and Russell Westbrook’s speed was a killer on that end. At the 3:36 mark, the Lakers were down 16-14.

The Lakers closed out the quarter well, and it was thanks to their solid play in the paint. Andrew Bynum was asserting his dominance down there and that allowed the team to excel near the basket. After 12 minutes of play, the Lakers were up 22-21. Bynum led the Lakers in scoring with ten points while Kobe had six on 2-7 shooting.

Second Quarter

Despite the early dominance from Bynum, the Lakers coaching staff stuck with the usual rotation and kept him on the bench for a rest. Although the Lakers had trouble scoring with Bynum and Kobe out, the Thunder did not take advantage and blow open a lead. James Harden ran the offense for Oklahoma City and his effectiveness forced Kobe back into the game. At the 9:59 mark of the period, the Lakers were down 25-22.

The Thunder went on a 13-4 run to take control of the momentum and it seemed as though they would run away with the game again. The crowd was getting loud and the Lakers needed buckets in order to answer the surge. Mike Brown wanted his players to play with more physicality and when they were on the verge of losing their confidence, the Lakers responded.

The Lakers battled strong and responded well to the Thunder run. The team returned to attack the paint and its ability to crash the board helped it get back into the game. Kobe Bryant was having an off-shooting night, but his knack of hitting timely shots was crucial. He also set up his teammates for nice looks and at the 3:40 mark of the quarter, the Lakers were up 39-38.

Through two quarters, the Lakers faced a three point deficit, 48-45. Bynum led the Lakers with 12 points and five rebounds, Kobe had ten points while Gasol put in eight points and four rebounds. As a team, the Lakers shot 42 percent from the field while the Thunder were at 50 percent.

Third Quarter

The Lakers and Thunder had another slow start to the second half and the offense was coming a little slow. Neither team was able to get their shots down despite the nice looks. Kobe Bryant played more of a facilitator role in the early going and at 9:54 to play, the Lakers were down one, 48-47.

Los Angeles played well as the quarter progressed and used a 6-0 run to take a 51-48 lead. The Thunder continued to struggle from the paint, while the Lakers used their big men to get points down low. Bynum and Gasol were dominating the paint and the opponent offered very little resistance.

The Lakers went back-and-forth with the Thunder and both teams were playing at an extremely high level. The Lakers were getting the shots they wanted, but they could not do enough to stop the Thunder and open up their lead. Los Angeles kept on using the big men in the paint and they were proving to be reliable options. At the 3:40 mark, the Lakers were up 57-53.

After 36 minutes of play, the Lakers were up 63-60 behind 16 points from both Kobe and Bynum.

Fourth Quarter

The Lakers began the fourth quarter with Bynum and Kobe on the bench, and the offense struggled a bit. The Lakers were forcing up bad shots and the ball movement went missing. The Thunder had two of their stars on the court and they managed to tie the game at 63 with 9:20 to play.

Once Kobe and Bynum reentered the game, the Lakers’ offense returned to its previous form and the team went on a run. The Thunder began to struggle on the offensive end and a lot of that had to do with the Lakers’ effort on defense. Metta World Peace continued with his stellar defense and he helped the Lakers go up 69-63 after a free-throw with 7:27 left to play.

The Lakers’ offense hit a snag, but their defense allowed them to maintain a cushion. Ibaka kept on blocking the Lakers’ shots, but the team never overreacted to the highlight plays. Luckily, the Lakers were very strong on the other end of the court and were up 73-68 with 3:16 left.

In the final three minutes of the game, the Lakers could not close out the Thunder despite holding a commanding lead in the final minutes. The Thunder did make the game very interesting late and they eventually took the lead with 18.6 seconds left.

The Lakers made very costly turnovers late and they faced a deficit with only seconds remaining. Steve Blake had a chance to win the game with a three-point shot but he missed and the Lakers lost the game, 77-75.

Game 3 will be held in Staples Center at 7:30 p.m. PST on Friday.

Reportedly, the NBA has fined Andrew Bynum and Devin Ebanks for different reasons on Wednesday. Ebanks was fined $25,000 for his actions during the Game 1 loss to the Thunder. This fine was no surprise with Ebanks being ejected on Monday after receiving two technical fouls in a scuffle with Thunder players in garbage time during the fourth quarter.

Bynum’s fine on the other hand came was unexpected. The NBA chose to fine the All-Star center $15,000 for missing an interview session with reporters after practice on Tuesday.

This fine is another lapse in judgment by the up-and-coming center. Every time Bynum appears to have put his immature ways behind him, the 24-year-old ends up doing something that takes him right back to square one.

As if his comment during the first-round series with the Denver Nuggets in which he claimed that “close-out games are kinda easy” wasn’t enough to prove that Bynum hadn’t learned his lesson with all the problems caused during the NBA regular season, skipping a simple interview session proves he still has much to learn on the road to superstardom.

Coming into Game 2, Bynum will have an opportunity to impose his will in the paint if Kendrick Perkins can’t play with the re-aggravated hip injury. With that being said, Bynum will play a major role in the Lakers’ attempt to bounce back from the devastating Game 1 loss.

There’s a myriad of firsts surrounding this second round series between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Oklahoma City Thunder. For the first time since 1999, the Lakers advanced in the playoffs without Phil Jackson as their head coach. It’s the first time the Lakers haven’t had home court advantage in the playoffs since the 2008 NBA finals. It’s the first time the Lakers have entered a series as the underdog since the opening round matchup against the Phoenix Suns in 2007. The hardest “first” to come to terms with is the strange sight of watching Derek Fisher and Kobe Bryant compete for a sixth championships in different colored jerseys.

I’m not here to discuss how the Thunder ran the Lakers out of the gym in Game 1 and pin-point what went wrong in the blowout (short answer: everything), there are other writers who have done a great job of covering that already on this site. Instead I’m here to reflect on the privilege of growing up watching the most consistently durable backcourt the NBA has perhaps ever seen.

Ever since I started watching basketball in grade school the Lakers always had Derek Fisher and Kobe Bryant starting in the backcourt. To the eight-year-old me, they were like superheroes. Kobe was Batman and D-Fish was Robin. The problem with establishing their significance in the same breath as superheroes is that the legend of Batman and Robin is timeless while the shelf life of a professional basketball player isn’t.

That’s the crossroads I’ve been faced with in these past two years. While their bobble heads sit on my desk forever unchanged (and widely smiling), in reality Derek and Kobe’s waning athleticism have diminished their production on the court. Every fan base around the league, besides San Antonio, has had to face this problem several times before. Toronto with Vince Carter, Orlando with Tracy McGrady, Houston with Steve Francis and Yao Ming, you name it. I should consider myself extremely blessed as the players I chose to admire as a youth have been able to protract their careers into my early adulthood. But it doesn’t make it any easier to come to grasps with.

We’re all guilty of it to some degree, it’s human nature to romanticize about the past as it conjures a batch of positive memories that no one can ever alter; my friend once said when you look back at past events you tend to remember what made your happy and erase everything else.  Life is a constant struggle between reflecting about the glamorous depths of the past and improving in the present in order to better yourself for the future. Heck, Mitchell and Ness have established a multi-million dollar clothing line capitalizing on the nostalgia of sports fans.

It’s the Peter Pan dilemma, but unlike Peter our bodies grow while occasionally our minds don’t. The experience of watching sports doesn’t apply to life’s normal conventions, as there’s only one version of the team that made you fall in love with the franchise; thus naturally you’ll hold them on a pedestal for as long as you support them. That’s what Derek and Kobe symbolize for me: relics of the past that have performed well past their expiry dates. From the time I’ve started watching basketball to now, every other position for the Lakers have been a revolving door of players being plugged in and out. The Samaki Walkers and the Jordan Farmars come and go, but Derek Fisher and Kobe Bryant remain constants.

It’s partially why I was blinded to the improvement of the rest of the league until it slapped me straight across the face Monday night. The Oklahoma City Thunder’s stars are more talented than Kobe Bryant’s Lakers, but I’ve been reluctant to face that fact all along. Every time Charles Barkley would comment on how Kobe’s decline is evident, I didn’t buy it because in my head Kobe is still the guy who scored 81 points by himself.

Or every time someone criticizes Derek’s inability to be a starter anymore in this league, my mind flashes to an instant when Fish still had hair, was equipped with his signature headband and never failed to beat the other nine guys on the court to a loose-ball. These two players weren’t only basketball players to me, they were role models who shaped large portions of my childhood. Bryant’s fiercely competitive approach to everything he does, Fisher’s calming presence he brings to huddles, the list goes on and on; these are qualities I’ve borrowed from their professional life, and applied them to my personal one.

It’s also why the generation of fans before mine vehemently defend Michael Jordan to the grave despite the girth of records Kobe has gradually surpassed Jordan in (for the record I do believe Jordan is a better player). To them Kobe will never be MJ and to me Kevin Durant will never be Kobe.

All the things I’ve written above accumulated to make Fisher’s trade to Houston, and the eventual signing with the Thunder, life changing. Superheroes, role models, unrelated big brothers are never supposed to be thrown in as a salary dump to make room for a new hero, but that’s the reality the Lakers pushed upon a generation of fans in March.

Quick tangent: Fisher’s move to Utah was easier to swallow as it was a personal choice for a chance at more playing time. Heroes routinely strive for more success. Plus he eventually came back to the good guys.

Bryant’s public indifference towards the trade was suspect as its difficult not to have any feelings towards someone you’ve collaborated with for that long, but Kobe’s not human so he may not be lying. But Kobe did eventually admit to missing Derek in his own way when he gave an interview to ESPN a day after an unexpected loss to the Houston Rockets, saying he usually discusses tough losses with Derek on the team bus on the ride to the hotel but he wasn’t there after the loss to the Rockets.

Fisher has now faced the Lakers three times in a Thunder jersey, each time filling whatever role was necessary for victory.

Here we are now, in the midst of a series that is looking like it will shift the autonomy of the Western Conference for the next decade or so (let’s hope not but judging by game one, it’s likely). For the two wily veterans who grew up in Hollywood, this certainly isn’t a cinematic ending. Either way this series ends, one of Lakers’ constants will move on without the other one. One of my favourite songs as of my late is Leona Lewis’ Yesterday, the chorus goes a little something like this: “They can take tomorrow and the plans we made… All the broken dreams, take everything. Just take it away but they can never have yesterday.” The Thunder may go on to win this series, but fortunately no matter what happens in these next couple games nothing will be able to modify my irrevocable memories of Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher fostered during yesteryear.

Absolutely nothing.

Host: Jason Barquero  | Follow  @jaybarquero

Alright LakersNation, we start out by sending you all a big invite to tonight’s LakersNation Game 2 viewing party at ESPN ZONE L.A. Live. The party starts at 6 o’clock, but make sure to get there early as we’re giving away TONS of prizes like game 3 playoff tickets, autographed gear, new era caps, t-shirts, and more. Best of all – it’s free and you can thank our partners at Budweiser who will be providing special pricing on drinks and more. And, you’ll have the opportunity to meet myself and the rest of the LakersNation media team, as we’ll be hosting the party live with Lakers legend A.C. Green. Should be fun – come check it out.

So the Lakers only forced four turnovers during game 1 on Monday in Oklahoma City. When asked if forcing charges would be a way of getting OKC to turn the ball over, Kobe replied Tuesday by saying not to expect him to be taking any charges, any time soon. Bryant said, “We got a couple of guys that take charges, but for the most part, the one guy that took a charge is now playing in Oklahoma. I wonder whom he could be talking about. Looking forward to game 2 tonight, Kendrick Perkins of the Thunder will be a game time decision as he re-aggravated a hip injury on Monday night. Perkins originally suffered the injury during the final game of their first round series against the Mavs. Catch tonight’s game on TNT at 6:30 pacific time or on 710 ESPN Radio.

Last night on the hardwood the San Antonio Spurs rolled all over the Clippers 108-92 with Tim Duncan leading the pack with 26 points and 10 rebounds. The Clips Blake Griffin contributed with 15 points in only 28 minutes with a sprained left knee that under any other circumstances would probably have him out a couple of weeks if this weren’t the playoffs. Chris Paul wasn’t much help with an ailing hip as he scored only six points and had not a single basket in the second half. The Spurs have now won 15 straight NBA playoffs, the longest streak since the Spurs won 17 straight in 2004.

And to Miami we go where the Bosh-less Miami Heat lost home court advantage to the Indiana Pacers by a score of 78-75. The Heat missed 24 of 29 shots in one stretch. Lebron knocked down 28 points and Wade finished with 24 on the night, even though they both missed crucial shots with less than a minute to go. James missed two free throws with 54 seconds left and Wade couldn’t make a crucial layup that would have tied the game with 16 seconds remaining. After the game Wade commented, “Chris was missed, but that’s not the reason we lost this ballgame”. Uhhh, ya it is.

Don’t forget to follow me on twitter at jaybarquero and subscribe to our youtube channel right here. That’s all for this Wednesday – we’ll see you tomorrow.

Well, our friends at Panini Authentic thought that the fans who aren’t able to make the game should get something as well. So, they’ve thrown in a autographed photo of Kobe Bryant, that would be a perfect item to add to any Laker fans collection.

All you have to do is go to the Panini Authentic Facebook Page & tell them what your favorite Kobe Bryant memory is & you’re entered into the giveaway.

Here’s the image of the autographed photo of Kobe schooling the Boston Celtics:

After eliminating the Denver Nuggets (4-1) in the Western Conference Finals, the Lakers rolled into the Boston Garden with a confidence few teams dared to display on the hallowed parquet floor.

That group, led by (PG) Magic Johnson, strode through Game 1 warm-ups with a quiet certainty. All such certainty and confidence was erased as the Celtics proceeded to trounce the Lakers (148-114) in what would become known as “The Memorial Day Massacre.”

The Lakers were beaten to every loose ball, lost every close call, and were jeered and taunted for every bit of 48 minutes, by what had to have been the most raucous crowd during the 1980′s.

Even with the demoralizing loss in Game 1, those Lakers were able to battle back and eventually win the series for the 1985 NBA Title.

May 14th, 2012

We all saw what took place. A quietly confident group, fresh on the heels of outlasting a pesky Denver Nuggets team, meandered right into a virtual buzz-saw in a rested Oklahoma City Thunder squad. Am I guaranteeing history will repeat itself, finding the Lakers as the ultimate successors? Of course not. There’s no guarantee the Lakers will be able to find a way to win a single game of this series. What I am saying is that all hope does not evaporate with that 119-90 loss on Monday night. It was one inspired performance, from a hungry (young) team coming off a sweep of the reigning champions (Mavericks). Not to mention, there was undoubtedly a feeling of “payback” following the drama that transpired during their last meeting with the Lakers.

Although I wanted to believe the Lakers had a shot in Game 1, conventional wisdom (placing aside loyalties) would have told us the Lakers expended a great deal of energy with that 7-game series with the Nuggets.

Oklahoma City not only had the confidence of exacting revenge on the Mavericks (whom beat them last year in the Western Conference Finals), but they also had nine days to watch film and make all the necessary adjustments to the Lakers’ game plan. Like a game of chess, coach Brown, it is now your move.

Throughout the year, Brown has been criticized for everything imaginable. Although a supporter, I was even critical of his for failing to make adequate adjustments to Denver’s up-tempo attack and Andre Miller altogether, in a timely fashion. In fact, had Metta World Peace not returned for Game 7, we may not be talking about whether the Lakers stand a chance in this series against the Thunder.

One could argue that World Peace’s absence left Brown essentially handcuffed in terms of actual options, but you’d think someone other than Steve Blake would have stood a better shot at defending such a crafty player in Miller. Either way, the Thunder are not going to afford Brown the luxury of a Game 7 to make such adjustments.

What adjustments can be made, you ask?

Kobe Bryant must guard Russell Westbrook from the opening tip until the final horn, and beyond, if need be. I need Bryant in a “Bobby Hurley-like” defensive position sliding along with Westbrook as soon as he’s making his entrance from the tunnel.

Prohibiting early offensive success for Westbrook can be the key to stopping the explosive young guard from ever getting started. Bryant needs to employ some of the same physical brand of defense the Thunder have been utilizing to beat him up all season. Far too often, the Lakers reverted to their passive and less assertive ways, resulting in the Thunder winning a majority of the “50-50″ balls, and in turn reaping the benefit of the doubt on calls from the officials.

In no way am I saying the officiating was angled or geared towards the home team, rather I’m actually complimenting the Thunder for being the aggressors. Something, if the Lakers want to stand a chance in Game 2, Bryant and his teammates will have to reverse.

The Lakers should also look to do a majority of their scoring from 15 feet and in. No, I’m not saying you have to feed Gasol and Bynum with every pass, although the ball should be fed through the post at least once on every possession. I’m saying, on top of feeding the big men, World Peace and Bryant should also find room to operate out of the pinch-post and Sessions should be attacking the lane on a regular basis.

Settling for outside jumpers that result in long rebounds and fast transition for the opponent has been an issue for the Lakers all year, but it is never more dangerous than against a team like OKC. It is far more difficult to get out into transition when taking the ball out of the net or grabbing a rebound in traffic.

Essentially, the Lakers (as a unit) need to match and exceed the intensity of this tenacious Thunder team. Not an easy task, but not impossible. We’ve seen this team lock in, and play the type of team defense that can lead to titles. We’ve seen Bynum display acts of pure dominance, Bryant defy his virtual odometer and pile in 40-plus points, and we’ve seen the bench shoot “light’s out” and provide the spark this team needs to contend. Trouble is, we have yet to see all three of those occurrences happen at the same time with any substantial regularity.

We’re all going to learn a great deal about this Lakers roster with how they choose to respond in Game 2. With many folks already looking ahead at potential off-season moves, I (for one) am holding out faith in this core group still having enough pride left to at least put up that type of effort. If they’re able to execute their game plan, exact their will on the Thunder, we could be looking at an entirely different series heading back to Los Angeles.

However, I still think the Lakers can win. It won’t be easy. Hell, it may physically be the toughest series Metta World Peace, Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol, and even Kobe Bryant will be in. But, don’t tell me the Lakers are completely out of it.

Here’s how I think the Lakers can win:

Transition Defense  - First of all, the Thunder shot lights out for a good portion of the game. Maybe they can continue their extremely hot shooting, but just as science would tell you that what gets hot must go cold, the laws of gravity would tell you that what goes up must come down.

Perhaps the Lakers can’t stop the Thunder’s hot shooting. What they can help is their own defense. On numerous occasions we saw the Thunder push the ball up the court, only to get an easy layup or a wide open jump-shot. With two seven footers in the front court, it is extremely hard to keep up with a bunch of young, athletic, quick guards who love to run.

It’s not that they weren’t trying to get back on defense, but they just weren’t trying hard enough. They may not be able to run down those guards, but Bynum, Gasol, and the rest of the guys are going to have to sprint their rear ends back as fast as they can on every play.

It was evident how each Thunder player valued each possession. The Lakers are used to taking possessions off, and making up for it in other areas. In this series, everyone on the Lakers is going to have to get used to the fact that they are going to run more than they ever have before. They may not stop every transition basket, but they can at least not give up on every play. If certain players are getting tired or lazy, Mike Brown will have to do what he did in the last regular season game against the Thunder, and go with a lineup that will hustle.

Half-Court Defense – Because the Thunder pushed the ball up the court so fast last night, it didn’t allow the Lakers’ defense to get set. Most importantly, it didn’t allow Gasol and Bynum to get set. Bynum can be a defensive beast when he wants to be, but Monday night he rarely got the chance to block shots. When he was settled, Kevin Durant or Russell Westbrook were penetrating into the lane and pulling up for mid-range jump-shots.

The perimeter defense will have to step up, and Bynum will have to come out farther in order to make sure Durant doesn’t get such easy looks. Additionally, when Bynum helps, someone must cover his post. Hopefully that’s part of what he and Pau Gasol were discussing after the loss the other night.

Russell Westbrook looks poised to abuse Steve Blake in the post on every half-court possession, but Kobe Bryant has had success on him in the past. However, it appears that Ramon Sessions will get a longer assignment on him in Game 2. Sessions is not known for his defense, but if he can at least stay on him with his speed, it will greatly help. If not, the onus will be back on Kobe to try and slow Westbrook.

First, the Lakers must somehow slow the tempo in order to allow the defense to set.

Offensive Rebounds – Because it is so hard to slow the Thunder and control the tempo, the Lakers will have to do everything they can to limit the run-outs. Pounding the ball inside is one solution. Additionally, the Lakers will have to make it a point to crash the offensive glass. The Lakers have a size advantage with Gasol and Bynum, and with Matt Barnes’ pension for offensive rebounds and Metta World Peace’s strength, the Lakers will have to look to dominate the glass and slow down the game.

Tempo – The Lakers will have to try and slow the game down early, and not get caught up in the Thunder’s fast-paced style. It will be tough, because the Thunder will inevitably push the ball no matter how slow the Lakers play on offense. The Lakers will just have to take their time on offense, and run more sets through Pau Gasol.

Gasol has been one of the most effective facilitators this post-season, and can attack in a number of ways. His ability allows him to make things easier for literally everyone on the floor, and the Lakers will have to utilize him. Most importantly, he will have to come out with an aggressive mindset and look to score, pass, and rebound with authority.

Physicality/Hustle/Heart – The Lakers are a better team when they play physical. The Thunder are a jump-shooting team, but also attack the rim with their guards from time to time. However, the Lakers–especially when provoked–are an extremely physical team. The Thunder are playoff tested, but still aren’t as experienced as the Lakers core players (Bryant, Gasol, Bynum, and World Peace). We’re not talking about Metta World Peace throwing any more ‘bows, but the Lakers need to impose their will on the Thunder. Basically, they have to use their veteran experience and play some old-school type of basketball.

Last, but certainly not least, would be the Lakers’ hustle. They went out and tried in Game 1, but the Thunder came out and hustled. That style of play is in the Thunder’s DNA. The Lakers are a much older team, but we’ve seen them hustle before. When the Lakers are active offensively and especially defensively, they are a tough team to beat. If they can set a tone early, and create momentum somehow, they will have a chance to win Game 2 and win more games down the line.

The Thunder obviously have heart, and they collectively wear it on their sleeves. The Lakers have heart too, but it doesn’t appear to be on the same level as the Thunder. But, deep down, they do have a fire inside and want to win badly. We’ve seen it before from Pau Gasol, we sometimes see it from Andrew Bynum, we always see it from Kobe Bryant, and we see it come in different forms from Metta World Peace. The bottom line is that we need to see it from everyone that steps on the court in Game 2, and even from the guys who won’t play significant minutes. Every single player has to come out fired up.

Andrew Bynum said the Lakers will win the NBA Championship if they commit to defense, and he’s right. They just have to have the heart to do it.

Kobe Bryant – Kobe usually steps up his game come playoff time. Now is the time for him to truly step it up. He typically waits for the playoffs to bring out his “secret” weapon–which is attacking the basket. He can’t do it on a daily basis during the regular season because he’s older now, but when Bryant gets to the rim, good things happen. He is healthier than he has been over the last couple seasons, and is still one of the best finishers in the game when he attacks the rim. When he attacks and misses, he usually has Bynum, Gasol, or even one of his wing-men there to clean it up.

Kobe will probably be as tired as he’s ever been if he has to attack the basket, facilitate the offense, hustle on defense, and guard Russell Westbrook in this series. However, he knows that the window is closing when it comes to his championship opportunities, and will undoubtedly do whatever it takes to win.

We know he’ll be up for the challenge, it will just depend on how far his teammates are willing to to push themselves in order to win as well.

It won’t be easy, but if the Lakers can do all of these things, they have an extremely great chance to beat the Thunder.

At least I think so.

Keys to Lakers’ Victory:
Win the Turnover Battle - The most ridiculous stat of Monday’s night game wasn’t the ending score. It wasn’t even the Thunder’s 53 percent team field goal percentage. The most eye popping stat was that the Thunder had a 3.25 steal to turnover ratio. The Lakers had 15 turnovers, 13 of which were Thunder steals. During the regular season the Thunder had the highest rate of turnovers per game at 16. They’re not known for taking good care of the rock, so the Lakers need to exploit this weakness and create havoc around the ball. When the Thunder turn over the ball, it totally throws off their rhythm. Case in point: The Thunder lost to the lowly Wizards when forced into 21 turnovers.

Unfortunately the Lakers are the worst team in the league at creating turnovers (10.9 per game during the regular season). However that is no excuse, great teams make the necessary adjustments required to win in the playoffs. This will be a true test of Mike Brown’s ability. The Lakers will have to figure out some way to disrupt the Thunder’s offensive flow if they want to have a chance of beating them.

Hand-in-Face-Defense - On Monday the Thunder trio of Durant, Westbrook and Harden combined for 69 points on 52 percent shooting. Many of their points came from uncontested jumpers outside of the paint. The Lakers’ game plan was clear: take away the drive and force the Thunder guards to hit the open J. Well, the Thunder took what was given to them and hit the open shot all night long. Clearly, this isn’t the best approach. While it is important to acknowledge the Thunder’s superior athleticism, there is no excuse for letting the Thunder fire at will. Parts of Monday’s game began to resemble a backyard H-O-R-S-E battle.

The Lakers need to get up in the Thunder’s grill, and by grill I actually mean eye. Durant, Westbrook and Harden have proven that they can hit the open jumper, so the Lakers need to play up on them and rely on help defense to clog the paint if the Thunder opt to drive.

Feed Bynum - The Thunder chose not to double team Bynum in Game 1. Despite this, Bynum only had 12 shot attempts en route to 20 points. He should have double the amount of shots tonight since the Thunder simply cannot match up with him one-on-one. Should Perkins sit out Game 2 due to injury, the paint advantage will swing ever more in Bynum’s favor. Sessions, who struggled to find his shot in Game 1, should look to pull defenders and dish to Bynum.

Game 2, Semi-Finals, Western Conference
Los Angeles Lakers at Oklahoma City Thunder
6:30 PM PST, May 16, 2012
Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
TV: TNT
Radio: 710 AM (English), 1330 AM (Spanish)

Series Recap:
Game 1: Los Angeles 90 at Oklahoma City 119
Game 2: Tonight
Game 3: Friday, vs Oklahoma City – 7:30 p.m. – ESPN
Game 4: Saturday, vs Oklahoma City – 7:30 p.m. – TNT
*Game 5: May 21, at Oklahoma City – TBD – TNT
*Game 6: May 23, vs Oklahoma City – TBD – ESPN
*Game 7: May 27, at Oklahoma City – TBD – TNT
*If necessary

Thunder Projected Starting Line-Up:
PG: Russell Westbrook
SG: Thabo Sefolosha
SF: Kevin Durant
PF: Serge Ibaka
C: Kendrick Perkins

Key Reserves: G James Harden, G Derek Fisher, F Nick Collison

Our friends over at TiqIQ are providing free tickets to game 3 of the Lakers-Thunder second round playoff series.

Since we don’t want to send just anyone to an important Lakers playoff game, we only want the best and most passionate of fans.

So, all you have to do is show up to our game 2 viewing party at ESPN Zone and dress in your most favorite Lakers attire. The fan in attendance who is judged best dressed (by select members of Lakers Nation staff) will win a pair of tickets to get into game 3. Think you have what it takes to be the best dressed member of Lakers Nation? Come on down!

Even if you can’t come for the viewing party be sure to support the cause by checking in via TiqIQ Connect.

Whether you’re at home on your couch or at the viewing party, let your voice be heard hy letting us know where you’ll be watching the game. And if you’re determined to go to game 3, take a look at the great deals available on the Lakers Nation official ticket exchange.

Hope to see you at the Zone!