Fresh off their victory over the Nuggets on Saturday evening, the Lakers will head to Oklahoma City on Monday for Game 1 of the second round of the playoffs to take on the Thunder. A re-energized Pau Gasol has the Lakers looking dangerous even against a heavily-favored Thunder squad.
The return of Metta World Peace in the final game of the series proved to be critical to the Lakers' success against the Nuggets and could potentially be a difference maker against the Thunder. The Lakers will also need improved play from Ramon Sessions or he could continue to lose minutes to Steve Blake, who put together an outstanding performance Saturday night at the Staples Center. Andrew Bynum showed flashes of brilliance at times against Denver but still needs to prove that he can play at a high level for an entire series, not just a few games.
What do you think? Will Kobe's supporting cast be able to come through against the likes of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden as they did against the Nuggets in Game 7?