Lakers Struck by Thunder

By: Eric Patterson

The OKC Thunder played against each other
in the second round of the playoffs

For many years the Lakers have been the golden standard for being a great team. The Lakers have made it to the playoffs every year for the last 7 seasons. Kobe Bryant is one of the best players in the NBA and has lead the Lakers to five championship wins. According to Ryan Kister the Lakers have a better record for being a historically good team. He also says that two years ago the Lakers were much better than the Thunder. Now the two teams have met in the playoffs, and the results reveal a new reality for the Lakers.

The OKC Thunder and the LA Lakers played in a seven game series in the second round of the 2012 playoffs. The Thunder beat the Lakers in the series four games to one. The Lakers also struggled in the first round of the playoffs when it took them seven games to beat the Denver Nuggets in their series. The Thunder had no problem beating the defending champion Dallas Mavericks in a four game sweep in their first round series. In the series between the Lakers and the Thunder, three of the games were very close, the other two were blowouts for OKC. In game 1, OKC set the tone by winning by 29 points. The next three games were close, OKC won by two, then Lakers won by three, and OKC won game four by three points. In game five the Lakers had to win to continue in the playoffs, this is the time when stars can rise and lead their team to a huge comeback, but instead the Lakers lost by 16 to end their postseason play.

Kevin Durant dunks the ball

These results suggest a new reality for the quality of the Lakers team. It also shows a new path ahead for the Thunder. The Thunder proved themselves in both of their seasons. First they swept the Dallas Mavericks, the defending champions. Then they went on to beat the Lakers, one of the best teams in the NBA four games to one. On the other side, the Lakers struggled in their first series against the Nuggets. The Nuggets were only rank sixth, while the Lakers were third, but it took the Lakers seven games to beat them. Then the Lakers got knocked out by OKC. The Thunder seem to be on the road to success, they may be the new, upcoming legends of the NBA. While the Lakers currently remain a strong team, it is clear that they are not the superstar team they were before, and are on a downward spiral. The Lakers must change some things around, and see if they can regain the superstar status they had a few years ago. For the Thunder they need to keep up the intensity and they might be able to get to the finals, and if they do make it to the finals they would have a good shot at winning it.

Now the Lakers are going home and trying to get ready for next season. They will be looking for things they can change in the lineup and in their playing style to try to bring back the life the Lakers had before. For the Thunder they are now going on to the conference finals where they are playing the San Antonio Spurs. This will be a very tough match for OKC as the Spurs have won their last 18 games and haven’t lost in the playoffs. Anything can happen in the playoffs, and the Thunder should play some great and interesting games to finish off their postseason.