The Oklahoma City Thunder hosted the Los Angeles Lakers in Game One of the Western Conference Semifinals On Monday night, and as I prepared to bunker in with all of my support behind my hometown squad, the realization that I had been nervous about this potential matchup since the playoff draw was apparent.
I'd been mostly nervous about facing the Lakers just out of sheer respect for Kobe Bryant and the frontcourt duo of Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. They've always given the Thunder problems, they've been through the wars and, most importantly, they've got the rings to back it up.
Then, they got the proverbial 30-piece. Rolling Thunder.
WTF
Five quick points from last night:
1. Metta World Peace was awesome in the first quarter versus the Thunder. Realistically, there's no one on OKC that can actually check him. Too bad (good for us) Mike Brown totally stopped going to him after 12 minutes.
2. The Thunder will probably not play that good again.
3. The Lakers will probably not play that poorly again.
4. Russell Westbrook messed around last night and almost had himself a triple-double. If the #BEATEMDOWN wasn't on full display, Russie probably gets it.
5. Isn't Mike Brown supposed to be a defensive coaching guru? If so, did that man really throw a 3-2 zone defense out there last night? That blew my mind. I haven't seen that defense run since high school when my coach ran it. We weren't that good of a team.
Here's your pertinent reading material for Tuesday; enjoy.
FOX Deportes: City Wins The Premiership In A Fashion All Their Own
Fast Company: 5 Ways To Smarter Ideas From Atari Founder Nolan Bushnell
espnW: For T.O., this was too much reality
Dime Mag: The 10 Best LeBron James/Dwyane Wade Alley-Oops
Esquire: The $100 Custom Dress Shirt to Hunt Down Next
Mail Online: Roberto Mancini wants new Manchester City deal
Gamma Squad: Diablo III: The Review In Four Points
Los That Sports Blog: Kimbo Slice improves to 5-0; KO’s opponent 36 seconds
Marble Stoop: The Amazing Spiderman 4 Min Preview Trailer
Smoking Section: So What Exactly Is Chris Bosh’s Abdominal Strain?
AverageBro: Don't Free Lil' Boosie
Eddie Maisonet is the founder and editor emeritus of The Sports Fan Journal. Currently, he serves as an associate editor for ESPN.com. He is an unabashed Russell Westbrook and Barry Switzer apologist, owns over 100 fitteds and snapbacks, and lives by Reggie Jackson’s famous quote, “I am the straw that stirs the drink.”