For the second time in this series, the Utah Jazz had an opportunity to break their 15-game losing streak at Staples Center against the Lakers but Game 2 brought them the same results as Game 1.

A loss.

About the only difference in this game is Utah starting the game a little sharper than last Sunday. Yep, it was the same old story. The Lakers were in control early but allowed the Jazz to get back in the game in the 4th quarter.

But it isn't the bench's fault this time. Well, not entirely.

Phil Jackson decided to shorten his rotation in Game 2, which means no more than 3 bench player ever got on the floor at the same time. But the adjustment didn't exactly pay off the way he intended it to do.

Turnovers and weak defense allowed the Jazz to get back in the game and threatened to steal homecourt advantage away from the Lakers once again. Losing focus has been a season-long theme for the Lakers, and it looks like it's here to stay. It isn't something any Laker fan would want to hear when there are still 10 more wins separating the Lakers from their 16th NBA title (or a repeat if you prefer).

The good news is the Lakers seem to always bounce back each time the Jazz made a run.

But you just can't help but wonder if the Lakers can continue to afford letting opponents back in the game as they move on through the playoffs. I say no. Not after this series.

What's interesting about Game 2 was Deron Williams had a chance to exploit not only Ron Artest but Derek Fisher with his quickness as he aluded he would after Game 1. Sure, he badly beaten Fish a few times on offense. But after the Utah bench did its job of chipping away enough of the Laker 15-point lead, Williams seem to be a lot more concerned about passing the ball than trying to take over the game.

Last time I checked, Deron has the Lakers' weakest defender on him. Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, and Ron Artest were killing the Jazz's entire frontcourt lineup on both baskets. Any other All-Star point guard would have easily started attacking the rim each time down when he sees his team struggling on offense. But he didn't.

So the only thing I can think of is Williams' injured elbow (or shoulder) is bothering him and is afraid of making it worse. If that's the case and Deron isn't at 100%, then don't be surprised if the Lakers sweep them in 4.

That said, Utah is still a dangerous enough team to get a win in Salt Lake City. The Lakers just need to take care of business a lot better up there than what they've done at Staples Center.

Like I said before, the playoffs will turn dead serious after this round. The Lakers will need to prepare for that.

GO LAKERS!!!

Not long after the Lakers dispatched the Utah Jazz in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semi-Finals on Sunday, Ron Artest set the stage on what could come on Tuesday for Game 2 during his post-game interview. Deron Williams was quoted saying that he'll be "exploiting" his speed advantage on Artest for Game 2 to get some form of leverage over the much bigger Laker squad.

Ron was given the assignment to defend the All-Star point guard for much of Game 1 and did a decent job at preventing Deron from taking over the game for his team, especially in the 4th quarter.

Artest fired back by saying that he'll start exploiting people himself in the post in Game 2.

His words may not merit the same type of value as what Kobe Bryant would say about a player or a team prior to a big game, but Ron can hold his own. If the Jazz wants to have any kind of pluses on Tuesday, this isn't the area to start on. I wouldn't be surprised if Williams gets a hard foul going to the hoop a couple of times compliments of #37.

The Lakers almost had another wake-up call in Game 1 because of the bench allowing Utah's second unit to dictate the final quarter and overtake the lead with less than 5 minutes left in the game. Even Kobe got their attention and called them out after the game and on practice on Monday.

At this point, Phil Jackson has very little options left to deal with his bench. He can only hope that they give him more solid minutes in any given game than what they showed him in the second half on Sunday. So, there's really no need for us Laker fans to keep on harping about how the bench needs to be more consistent. They know it, but they simply just can't maintain that kind of commitment from game-to-game right now.

I'll say this though: the bench is gonna have to buckle down after this series because the playoffs will get pretty hectic after the Jazz. Teams will be gunning for them as soon as they step on the floor regardless if they're ready or not.

Expect Andrew Bynum's minutes to go down in this series to keep the small cartilage tear in his left knee from forcing him to sit out games after this round. Phil will need him as healthy as possible against either the Spurs or Suns and whoever comes out of the east in the Finals. Bynum will most likely opt to have the tear surgically repaired over the summer which will keep him out for at least 2 weeks. Lots of time for him to heal before training camp in October.

As for Game 2, the Lakers will just have to continue to take advantage of their size on both ends of the floor but try to put away the Jazz early this time. I know that's kind of a tall order given to what occured in Game 1, but the Lakers have proven in the first round that they can adjust and step up after a low-point reared its ugly head on the previous game.

As long as the Laker bench match the production and energy of the Jazz secondary, the Lakers should head over to Salt Lake City up 2-0.

GO LAKERS!!!

Other Notes: Phil surpassed Pat Riley for most playoff wins in Laker history by earning his 103rd win on Sunday against the Jazz.

And another milestone for the Lakers.

Artest on being "exploited":

Before the game, Phil Jackson pointed out that Game 1 was probably the Utah Jazz's best chance of stealing homecourt advantage away from the Lakers because of the emotional rollercoaster the team had to go through to eliminate the Thunder on Friday.

Thankfully, enough of the Laker players got the memo.

But the Laker bench flirted with disaster by their inability to maintain a lead because of turnovers, poor execution on offense, and bad defense in the 4th quarter. Phil gave them a chance to correct their errors by leaving them on the floor a little longer until they give him a reason to take them out.

They did. So it was up to Kobe Bryant (31 points), Pau Gasol (25 points, 12 rebounds, 5 blocks), and Lamar Odom (9 points, 12 rebounds, 2 blocks) to save the day.

Kobe may have taken over on offense, but both Pau and Lamar put on a flurry of defensive stop by swatting away every key baskets Utah put up towards the rim.

The size of the Laker frontcourt is Utah's biggest problem. That presented itself none more so than when the Lakers rallied back to take the lead back for good. In other words, the Jazz may rally time and time again, but the Lakers' superior length and skills in the paint will always be there to meet them.

That said, Phil can only expect the best out of the second unit for every single game and for every single series the Lakers move ahead to. The bench is what it is. The Lakers have no choice but to run with them.

The important thing is enough players will always answer the bell whenever the team needs a few guys stepping up even more on both sides of the court to win games.

We'll see how the bench redeem themselves on Tuesday.

GO LAKERS!!!

The Thunder series is now history but left a lot of impressions on our defending champs (and us fans). They were tested both mentally and physically against a bunch of overachieving "stallions" (as Kobe described them after Game 6) who doesn't know how the meaning of quit.

Overcoming a challenge that forced the Lakers to focus more, ignore their aches and pains, and to play together as a team on both ends of the floor will always have a positive impact on any team regardless if that team is the defending champs or not. Not only are they prepared to take on any opponent who will provide another rigorous 7-game series, they are also readily experienced to get the job done.

But with Denver and Dallas out of the picture, there is only Utah, San Antonio, and Phoenix to stand in their way of their third NBA Finals appearance in as many post-seasons. Of the three teams, the Spurs are projected to give the Lakers the most fits despite boasting a 3-1 record against them in the regular season.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves just yet.

Just like the Lakers, the Utah Jazz also have a few health issues coming into this Western Conference Semi-Finals. Mehmet Okur ruptured his achilles tendon in Game 1 of their Denver series. Andrei Kirilenko is out with a strained calf but will probably return at some point during this series. But most notably is Deron Williams' bruised elbow after "Birdman" Chris Andersen gave him a hard screen during their closeout game against the Nuggets. His availability will be a gametime decision.

Even with a healthy Williams, Utah's chances of getting past the Lakers are very slim. Derek Fisher knows him more than any Laker because of his time backing him up in his lone season with the Jazz.

Deron is a type of guard who loves to use his strength as much as his speed on other guards, but Fish's own bulk and brawn give him enough fits. Plus, Williams is nowhere near as quick or as athletic as Russell Westbrook. As long as Fish can keep him out of the paint for much of any game, that will make this series much easier for the Lakers.

That said, the Lakers still have no reason to cruise against the Jazz. Sloan is still one of the best coaches in the league and happens to be the master of the entire array of pick-and-rolls. The Lakers haven't exactly fully learned how to properly defend those plays because they often forget to communicate and rotate quick enough on defense.

But is that enough for the Jazz to liken their odds against the Lakers?

Not even close.

Utah has a much wider range of problems on defense than the Lakers. They don't have the size nor athleticism to keep up with Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, and (especially) Lamar Odom to start. And who's going to defend Ron Artest and Kobe Bryant?

Artest won't feel the need to launch those threes in this series because the Jazz have absolutely no one to stop him in the post. As for Bryant? Utah shipped their "Kobe-stopper" Ronnie Brewer to Memphis in February and tough-guy Matt Harpring retired after last season. Even if Kirilenko returns, he won't have the timing or conditioning to fully have an effect guarding Kobe. Then again, by the time he comes back the series would have been in the bag for the Lakers.

Jazz fans are hopeful that the injuries to the Lakers will be their undoing. I know. It's silly when you consider what the "hurting" Lakers had done against the intensity of the Thunder.

Bynum may have hyper-extended his knee in Game 6, but I don't think it will force him to miss any game against the Jazz. How effective he will be remains to be seen.

Utah is also counting on their big man Kyrylo Fesenko to slow down Andrew and Pau with his 7-1, 300-lbs. frame. He's certainly a big guy in the middle but nowhere as skilled as bigger guys like Zydrunas Ilgauskas or Yao Ming. The biggest problem Fesenko will have against Pau and Andrew is their quickness.

So, no. I don't think that's a major concern for the Lakers.

About the only advantage the Utah has over the Lakers in Game 1 is what Phil Jackson pointed out after the Lakers eliminated the Thunder. The Jazz dispatched the Nuggets in Utah while the purple and gold closed their series in enemy territory and will have to fly back to Los Angeles for their meeting with the Jazz on Sunday.

And the mental games begin...

Lakers in 5.

GO LAKERS!!!

Injury Update: Bynum's MRI results reveal a small tear of the anterior horn of his lateral meniscus (or a cartilage tear) in his right knee which was previously stated as a hyper-extension. The Lakers aren't expecting him to miss any game, but he's listed as questionnable for Game 1.

I don't think Andrew will miss any game either. He knows he's been out of the playoffs too many times in his short career with the Lakers. So if he can play through with this, he will.

(Courtesy: L.A. Times)

Wow! What a way to finish this series! I know I'm not alone on this, but I really have to tip my hat off to Scott Brooks and his Oklahoma City Thunder. I haven't been this impressed by a Laker opponent in the playoffs since the Jordan-led Bulls. But I have a feeling we'll be seeing more of them in the playoffs in the near future.

The Lakers went into this game with a mindset of eliminating the Thunder. They did a great job ignoring the crowd and sticking to the gameplan. Even the bench gave Phil Jackson good, solid minutes. They outscored the Thunder bench 30-16 with every single one producing at least 2 points. Shannon Brown led them with 11 BIG points on 4-5 shooting, including 2 HUGE 3-pointers.

The offense wasn't anywhere near as fluid or as mobile as Game 5, but they were finding their bigs inside. The defense also wasn't as good but did its job for the most part. Kobe Bryant started on Russell Westbrook, but for some reason Derek Fisher defended him on a part-time basis. As expected, Westbrook came out super-aggressive but shot 7-for-20. Still, he delivered when his team needed him most.

As for Kevin Durant-ula, he started the game shooting bricks and finished 5-23. But he managed to get calls in his favor and made a trip to the line 15 times and missed just 1. Again, Ron Artest made him uncomfortable on offense. However, Artest surprisingly did some damage on offense hitting a couple of key shots that kept the Lakers up in front. He finished with 7 points.

Fish also served up a few licks on offense with 11 points on 4 of 8 shooting, including 3 clutch ones from behind the arc, and led the team with 6 assists.

Both Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum never scored in double digits, but their presence in the paint is the key to this series. Of course, let's not forget Pau's play of the game (despite Kobe Bryant erupting for 32 points). His game-winning tip-in with .5 seconds left in the clock reminded me of how the Pacers defeated us on a similar play with Troy Murphy at the buzzer.

It's plays like that that breeds a sense of clutch in great players much like what it did for D-Fish. Who knows? Maybe Gasol will develop into another clutch player for the Lakers in these playoffs or next season.

The Lakers may have lost a late 4th quarter 7-point lead, but they kept their composure and trusted one another. That goes a long way in the playoffs, especially for a team riddled with health and inconsistency issues like the Lakers.

4 down and 12 more to go.

Bring on the Jazz!

GO LAKERS!!!

Injury Note: Bynum hyper-extended his knee when Nenad Krstic boxed him out. He'll get an MRI on Saturday, but Andrew said he can play with it.

I believe him. He was in pain during the game but never asked to come out and, more importantly, didn't allow himself hurt the team by staying on the floor.

Game 5 was certainly a testament of how potent our defending champs can be when they want to. The question is: would the same team show up on Friday?

The Lakers are still undefeated when it comes to taking the lead back in a series when it's tied at 2 games a piece but have been somewhat shaky at bringing the same determination in a closeout game. The media (of course) are never convinced no matter what the Lakers do and always seems to be too caught up with history. On the other hand, us die-hard Laker fans know that the next game will be the final game of this series.

Why? Because this year is different. Being the defending champs, they've seen that the landscape is diabolical and unforgiving when they have that conspicuous red target on their backs. So the less challenges they have to deal with on their post-apocalyptic road back to the finals, the better they'll be prepared mentally and physically for whoever comes out of the east. But especially when they're not running at 100% capacity.

That and seeing the next rounds of the Western Conference playoffs shifting in their favor matchup-wise being too much to resist to fool around with the Thunder. Kind of like Charles Barkley seeing a dozen of those sprinkled donuts sitting alone on top of a desk on his way to his seat for his TNT Halftime Show right before it's about to go on the air. Poor Ernie Johnson.

The Thunder will come out firing as they normally do. But expect an uber aggressive Russell Westbrook and (maybe) Kevin Durant. Everybody knows Westbrook is their spark plug on offense so he'll try to get his team going by taking it to Kobe Bryant each time he gets.

But the Lakers are aware of what to expect out of OKC and their "loud city" crowd. They've been that road before oh-so-many times. They're not here to play anymore.

They're here to finish the job.

GO LAKERS!!!

Other Notes:

It looks like the self-proclaimed "king" Lebron James will win his second straight NBA MVP award.

Lebron can win all the individual accolades in the NBA for all I care. Kobe and the Lakers have a much better prize on their sights.

Jeanie Buss is already working to get her father (Jerry Buss) to keep her boyfriend (Phil Jackson) employed in the family business next season.

First off, cold weather does not bode well with PJ's health anymore. Second, unless there's undeniable proof that Lebron (and he's the only one outside Kobe he would want to coach) will sign with the Knicks (or New Jersey) next season AND that Lebron will have a bonafide championship-level roster around him Phil will not even glance at the Sun rising in the east.

(Courtesy: L.A. Times)

If there's anybody else out there still wondering how the Lakers would look like when they play championship basketball, this is it.

The Lakers dominated the Oklahoma City Thunder from the opening minute of the 1st quarter and returned the favor of some good old-fashioned beatdown en route to a 111-87 victory to take over the series again at 3-2. The extra day off may have rested the black and blues for the Lakers, but the Thunder absolutely had no chance of winning coming to this game.

Like what Lamar Odom said before the game. They're "not worried but aware" of this impressive Thunder team. Well, the defending champs never took their eyes off of them the entire game.

And look what happened.

Playoff basketball is all about adjustments. Kobe Bryant guarding Russell Westbrook has always been an option. It's just that no one thought that Kobe will take on that challenge only because of the way he's been favoring his aches and bruises since Day 1.

We should have known better.

Bryant pretty much derailed the 0-train from doing his usual damage. His defense not only shutdown Westbrook but in my mind the entire Thunder team. They're just not the same when their legs are taken from them.

But it wasn't just Kobe playing some D. The entire Laker team was fresh and very mobile on both ends of the floor. The Laker bigs were contstantly in motion moving into excellent position in the paint early in the shot clock as the rest of the team feeds them also in motion rather than passing the ball around until an opening in the post presents itself.

Above all, the Lakers bullied the Thunder on defense in the paint and around the perimeter. Every lane was cut off. Every shot contested. Every rebound and loose ball fought for.

The entire Thunder team shot 36.9%. Who says the Lakers can't guard this team?

Even Westbrook ended up on his rear end on a hard foul in the opening quarter. That I liked!

The Lakers just came out with their game face on. Nothing fancy. Nothing cute. Just some hard-nosed basketball from start to finish. They simply turned the tables around on the Thunder making them look old and overwhelmed.

Speaking of finish, let's end this non-sense on Friday!

GO LAKERS!!!

Here is a great inspirational clip from a fellow Laker fan (mramos4131) that features
Al Pacino's Tony D'Amato's awesome "inch by inch" speech in "Any Given Sunday".

Enough with all the doomsday talk. Enough with all the analysis. Enough with all the comparisons of the past. Enough with the Lakers talking about their keys for Game 5.

It's all about what they must do NOW.

The Thunder doesn't care if the Lakers are the defending champs or if the Lakers have excessive amount of post-season experience over them. They don't care that Kobe Bryant is ailing. They don't care that Phil Jackson has won 10 titles as a head coach. To them, it's all about how they're going to spend their time with the big boys in the playoffs.

All the highs and lows of the season has been boiled down to Tuesday night. One game to decide months and months of preparation and all of the painstaking rehabilitation from all the injuries to defend the title.

Yes, they've been challenged prematurely but not surprisingly. This is what the playoffs is all about. The real season that separates the contenders from the pretenders, including the defending champs.

Success in the playoffs has always been in the hands of the Lakers. Not the referees. Not David Stern. And certainly not the Thunder.

This is it. What the Lakers do in Game 5 will be the defining point of their redemption or their damnation.

Period.

GO LAKERS!!!

Other Notes: Shannon Brown has said that opting out of his contract could prove too tempting for him after the season. Brown signed a 2-year $4.15 million-dollar contract with the second year as a player option last summer. He is worth $2.15 million next year if he decides to accept it. Shannon believes that the impending new collective bargaining agreement might increase his market value.

Wow, another player who thinks he's worth more than he actually is. I like Shannon. But if he thinks he can get Jerry Buss into handing out more bad contracts than what he already has. Well, all I can say is...LetShannonGo.com.

Injury Update: Sasha Vujacic is coming along fine after severely spraining his left ankle against the Clippers in the final game of the regular season. But there's still no timetable for his return and will most likely not participate, at least, in the second round should the Lakers move on to that round.

Like I said before, it looks like Sasha's season is over.

As I sat watching the waning minutes of Game 4, I was going through everything that I can think of that has contributed to this lowest point of the Lakers this season. I know. I didn't think their final regular season loss to the Thunder could ever be topped (and this soon, too) at all.

But this is bad.

Not so much in a sense that they got blown out of "loud city" by 21 points, but more of how they got dismantled, disfigured, and discombobulated by a team of nobodys and Kevin Durant. I mean the Lakers are supposed to be the defending champs here. Then again, they rarely played like champs this season.

Injuries certainly has a good say to what's been hindering the Lakers. But I think that their mental state has a lot more to do with their struggles than anything else.

It may sound too far-fetched, but I believe that their physical and mental bout with the Celtics in the 2008 NBA Finals and their road back to the Finals to win the title against the Magic may have exhausted the Lakers. Combine that with how they feed off of Kobe Bryant's intensity and production on the floor (which is practically here and there) and we've got ourselves a Laker team that is (hard to say) ripe for the pickins.

Just the body language and vacancy of their faces even before Games 3 & 4 ended say a lot about how the Lakers are in this series.

Concerned and bewildered.

Not even Bryant is wearing that "Black Mamba" scowl we grew to love in the Finals last year. It may be a little harder to see it, but even Phil Jackson has that unfamiliar brooding look in his eyes.

But the Lakers had gone through so many this season. Injuries, fatigue, contract issues, unsuccessful trades, harsh criticisms, and (above all) the pressure of doing it again this year. Yet, they still managed to win the west for the third consecutive seasons.

Of course, that means jack if they don't repeat. But considering what this season has given them, I don't think any other team could have accomplished what they did.

So how are the Thunder having such an easy time getting things done at their expense?

Well the biggest reason I've noticed is that the Thunder absolutely has zero ego. Each player does not care how many points he makes or how many points the man he's guarding makes. They're all blue collar workers that's concerned about one thing.

Winning.

That's how the Lakers will need to do to start competing with the young Thunder. They have to ignore the bumps and bruises. Ignore the fatigue. Ignore the "Beat L.A." chants. Ignore everything else but that little voice that says, "I know I could do better."

The Lakers have to learn to hate losing again. And I mean really hate losing. By now, they should be sick in the pits of their stomach to even try to think of what to say to the media about what happened.

I know I'm beyond tired of hearing their excuses.

I'm quite sure they don't want to hear another thing about how they look old or how they're too slow to keep up with the Thunder. But we all know there's only one way to keep all that from happening.

So how about it Lakers?

Game 5 on Tuesday is just around the corner. Are you going to let these kids continue to run all over you or are you going to finally put your foot down and say enough's enough?!

You know what they say...action speaks louder than words.

GO LAKERS!!!

Right about now, most of us Laker fans thought that this series was either a wrap for the Lakers (2-2) or have a commanding 3-1 lead heading back to Los Angeles. I guess someone forgot to send the memo to the Oklahoma City Thunder (2-2) who took it to the defending champs in every way possible.

Maybe this is why Phil Jackson would rather face any of the other 6 teams in the west than this young team that plays like gangbusters. They are selfless. They play for one another. And most of all, they are fearless.

I thought before that they're confidence was premature and natural for such a young team blinded by their success heading into the playoffs. Well, they're proving me wrong every game so far. This team just doesn't know the meaning of "quit."

I know I wasn't alone when I said that the Lakers will bounce back after the loss in Game 3 because they almost often do. But I don't think even the Thunder could have predicted the way they manhandled the Lakers. It was U-G-L-Y from the get-go.

Fortunately for the Lakers, OKC will have to beat them two more times to advance to the second round. Then again, the Lakers will also have to do the same thing to move on. From what I've seen the past couple of games, that is becoming more and more of an impossible mission.

The Lakers started out with their gameplan of utilizing their two 7-footers in the post down to a T. So much so that even Kobe Bryant didn't put up a shot until well into the second quarter. Not sure if that's part of the plan or if it was just a coy to save Kobe's energy and legs in the second half, but it probably hurt Bryant's shooting later in the game.

Assistant coach Jim Cleamons pointed out before the game that the Lakers need to slow or stop OKC's transition game. It's been their greatest challenge so far, but it doesn't look like the Lakers are making any progress. Second chance points help prevent the Lakers from gaining any momentum or chip away at the big Thunder lead also. Too many guys in purple and gold are just standing around waiting for the ball to land on their lap instead of going after it or finding the nearest body to box out.

Perimeter shooting was, again, another factor for the loss. But aside from Kobe (whose finger clearly is still bothering him), there's Derek Fisher and Ron Artest to rely on for some outside offense. As we all know, neither one even has a reliable stroke to begin with. And no, I won't even get into the bench's perimeter game.

In other words, the key to this series is Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. The problem is these guys are in a rely position meaning they need the perimeter guys to get them the ball in the post. But the Thunder has been doing a great job at making all entry passes very difficult for the offense the entire series.

Frankly, the plan of passing the ball around until something gives isn't working. Not with the kind of defense the Thunder are employing. I think the Laker bigs need to run down the court and start sealing their guys into position. Then, the ballhandlers will have to get them the ball as soon as possible much like what Shaq used to do.

Lamar Odom finally decided to show up with 12 points, but he was way too late for the party. You can't pick the game or team you want to play, Lamar. Get your head out of your you-know-what!

OKC's glaring weakness on defense is still their one-on-one coverage of either Pau or Andrew. The Lakers could have an easier time exploiting it if their perimeter game is doing its job. And who knows when (if ever) they'll start shooting at a good percentage?

This is going to be one long flight home for the Lakers. Lots to digest. Lots to think about. Lots of things to iron out for Game 5. Like it or not, that game will be the deciding point of this series. I just have a feeling that whoever wins the next game will take this series regardless if it goes to Game 7 or not.

What's it gonna be Lakers?

GO LAKERS!!!

Game 4 highlights: