#1 -- Dallas
#2 -- Oklahoma
#3 -- San Antonio
The other teams (Denver, Portland, Utah, Phoenix) have no real hope against LA.
I disagree that OKC has a chance. They don't have a legit C, and they also have no playoff experience. Those two issues are [dang]ing for a playoff team. They'll give their first round opponent a hard time, but that's it.
It's similar to Portland last year. They were one of the hottest teams in the NBA in the second half of the year, and they ended up with the 3 seed, but they lost to Houston because they couldn't match up down low and they lacked experience.
Sefolosha is the best wing defender in the NBA and he gives Kobe Bryant a huge amount of trouble. He can defend Kobe straight up and in doing so he can limit Kobe's playmaking + has the size to trouble Kobe's post game and force him into more jump shots + lower Kobe's overall offensive efficiency.
From there -- Los Angeles cannot stop (1) Kevin Durant (2) Russell Westbrook (3) Oklahoma's transition game.
I agree the Lakers can beat Oklahoma, comfortably beat them, if they pound the ball inside and let Gasol + Bynum tear them apart. If Kobe Bryant takes a back seat and allows his big men to be the focal points offensively. That is a very big "if" though. And, to me, that is the exact same "if" for (1) Lakers against San Antonio (2) Lakers playoff hopes in general - whether they are the most talented team in the league and the team to beat, or, if they're vulnerable (as they have been throughout the regular season) and there for the taking.
Until Kobe makes that adjustment, and becomes more of a facilitator, I'm going to keep both Oklahoma and San Antonio in the picture.
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Kobe had some similar issues back during their three-peat but he always (except 2004) put the team ahead of his own agenda when it came time to play in the playoffs. But back then he had Shaq on the team. A dominant personality and player who demanded the ball and took over games. As a result, I was never really worried about him putting himself before the team.
On this Lakers team today? I don't know. I don't think it's a given that he makes that adjustment. Nobody on that roster will stand up to him, call him out. They all kiss his ass. And Gasol is so passive, so too is Odom, and Bynum is only semi-established.
Maybe it happens, maybe it doesn't. I don't know. The answer to that decides how much of a threat a team like Oklahoma can be + the Lakers overall postseason hopes.
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Portland lost to Houston because they had a one dimensional offense (Brandon Roy + shooters with a lack of other go-to scorers) and were matched up against the best defensive team in the West and the best wing defender in the NBA (that season). They were able to contain everyone on that roster outside of Brandon Roy and turned Portland into a below average defensive team. Portland were also a mediocre defensive team so they didn't have much to fall back on once their offense began to fail.
In comparison, Oklahoma is a very good defensive team + has three matchup advantages that cause the Lakers a huge amount of problems on the other end of the floor.
I think that Oklahoma and Portland are two very different situations.