NBA Playoffs 2012: Why the Los Angeles Lakers Can Upset Oklahoma City

After a hard-fought Game 7 win against the Denver Nuggets, the Los Angeles Lakers move on to a much more daunting task as they move deeper in the 2012 NBA Playoffs—stopping Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder in Round 2.

For Los Angeles and its fans, being the underdog  is not a well-known feeling. Used to occupying the pinnacle of the Western Conference, the Lakers will need to adjust quickly to the role of underdog if they hope to take down the young and dangerous Thunder. 

The last time these two teams met provided an interesting example of how quickly things can shift in the NBA.

In 2010, the Lakers, the top-seeded team in the West and a favorite to take home the Larry O' Brien trophy, faced off against a youthful but explosive OKC squad in the first round. LA took the series in six games, but NBA fans were provided a first look at a Thunder team only beginning to scratch the surface of their collective potential.

Fast forward two years and that potential has fully come to fruition.

The Thunder stand as the second-seeded team in the conference, replacing the Lakers as a likely pick to take the NBA crown. On the flip-side, the Lakers have entered somewhat of a transitional period with a new coach and a roster that only moderately resembles their past championship squads. 

However, anyone who's observed the league for the past decade knows that counting out Kobe Bryant and the Lakers before the series begins is foolish. Never a team to casually descend down the ranks of the league, the Lakers will undoubtedly fight tooth and nail to maintain their reputation as the elite of the West.

So how can the Lakers be able to retain their status as contenders?

A Big Performance from the Frontcourt

Put on display by Pau Gasol's fantastic performance in Game 7 against Denver, the Lakers have assembled perhaps the toughest frontcourt combo in the league. The combination of Andrew Bynum and Gasol is a dangerous duo to defend, and both will need to at their best and biggest if they hope to take down the Thunder in Round 2.

Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka are no slouches, and they will be a tough matchup for Gasol and Bynum. But the Lakers should have the advantage, especially on the offensive side of the ball.

Gasol and Bynum have both struggled with consistency, so how they perform during this series will be telling of how the Lakers should fare in the second round.

Production from the Bench

Depth has been an issue all year for the Lakers, and the lack of it reared its head during their first round series. Against the Nuggets, the Lakers bench averaged 19 points in seven games, only slightly higher than Thunder sixth-man James Harden, who himself averaged 18.5 points per outing against the Mavericks.

Lakers coach Mike Brown will not be able to implement the short rotation he favored against Denver, meaning that the Lakers bench will be pivotal in their success against OKC.

Look for Steve Blake to be an x-factor, as his 19 points against the Nuggets in Game 7 were crucial to the Lakers win. If the Lakers can find production like that out of Blake and their other role players against the Thunder, it should make for an interesting series.

Kobe Bryant Performs at His Playoff-Best

No longer the undisputed king of the West, Kobe Bryant will have a chance to prove he's still the dominant player who ended the Thunder's playoff hopes two years ago.

To do so, he will have to outplay Kevin Durant, who has assumed his former role as the most dominant player in the conference in recent years. While Bryant may have lost a step or two since his mid-decade dominance of the league, he still holds more playoff experience than nearly any player in the league and certainly more than Durant.

If the Lakers hope to have any chance at upsetting the Thunder in the second round, Bryant must be able to out-produce and out-perform Durant. And he must deliver a signature performance that will sway momentum in the Lakers favor.

If the Lakers are able to successfully achieve these three goals, they should have a good chance at unseating the Thunder and reclaiming their status as a favorite in the West once again.