Blown Opportunities Will Haunt Los Angeles Lakers All Summer

The Los Angeles Lakers seemed to have Game 4 of their conference semifinal matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder well in hand. They would knot the series up at two games apiece and head back to Oklahoma City with a chance to take a 3-2 lead in Game 5. Up 13 with eight minutes to go, this was bound to happen, right?

Wrong.

For the second time in four days, the Lakers blew a humongous opportunity against the Thunder. In Game 2 on Wednesday night, Los Angeles had a seven-point lead with two minutes to go. Due to turnovers and some poor shooting, the Lakers blew it, and Oklahoma City rallied for the win and a 2-0 series lead.

That wasn't half as painful as what happened in L.A. on Saturday night.

Down 91-78 at one point in the fourth quarter, the Thunder put together a 25-9 run, capped by two James Harden free throws that sealed the deal after Kevin Durant nailed a go-ahead three-pointer with 13.7 seconds left, to stun the Lakers 103-100 and take a commanding 3-1 lead back to Oklahoma City for a Game 5 on Monday night.

So, how can one explain Los Angeles' second collapse in a span of 96 hours?

Well, it was similar to what happened in Game 2, except on a much grander scale. Instead of making a couple of mistakes over the course of two minutes, the Lakers made a multitude of errors over the course of eight. Perhaps none were more crucial than Pau Gasol's bad pass turnover, which led to Durant's dagger three.

With the score tied at 98 with 50 seconds to play, Russell Westbrook slipped, lost the handle on the ball and gave L.A. a chance to take the lead. Steve Blake dribbled up the court and put the ball in the hands of Kobe Bryant. Then, Bryant was doubled out on the perimeter, so he proceeded to dump the ball off to Gasol.

This is where my mind (and the minds of around 19,000 at the Staples Center) was blown.

Upon receiving the pass from Bryant, Gasol had a wide-open 10-to-12-foot jumper from the corner, a shot he can normally make in his sleep. Instead of attempting the shot, Gasol inexplicably decided to pass the ball to the middle of the floor where it was intercepted by Durant. Durant would proceed to march down the floor and can a three in the face of Metta World Peace, taking the air out of the building and completely deflating the Lakers.

Bryant would then miss a three to tie the game on L.A.'s next possession, and two free throws from Harden clinched the win for the Thunder.

After the game, Bryant, who scored 38 points in Game 4, was quick to point out that Gasol should have taken that shot, saying "Pau's got to be more assertive ... He's got to shoot the ball." I think everyone on the floor, in the building and watching the game from home was thinking the same thing.

That said, Kobe is not exempt from blame here. The former MVP went 2-of-9 from the floor in the fourth quarter, and the second field goal was a meaningless one as time expired. During those final eight minutes, Bryant made a habit of dribbling out the shot clock, and then forcing up a contested jump shot. One fell, and a couple of others went halfway down and popped out, but despite the fact that he was give or take a couple of centimeters on those misses from sealing Game 4, they were not good looks, and Bryant should have known that.

It seemed as if the Lakers did not even attempt to pound the ball into Andrew Bynum late in the game. Of course, Bynum had Kendrick Perkins—arguably the best pure low-post defender in the league—draped all over him, but he was still an efficient 9-of-15 from the floor, and when you have a dominant big man like Bynum, you have got to get him the ball in crunch time.

I understand that Bryant is "the guy" and has closed out countless playoff games over the course of his illustrious career, but when you're up 13 with eight minutes to go in a game that you absolutely must have, you have to focus on getting the ball inside, especially when Bynum is your center.

Now, Los Angeles is faced with the task of rallying from a 3-1 deficit against a team that has ripped its hearts out twice in the series. The funny thing is, the Lakers could very well be the team up 3-1 with a chance to close out Oklahoma City, but the fact is that they aren't. The Thunder have done an incredible job of executing late in games in this series, from timely defensive stops to clutch field goals by Durant. L.A.?

It did a fine job in Game 3, when Bryant exploded for 14 of his 36 points in the final period, but that has been it.

Unless the Lakers have a three-game winning streak against the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference in them, they are going to spend all summer (and possibly beyond) wondering what could have been during the 2012 NBA Playoffs.