Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Lakers: Looking into the Western Conference Playoffs contenders – NBA Feature Part 2
2. Oklahoma City Thunder
The team occupying the second seed in the Western Conference are the Oklahoma City Thunder, the young team which has taken the entire league by storm ever since the season started.
The Thunder entered the season ready to take on all comers and determined to make a mark. This attitude of the Thunder was due to the fact that they got beat in last year’s Conference Finals by the eventual Champions,
Dallas Mavericks. However this time around, things are expected to be a lot different as the Thunder get ready for playoff action, ironically against the Mavs in the first round.
With the current line-up, the likes of three time scoring champion Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and favourite for the Sixth Man of the Year award, James Harden, Oklahoma City present themselves as one of the
favourites to go all the way.
The Thunder finished the season with a 47-19 win loss record and had it not been for some slacking performances in the end of the season, they would have clinched the top seed in the Western Conference.
In the off season many would have seen, the videos of Durant playing in the summer league and he seems to have carried all that momentum into this season. Durant has been the centre point for the Thunder throughout
the season.
Along with the supporting cast of Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka, they have a complete line up which can go up against any team in the NBA at the moment. Perkins has brought the much required experience to
this young thundering roster and in Ibaka; they have got themselves, one of the most feared defenders in the league. The Thunder big man has been often seen doing the “Mutombo Finger” during the course of this season.
They also have a good supporting cast which includes Nick Collison, veteran Derek Fisher, Daequan Cook, Nazr Mohammed and not to forget the extremely functioning Thabo Sefolosha. With this unit, they will be
looking to lay a claim to the Larry O’Brien Trophy, come playoff time.
3. Los Angeles Lakers
The third team in the Western Conference who will be taking part in the playoff are the Los Angeles Lakers. The current Lakers line-up is no newcomer to this type of action, having won the NBA World Championship
twice in the past 5 years and 5 times in the last 10.
Lakers also have one of the strongest big man combinations in the league; Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum being their twin towers. These two big carry the load of much of the rebounding for the team from Hollywood
and with Bynum crashing the high post and Gasol doing his damage on the low post, they also do their damage in the scoring aspect. However the most significant factor in this deal is that they can switch rolls at any point and bring the diversity to their
scoring prowess.
The most important weapon in the Lakers arsenal is the ‘Black Mamba’, Kobe Bryant who despite struggling from injuries is known to carry much of offensive load for his team. Being the number two scorer in the
league this season is mere proof of the fact that, Kobe still has got what it takes to be a top competitor in this league full of stars.
Many critics consider Kobe as being selfish or taking too much shorts in a game which may depict him as being a selfish player. However, in his pre match interview before the season finale against the Sacramento
Kings, Kobe let it known to all that the team’s interest is more important than personal glory to him and he will be giving it all to win another championship.
With the recent acquisition of Ramon Sessions from the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Lakers seemed to have found a strong ingredient as they look to give it all, come playoff time.
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