2010 NBA Playoffs Prediction: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder

The first round of the Western Conference playoffs should be exciting. Although the one-seed versus eight-seed series often end up being one sided, the match up between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Oklahoma City Thunder should be exciting.

Los Angeles Lakers 2010 NBA Playoffs Preview

The Lakers are the defending national champions and have more playoff experience and combined championships than any other team in the NBA. That being said, the current incarnation of the Lakers looks nothing like last year's team. In fact, the team playing right now barely looks like the team that stormed to the top of the Western Conference standings in the first half of the season.

March and April saw the Lakers barely beating bottom feeders like the Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves. The Lakers also found themselves getting blown-out by other prospective playoff teams like the San Antonio Spurs and their first-round match up, the Oklahoma City Thunder.

In order for the Lakers to make it far in the playoffs, they'll need their entire roster healthy and playing disciplined defense. Andrew Bynum was in a similar situation last season and disappeared for most of the playoffs, and Kobe Bryant has been erratic with his right index finger injury. Without both Bynum and Bryant playing at a high level, it's tough to see the Lakers making it out of the Western Conference.

Oklahoma City Thunder 2010 NBA Playoffs Preview

Fortunately for the Lakers, the Oklahoma City Thunder have less playoff experience than just about any other team in the playoffs this year. The Lakers beat the Thunder in the season series, 3-1, but the last meeting between the two saw the Thunder winning 91-75 in Oklahoma City.

The Thunder, led by scoring champion and MVP candidate Kevin Durant, have been one of the pleasant surprises of the 2010 NBA season. They locked up a playoff spot early, but faltered down the stretch when given a chance to avoid having to face the Lakers in the first round.

For the Thunder to win, they'll need Durant playing at the top of his game. They'll also need to avoid losing the turnover battle as handily as they did in last week's loss to the Portland Blazers. If they can't force the Lakers into turnovers, they'll be in for a tough series, even if the Lakers shoot as poorly as they have in some games recently.

Lakers vs. Thunder Conclusion

The Lakers are limping into the 2010 NBA playoffs, but it's tough to count out their experience until we see if they can turn up their game. If the Lakers are able to play at the level they were through the first two-thirds of the season, they should be able to dispatch the Thunder. If, however, Kobe's shot isn't falling or the Lakers' defense can't contain Durant, the Thunder have a chance to steal this series and send the defending champions packing early.

2010 NBA Playoffs Prediction: Lakers defeat Thunder, 4-2

Source(s):

All statistics retrieved from ESPN.comhttp://espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2010/matchup/_/teams/thunder-lakers