The Lakers and the Thunder are a lot alike in some ways. Think about it this way:
Dominant superstar? Check. Second offensive option who is a borderline All-Star? Check. Long, lanky versatile forward? Check. Guys who can come in off the bench and change the game? Check.
But off the court these franchises are totally different. Night and day. The Los Angeles Lakers have 15 NBA championship banners hanging at one end of Staples Center. They won the title last year. Their coach has a ring for every finger. On both hands. They ooze experience to the point of boredom with everything before the playoffs (which could cost them).
The Oklahoma City Thunder are so excited to have made the playoffs the franchise is throwing a parade before the first game. A parade before the ball is thrown up in one playoff game.
All that gets to the real question at the heart of this series: Does the Lakers experience overcome their banged up bodies and sloppy play coming in? Can Oklahoma City have fun and not flinch under a new level of pressure? The stats will tell you this one is very close. But as Portland learned last year, the playoffs are a different kind and level of basketball. Does Oklahoma City have to learn how to win at this level, or can they walk out Sunday and say, “why not now?”
Of course, there are some fun matchups, starting with the ones at the top of the marquee.
There is Kevin Durant, the NBA’s newest superstar, a 6'10" guy with point guard skills, who can hit the three or drive he lane. Stopping him (or guys like him) is why the Lakers got Ron Artest, everyone’s favorite physical defender, blonde (today) and loose cannon. Artest will try to be physical with Durant, and if the refs allow him to be like Phil Jackson he wants he stands a chance of making Durant less efficient.
On the other end, Kobe Bryant is going to face Thabo Sefolosha, who has had success in this matchup -- in the team’s last meeting that he held Kobe to 11 points and Kobe actually admitted Sefolosha bothered him. The Thunder are a good defensive team, too, and Sefolosha will get help.
The two key matchups, however, will be elsewhere. UCLA alumni Russell Westbrook returns to LA to piss off his former fans. We all know the Lakers have struggled to stop quick point guards for a couple seasons, and there are few quicker than Westbrook. Here’s a little stat to tell you how important Westbrook is -- when the Thunder blew out the Lakers last month, Westbrook was 10 of 13 shooting; but in the Lakers three wins in this series this season, he shot 39 percent.
Derek Fisher is going to need help -- and that’s where a healthy Andrew Bynum comes a key. Westbrook is great in finishing at the rim, but if Bynum can force him to shoot before that, well, Westbrook takes some of the ugliest 8-foot shots in the NBA.
The Lakers advantage is Pau Gasol, who has beasted lately -- shooting 65 percent and scoring 26 points per game in the Lakers last five (before the Clipper game Wednesday). The 7'0" Gasol will be guarded by the 6'9" Jeff Green, who is a quality player but cannot bother Gasol when he gets the ball. The Lakers all to often inexplicably go away from Gasol, if they do it here they play into the Thunder’s hands.
There is James Harden sparking the Thunder off the bench, versus the Lamar Odom spark. There is Green trying to pull the Laker bigs away from the basket. There are a lot of Xs and Os to watch.
Still, the question is how much does experience matter? The Lakers do not tighten up under pressure; they tend to thrive in it. They don’t always win but they seem to revel in it. They have won a title because of it. Look at what Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak told Mike Trudell of Lakers.com in their series preview:
The Thunder run their sets but often seem of short-arm shots in the last five minutes of a game. When the defensive pressure steps up, they seem to get tight, and with Harden on the bench (in favor of Thabo’s defense) they rely heavily on Durant to do everything. With more on the line then their core has ever faced, how will the Thunder execute? Carefree, like a team with nothing to lose? Or do they get tight?
Much of the nation, pretty tired of Kobe and the Lakers, will be pulling for the upstarts. Oklahoma City will have America’s hearts. If they can keep their heads, they have the talent to hang.
But would you really bet against the Lakers here? Neither would I.