The Oklahoma City Thunder have already exacted revenge against the team that eliminated them from last season's playoffs. Now they have a chance to get some payback against the team that put them out of the postseason two years ago as well. Oklahoma City will face the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round of the 2012 NBA Playoffs.
The Thunder have been waiting for their second-round series to begin since completing a four-game sweep of the reigning champion Dallas Mavericks back on May 5. A week later, the Lakers earned their spot in the Western Conference semifinals by defeating the Denver Nuggets, 96-87, in Game 7 of their first-round matchup.
Two seasons ago, Oklahoma City lost its first-round series to Los Angeles in six games. Last year, the Thunder fell to the Dallas Mavericks four games to one in the Western Conference finals. After defeating Oklahoma City in the playoffs, both the Lakers and Mavericks went on to championship seasons. This year, the Thunder hope that they can defeat Los Angeles in the second round and continue their growth towards a championship season of their own.
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Los Angeles Lakers Western Conference Semifinals Schedule
Game 1: Monday, May 14, Los Angeles Lakers at Oklahoma City Thunder, 9:30 p.m. ET on TNT
Game 2: Wednesday, May 16, Los Angeles Lakers at Oklahoma City Thunder, 9:30 p.m. ET on TNT
Game 3: Friday, May 18, Oklahoma City Thunder at Los Angeles Lakers, 10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
Game 4: Saturday, May 19, Oklahoma City Thunder at Los Angeles Lakers, 10:30 p.m. ET on TNT
Game 5: Monday, May 21, Los Angeles Lakers at Oklahoma City Thunder, TBD (if necessary)
Game 6: Wednesday, May 23, Oklahoma City Thunder at Los Angeles Lakers, TBD (if necessary)
Game 7: Sunday, May 27, Los Angeles Lakers at Oklahoma City Thunder, TBD on TNT (if necessary)
During the regular season, the Thunder and Lakers met three times with Oklahoma City winning the series 2-1. In the final regular season meeting between these two teams on April 22, Metta World Peace of the Lakers threw a reckless elbow that gave Oklahoma City's James Harden a concussion. As a result, Peace missed Los Angeles' first six playoff games. He returned to the lineup just in time to help the Lakers to a Game 7 victory over the Nuggets at the Staples Center.
Game 1 of this Western Conference semifinals matchup will be played in Oklahoma City's Chesapeake Energy Arena where Metta will likely get a less than "Peaceful" reception. This is one of the dramatic storylines that may serve as a backdrop to this series.
In Game 3 of this series, Derek Fisher, who has played more than 75 games at the Staples Center in a Lakers' uniform, will play his first postseason game at Staples in an opposing team's jersey. Even though these two storylines will have absolutely no bearing on who wins or loses, they are likely to be discussed until this series comes to a close.
The winner of this conference semifinals matchup will be determined solely by what happens on the basketball court. And whenever Metta World Peace is on the basketball court stopping Kevin Durant must be his primary focus no matter how the fans in either Oklahoma City or Los Angeles receive him.
If Peace can crowd Durant, make him take tough shots and force him into turnovers, then the Lakers will have a legitimate chance at winning this series. If Metta moves his feet and uses his hands like he did in Game 7 against the Denver Nuggets, he will have an impact on Durant's production and efficiency. Metta's activity level and focus will be paramount to the Lakers' success against Oklahoma City.
To win this series, Los Angeles will have to steal home-court advantage from the Thunder. The sooner they can win a game in Oklahoma City the better off the Lakers will be. Los Angeles hopes that the Thunder, who have been off for over a week, will be rusty enough to give the Lakers an opportunity to wrest home-court advantage from the Thunder in Game 1.
Although they swept the Dallas Mavericks in the first round, the Thunder won their two home games by a total of four points and barely eked out those wins. If the Lakers can keep the first two games of this series close heading into the final minutes, chances are that they will likely return to Los Angeles with at least a 1-1 split.
If the Lakers win one of the first two games in Oklahoma City, they would be able to win the series by simply protecting their home court. However, with Games 3 and 4 being played on consecutive nights in Los Angeles, the older Lakers might find it difficult to win both games of a back-to-back against the younger, more athletic Thunder.
Almost anything is possible in this conference semifinals matchup between the Thunder and Lakers. This will be an interesting and dramatic series that will be determined by will and determination. The team that maintains its focus and imposes its will on the other will be the team that takes another step towards a possible championship season. By the time that it is over, this series will likely be the most interesting and compelling matchup of the conference semifinals. It will be interesting to watch how the drama unfolds.
Prediction: Lakers 4-2
Mark is a lifelong fan of the NBA who has loved the game of basketball ever since his first trip to an NBA arena. Mark has watched more basketball games than anyone can count and has hundreds of articles about the NBA published on the internet. Mark also shares his random NBA musings and game-by-game predictions on RandomNBAFan.com.
More on the 2012 NBA Playoffs:
2012 NBA Playoffs: Miami Heat Vs. Indiana Pacers Eastern Conference Semifinals Matchup Fan's View
2012 NBA Playoffs: Oklahoma City Thunder Vs. Dallas Mavericks Fan's Preview
2012 NBA Playoffs: Los Angeles Lakers Vs. Denver Nuggets Fan's Preview
2012 NBA Playoff Power Rankings: Fan's Take
Information from ESPN.com's Oklahoma City Thunder 2012 Schedule, Los Angeles Lakers 2012 Schedule; and Basketball-Reference.com's Derek Fisher NBA Statistics was used for this article.
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