ESPN

Never let it be said Metta World Peace isn't an eternal optimist. Despite exiting the second round of the playoffs for the second consecutive season, MWP doesn't consider the Lakers in need of radical change. Heck, he's still struggling to conceptualize the Oklahoma City Thunder as a team superior than his in the first place.

"The best team in the NBA lost in five," insisted MWP. "The best team in the NBA should be up 3-2, playing tomorrow. But the better team that took advantage of the moment, that took advantage of their time, they seized it and they grabbed it. They held onto it. So we gotta find a way to hold onto our moments."

MWP's time with the media was peppered with the phrase "should be up 3-2," and the overarching theme of his comments could be labeled "confidence." He's confidence in the form discovered after several months laboring and working himself back into shape. (The lockout prevented MWP from consulting the training staff to address a nerve issue in his back, and his conditioning in turn suffered.) The process was slow, and MWP was admittedly unsure he'd ever come close to the two-way dominance of his prime. But come April, slimmed down and healthy, Metta finally broke through and has no doubts this version will be the one gracing the hardwood moving forward.

"I just feel like I want to pick up right where I left off, and kind of prove something," proclaimed the former Defensive Player of the Year. "I never like to prove anything, but this time around, I kind of want to prove a little bit."

Metta also emphatically stressed the importance of this self-confidence trickling down to certain teammates. Particularly when it comes to deferring to Kobe Bryant. As far as MWP's concerned, the Mamba may be one of the greatest ever, but during crunch time those alongside him must start viewing themselves as equally worthy of making plays.

"I think at the end of the game, guys gotta trust themselves more," said MWP. "I think sometimes, not myself, but sometimes guys, they look to Kobe too much. I think they gotta understand Mitch (Kupchak) brought you here. Mitch also assembled teams that won championships, so he knows what he's doing. And he brought you here for a reason. Because you're good. So believe in yourself.

"When I first got here, I know Kobe is an amazing player. I know me and Kobe had a lot of conflict when we were on opposite teams, but I still looked up to Kobe because he played like (Michael) Jordan and Jordan is my favorite player. So when I got here, sometimes I would be in awe of Kobe, watching Kobe to see if he would make the shot. Wanting to see him win the game with the game-winner. And every game I'm like, 'He's gonna win! He's gonna win!' But I'm not making an impact on the game. I'm watching Kobe. Guys moving forward have to believe in themselves. I think if guys believe in themselves, you're gonna see a whole different team.

"You're playing with a great player. Five championships. I don't know how many people can say they got five championships in any sport. So no matter who the player is, you come to this team, you will look at Kobe as one of the greatest players ever. You know? But playing with Kobe for a long time, I understand I gotta chip in. I must chip in. So I think the young guys, not the older guys, a lot of young guys went through it this year. And I think coming back next year, they just have to understand, we gotta chip in.

"Chip in. Don't watch... chip in so Kobe can get his sixth ring, so I can get my second, and Pau (Gasol) can get his third, and things like that."

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For the second straight season, the Los Angeles Lakers have been bounced in the second round of the NBA playoffs. Not cause for panic in many markets, but in Los Angeles, where expectations are always stratospheric and Kobe Bryant is far closer to the end than the beginning of his career, it's enough to sound the doomsday horn. The end of a season is (almost) always a disappointing time, but usually comes with a tinge of wait-'til-next-year optimism. To that end, while the goal is not to add insult to Thunder-induced injury, people deserve candor:

I have no idea how the Lakers quickly return to a championship level.

Not to say I don't know what they need -- the needs are pretty apparent, and not a whole lot different than the ones from last offseason -- just that I don't know how they get it. Change, likely significant, must come, but unfortunately while the Lakers may be rich in the literal sense, as it relates to assets available to reconstruct a team, they're relative paupers:

• The Lakers lack young prospects not already integral to the team's success, have no quality draft picks, or easily moved talent bringing comparable talent in return.
• Well over the salary-cap and luxury-tax thresholds, the Lakers have limited tools -- a mini mid-level exemption worth a little more than $3 million, basically -- available in a market thin on quality unrestricted free agents. (Most restricted FA's won't be an option, because L.A. can't offer a contract large enough to dissuade a rights-holding team from matching.)
• After next season, the CBA's new SuperTax! kicks in, which at current levels could cost the Lakers tens of millions of dollars.

Good players cost money. The Lakers need more of them at a time when the prevailing pressure is to bring payroll down not up, or at the very least have a rock-solid plan to do so in the very near future.

Enjoy the summer, Mitch Kupchak and Jim Buss!

Having spent years kicking the can down the road in an effort to build a winner, for which management should be applauded, the box in which the Lakers placed themselves in the process has grown incredibly tight. They're still a good team, but one that just lost to a better team. No shame in that, except the standards in L.A. don't tolerate this sort of thing for very long. Moreover, the Lakers are on the way down, while the competition around them is rising. Oklahoma City is a juggernaut. Memphis, despite the early exit from the postseason, is a team with upside, as are the Clippers. A healthy Denver team is a threat. They're feeling good about the future in Utah, too, and is there any reason to believe San Antonio won't again be awesome next year?

This is the context of what could very well be a transformative, challenging and potentially fascinating offseason.

Here are eight questions facing the Lakers' front office as the summer rolls on ...

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Sometimes with a night's rest, the dawn of a new morning, and the opportunity for some fresh perspective, in the rear view mirror a game can look a little different.

Sometimes.





Game 2 Wednesday in Oklahoma City doesn't qualify. As we stepped into the studio about 17 hours after those fateful two minutes in the fourth quarter in which the Lakers blew a seven point lead, the sense of what they gave away was just as strong. I'm not going to lie, those hoping to be uplifted by the newest edition of the Land O'Lakers PodKast aren't going to like what you hear. After noting another critical example of poor execution -- Andy and I unwittingly showed up at the office in nearly identical outfits, among the more mockable things a brother writing/radio tandem can do -- we dive into the the big issues ...

• After briefly touching on L.A.'s final play, we get into why the loss in Game 2 was so significant. Yeah, it's nice the Lakers played OKC tight after the Game 1 blowout, but in a playoff series the lesser team can't afford to lose games they ought to win. In the process, we shoot down just about every moral-victory-encouraging-going-forward argument out there. Again, it's fairly depressing, which is why we make sure to drop a little Double Rainbow Guy in there.
• Is there any hope going forward for the Lakers to pull the upset?
• Ramon Sessions. He hasn't played well in the postseason. Why? What can change, and how does his poor playoff run impact his decision whether to become a free agent, and whether the Lakers should re-sign him?
• A quick look at the Clippers vs. San Antonio. We're no more optimistic about the chances of the red, white, and blue.

We're normally pretty chipper folk, but not today. Listen, but be prepared to shed a tear.

Lots of talk about the debacle in Game 1 (has "The World Naked Gardening Day Pruning" caught on, yet? I didn't think so.), and looking ahead to tonight's Game 2.

And while there is still a lot of hoops left to play against OKC, more than a few fans are looking forward to the offseason. We take a look at what might be coming, as well.

Here's the link to the transcript.

Before this series began, I listed a number of reasons Metta World Peace's suspension could prove sticky for the Lakers against Denver. By and large, however, Lakers fans didn't express much concern. Whether because most were focused more on the fairness of MWP's punishment or because most just didn't consider the Nuggets a particularly scary foe, the ramifications never became a major talking point. Six games into an increasingly unsteady playoffs, the small forward remains under the radar, brushed to the side by the likes of Andrew Bynum's Game 1 triple-double, Ty Lawson, JaVale McGee, "Closeout games are kinda easy," stomach viruses, Pau Gasol's steadily decreasing presence, Matt Barnes' ankle, Andre Miller torching Lakers guards, etc.

But make no mistake: This roster vacancy has caused serious problems. The supporting cast beyond the Big Three (and recently, beyond "The Big Anyone Not Named "Kobe" OR "Bryant") hasn't consistently put up points. Devin Ebanks was pulled from the starting lineup in Game 6's second half in favor of Matt Barnes ... which says something, considering that Barnes hasn't been terribly effective. Metta's defensive skills have obviously been missed, but more importantly, so has the defensive versatility. He can be employed against Nuggets ranging from Miller to Danilo Gallinari to Al Harrington to Kenneth Faried. His presence also means the Lakers can go small without playing Ramon Sessions and Steve Blake together, a move that inevitably leaves one to get bullied defensively.

Beyond all else, there's Metta's energy, something he brings consistently whether playing well or playing poorly. MWP is among the most mercurial players in NBA history, but you can set your watch by him going full speed. As Kobe said after the Game 6 loss, "He's the one guy that I can rely on night in and night out to compete and play hard and play with that sense of urgency and play with no fear." MWP is also the rare player who can change games through the force of his intensity. The Lakers have collectively failed to match Denver's energy as the series has progressed.

This is a team in desperate need of a spark, and Metta can be that human flint.

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To some degree, there's only so much players can say about a Game 7, given the general lack of nuance to the situation. Win, or the season's over.

For the Lakers, coming off weak efforts in Games 5 and 6, the winning formula isn't a huge mystery. At the very least, it starts with matching Denver's effort and energy. From there, the other considerations come into play. Hitting outside shots. Continuity in pick and roll defense. Finding creases in the paint, despite the flood of bodies Denver sends.

At least Kobe Bryant isn't tossing cookies any longer. His health, he said Friday, has improved. "They’ve been a tough couple days, but I’m feeling a lot better now," he said. Obviously good news, because the stakes in Saturday's game are large. Nervous hours for Lakers fans, maybe, but not for Kobe. "They’re fun," he said of Game 7's. "They’re fun games. Every possession counts even more so. There’s a lot of energy in the building and teams play with a sense of desperation on every single possession. It’s a fun game to be a part of."

Bryant also talked about getting Metta World Peace back in the lineup, and his comments following Thursday's loss that MWP is the only guy he can rely on to compete, play hard, and with urgency "night in and night out," along with the message he's delivering to Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum :



Click below for more video from this afternoon, from Mike Brown, Bynum, and Gasol.

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These closeout games ain't looking so easy, huh?

There will be a Game 7 after the Lakers drop -- and we do mean drop -- Thursday's Game 6 in Denver. Ugliness all around, save a great night from Kobe Bryant, who went for 31 despite battling a nasty stomach bug leaving him dehydrated enough to require two halftime IV's.

As for everything else, here was the agenda for tonight's show...

• A huge night for Denver's shooters, who were due for a breakout.
• A wretched night for Pau Gasol, who is now due for a breakout. One field goal, one dime, three rebounds.
• How did Andrew Bynum respond after the controversial Game 5?
• Will the Lakers win Game 7? We get into what has to change, the odds those things will happen, and what Metta World Peace brings to the table for Saturday.

Lakers forward Metta World Peace was supposed to appear on The Conan O'Brien Show back on April 23rd. For those without a calendar in front of them, that was one night after this.

Needless to say, a little rescheduling was required.

Monday night, MWP fulfilled his talk show commitment, sitting down with O'Brien. He talked about the play, and that he still hasn't spoken to James Harden personally. The latter will be a point of conversation, but isn't really anything new. The reasoning -- he doesn't want to talk to guys he might see in the playoffs -- makes enough sense, and World Peace did reach out through a third party to check on Harden's health. Asked if he thought the suspension was fair, Metta punted ("I really have no thoughts on the punishment") but did lob a few grenades at former players and media, as he did when he went on a (quickly deleted) Twitter jag after the NBA handed down the suspension.

All in all, it was pretty tame by MWP's previously established evening talk show standards. Not simply because he left his clothes on, either.

Metta World Peace has stayed busy through the first four games of his seven-game suspension in a variety of ways. According to his Twitter account, he has been recording tracks for his upcoming mix tape, entitled "Passion." He has been waking up for 5 a.m. workouts and tweeting the results, whether it be a picture of his chiseled abs or a chart tracking how he has changed his body -- in December he weighed 267.8 pounds, in April he was down to 246.5. He has recorded his podcast, "Mettaphorically Speaking: The Ron & Metta Show." He even booked an appearance on "Conan" for next week.

But that's not to say he hasn't been paying close attention to what the Lakers have been doing in their first-round series against the Denver Nuggets.

"He’s working hard. He’s engaged," said Lakers coach Mike Brown said before Game 3 on Friday. "Obviously, you never know (how World Peace will be able to perform when he returns from his suspension), but he’s working his tail off and he is engaged and that’s all you can ask for during this period."

Part of that engagement has included passing along tips to Brown with what he's seeing in the games. World Peace noticed something about how the Lakers were getting back in defensive transition against the Nuggets and told Brown, and Brown in turn, told the whole team at Friday's shootaround.

"After every game he talks to us and during practices he talks to us," Brown said. "He’s heavily involved with watching the game and trying to give his opinion on different things to different individuals and stuff like that, so he’s been good."

Coach Metta?

Not quite. Per the rules of an NBA suspension, World Peace cannot be in the arena during games, so you won't see him in a suit on the sidelines drawing up plays the way Kobe Bryant did when he earned his "Coach Kobe" moniker.

Despite that fact World Peace is banned from being in the Pepsi Center during the games, the Lakers brought him along for the road trip for Games 3-4.

The only way he'll play in the first round is if it goes to Game 7. If the Lakers beat Denver in six games, World Peace will be available for the start of the second round. If the Lakers beat Denver in four or five games, L.A. will (likely) start out against the Oklahoma City Thunder (who are up 3-0 on Dallas) and would have to face Kevin Durant without World Peace to stick on him.

While having World Peace from the start against the Thunder would certainly improve the Lakers chances of advancing to the conference finals, Brown is not about to throw a couple games in the first round to make that happen.

"I just want to win the next game and go on to the one after that, but I’m not trying to figure out when we get him back and all that other stuff, we just got to go play with whoever is in uniform," Brown said. "Whenever he comes back is when he comes back. We got to take care of business right now as best we can."

Dave McMenamin covers the Lakers for ESPNLosAngeles.com. Follow him on Twitter.

The Lakers may be up 2-0 over Denver in the playoffs, but that doesn't mean there isn't plenty of issues rattling around in the head of the average Laker fan.

What becomes of Devin Ebanks once Metta World Peace returns from suspension? What can the Lakers do to prevent the Nuggets from replicating Game 2's track meet pace? And do LeBron James and Dwayne Wade owe Kobe a royalty check on every chase-down block?

The transcript is here.

The three most common ways the word "discipline" is applied to the Lakers:

1) As a verb to convey punishment handed down by the league. The most recent examples include Metta World Peace's current seven-game suspension, or the four-game sentence served at the beginning of the season by Andew Bynum.

2) With the prefix "un" in front of it, and a "d" at the end.

3) As part of the phrase "a team that lacks discipline."

One element that's always impressed me about the Spurs throughout the Popovich/Duncan era is the methodical nature of those teams. Whether up 15, down 15, or in the middle of a close game, they always seemed to be playing exactly the same way. Players become metronomes in high-tops, plugging away towards a common purpose rarely if ever abandoned. Obviously, like all teams, the Spurs will experience mental lapses. But rare are the games where I've seen San Antonio beat itself, and that's in part because, collectively and consistently, they're an exceptionally disciplined bunch.

On the flip side, this is my seventh season covering the Lakers, and even during the winning titles stretches, a disciplined approach has never been their calling card. This is a group with a penchant for inexplicably breaking away from what's working, typically because they'd rather settle for jumpers than make an extra pass to find a better shot. Impatience rears its ugly head on a regular basis. Short cuts will be taken in an attempt to knock out a team in the third quarter, rather than systematically build a lead through four. Minds will wander with a cushion, and that daydreaming allows an opponent to get back into a contest.

In broader terms, the issue would be labeled "inconsistency," but I've always felt the root of the problem is a lack of personal discipline.

Thus, it kind of blew my mind Sunday watching the Lakers play what was certainly their most disciplined game of the season, and perhaps the last few years. When you go down the checklist of matters requiring restraint against the Nuggets, the Lakers passed with flying colors.

- From start to finish, the Lakers controlled tempo through an insistence on forcing their pace and refusing to get sucked into Denver's running game. Shots were launched sensibly within the offense, which cut down on run-out opportunities against an unbalanced defense. They also took care of the ball, turning it over just 11 times against a squad capable of inducing turnovers. And on the occasions where Denver did shift into fifth gear, transition defense was in furious effect, the angles cut off and the lane protected. Even Matt Barnes, playing on a bad ankle, managed to track down Corey Brewer from behind and poke the ball away.

On the season, the Nuggets led the league in points in the paint (53.4) and fast break points (19.8), while ranking third in points off turnovers (19.7). On Sunday, they scored just 44 total in the paint, 19 fast break points and 12 points off turnovers. The Lakers can easily live with those results.

- Defensively, the Lakers were as alert, alive and active. Denvers shooters were rarely left wide open, even by bigs forced to challenge in space or along the perimeter. Rotations were crisp and purposeful. Bynum clearly turned the game upside down with his paint presence, but Pau Gasol and Jordan Hill also blocked a pair of shots. Denver shot a miserable 35.6 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from Downtown en route to a scant 88 points, all far below the seasonal averages of the NBA's most prolific team.

- On Friday, I wrote about the pressure facing Devin Ebanks, Hill and Ramon Sessions while making their postseason debuts. All three are young players, potentially prone to the magnitude of this moment. But rather than attempting to do too much or playing out of control, we saw a trio of composed performances. Unfortunately, Hill is now dealing with a potential distraction, but in theory, this was a nice sign for the less experienced Lakers moving forward.

Again, it was a triumph of discipline, the importance of which can't be overlooked.

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He's not exactly healthy -- asked what causes pain for his sprained right ankle, he replied "Moving." -- but Matt Barnes will play Sunday when the Lakers and Nuggets open up their first round series at Staples Center.

Needless to say (but I'll say it anyway), this is spectacularly good news for the Lakers.

Already down Metta World Peace to suspension, facing Denver's depth and versatility the Lakers could ill afford to lose Barnes, leaving Devin Ebanks as the only available small forward not named Christian Eyenga. Now they have to hope Barnes, so reliant on energy and activity, can press through the pain and play his game, something he wasn't fully able to do last spring while fighting a knee injury. If he can't cut hard, move out on the break, or aggressively crash the glass, Barnes isn't nearly as effective. This is before we talk about the defensive side of the ball.

Coach Mike Brown still plans to start Ebanks, a smart choice allowing him to maintain continuity with the rest of his rotation, but Barnes is slated for heavy minutes. One of the more interesting things to watch over the course of the series will be the effectiveness of both on the offensive glass. Both Ebanks and Barnes posted offensive rebound rates near the top of the league among small forwards.

It doesn't serve the Lakers for them to be timid, but awareness will be key (with the 3's and the team as a whole). Well executed, aggressive work on the offensive glass will force the Nuggets to stick around the defensive end a little longer, taking some starch out of their transition game. On the other hand, mistakes will fuel Denver's attack.

"You've just got to pick and choose," Barnes said Saturday after practice. "We watched a lot of film on what we've done this year, what's been effective, and there are still times to go to the glass with them. You just have to pick and choose, because [Ty] Lawson's a one-man break, and Andre Miller likes to get the ball out and throw it ahead. So I've just got to be smart about when I crash."

Brown made it clear he doesn't want either to feel limited, but also emphasized judgment. A miscue here and there can be tolerated, but should either string a couple together Brown won't be shy about making substitutions.



Click below for more video from Saturday's practice, including Kobe Bryant, Ramon Sessions, Andrew Bynum, and Ebanks.

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A lot of factors can swing a playoff series. Individual and stylistic matchups. Home court advantage. Coaching. Unconsciously hot shooting. Injuries. Star power. And of course, experience. While oodles of "been there, done that" doesn't guarantee a championship (just ask the 2011 Los Angeles Lakers), it's never a bad thing to be well acquainted with the postseason. To a man, every player I've every spoken with has readily acknowledged the playoffs are an entirely different animal from the regular season. If you're not ready, that shift can be quite the eye-opener.

Over the last few years, we've grown accustomed to the Lakers as one of the NBA's more playoff-ready teams. In 2009, they won the title with a core one campaign removed from a trip to the Finals. In 2010, they repeated with an entire team -- save then-Ron Artest -- armed with at least one ring. 2011 may have ended with a whimper, but on paper, the Lakers' pedigree was perfect: A mix of reigning champions and seasoned veterans (Matt Barnes, Steve Blake) hungry to join the club.

This year, however, the roster composition is fairly different. Beyond the team being down to just four players with championship credentials (low by recent standards), they're not nearly as playoff-tested. In the "Pau" era, the only rotation player with essentially no playoff experience was Shannon Brown in 2009. This season, there are three. Ramon Sessions, Devin Ebanks and Jordan Hill all figure to play notable minutes, and all are making their postseason debuts this Sunday. (Oddly enough, Troy Murphy only has three minutes of playoff experience after 11 seasons, but at least he's a 11-year vet and his minutes will likely be sporadic.) Much is particularly expected of Sessions, but all will be asked to contribute on this elevated stage. There's no real way to comprehend what's in store for them beyond actually experiencing it. But that doesn't mean wisdom can't be imparted. With that in mind, I gathered perspective and memories from some of their teammates who've been there.

KOBE BRYANT
First playoff game: 4/25/97 vs. Portland, as a member of the Lakers

What felt immediately different in the playoffs?
"It's more physical. The game speeds up. The opposition really gets a chance to study your game and take away your strengths, so you have to make sure you have a well balanced attack. You have to make sure you think the game all the way through, because in the playoffs, things don't happen by accident. In the regular season, sometimes they do. In the postseason, they don't."

The Preparation
"Oh, man. I crammed so much. I knew every single play before they were running it. I was so hyped up, man! I studied the entire playbook, and Nick (Van Exel) and them were looking at me like I was crazy. 'What are you going?'

I was like, 'Isn't this what we're supposed to do?'

"Okay, young fella."

"Well, this is what I do."

Were there moments it paid off?
"It didn't really pay off much for me. I didn't play worth a s--- anyway." (laughs) I'm serious. But I learned a lot about the plays and different pro sets and from series to series, it was interesting to see how many teams essentially ran the same thing. So it was a good learning opportunity for me.

"If you don't do your preparation before Game 1, you don't know what adjustments are coming anyway. You have nothing to base if off of. For me, I did a great deal of studying, so I was able to watch from the bench, see what adjustments they made. See how they played Nick on screen/rolls. How they played Eddie (Jones') cuts. Shaq (O'Neal) in the post and all this stuff. So I learned a lot.

"They're small adjustments, but they're big adjustments. Sometimes the smallest moves give you the biggest returns."

Do you plan to talk with Sessions, Ebanks and Hill?
"Yeah, but the only message is to be fundamentally sound and minimize mistakes. That's really what it's about in every profession. In basketball, all it's about is minimizing your turnovers, controlling the glass, and controlling the tempo. And then everything else kind of gets into the execution of things."

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Two siblings for the price of one! Jeanie and Jim Buss appeared respectively on 710 ESPN's Max and Marcellus and Mason and Ireland today, hitting on a wide variety of topics. Because Laker fans can't get enough of their Buss kids, we're passing along the audio to the LO'L faithful. The shows can be heard by clicking on the links below and there are some talking points from each show listed below.

JEANIE BUSS (CLICK HERE TO HERE THE INTERVIEW)

- People have wondered why Jeanie hasn't attended as many games at Staples Center this season. It's because she's taking the opportunity to watch then with her main squeeze Phil Jackson, who's also recovering from knee replacement surgery. "He's doing really well," raves Jeanie. "I honestly think he's two inches taller, because his knee was so painful, it was kind of bow-legged, and now he looks great and he's feeling good.

- Is PJ feeling good enough to coach, and specifically for the Knicks as rumored? Jeanie says it's not worth discussing the Knicks because they have a coach (Mike Woodson), and nobody from New York or any other team has made an offer to begin with. Either way, if PJ comes out of retirement, it'll be because he wants to, rather than money.

- Jeanie is fine with the new CBA's goal of leveling the playing field between bigger and smaller market yeams. However, it's impossible to "revenue share" what the Lakers have in prestige and fans, so in that sense, they'll always have an ace in the hole.

- Phil still follows the NBA pretty regularly and in particular keeps tabs on all of his former players. (Even Vlad Rad!!!) He also hasn't made a prediction as to who will win it all, but thinks OKC-Dal is the most interesting first round matchup.

JIM BUSS (CLICK HERE TO HEAR THE INTERVIEW):

- Dr. Jerry Buss is feeling healthier by the day. In fact, he's about 80-90 percent back, by his son's estimation.

- Like many Lakers fans, he couldn't believe Mike Brown had the huevos to keep Jordan Hill on the floor down the stretch of the double OT win over OKC last Sunday. "I was saying, ‘Get Bynum in there! Get Bynum in there!," recalls Jim. "But we kept playing well and of course Jordan Hill had just a tremendous game, so, as usual I’m wrong and he was right and we won the game."

- Also like many Lakers fans, he places some of the blame on the Metta World Peace-James Harden altercation on the Thunder sixth man. But he also thought the seven-game suspension itself was a fair punishment.

"I know Metta and I know how hard he’s trying," says Jim. "If it was two other players and there was no history, which of course you have to take into consideration, but if there was no history I thought it looked like Harden came into him a little bit, maybe instigated something. Of course the blow as tremendous and awful and doesn’t belong in this game, so I think seven is just absolutely the perfect number … Any less I think it discounts it, any more I think it’s excessive."

Not so suck the wind out of Christian Eyenga's Lakers debut, but the Bold Play of Thursday's Game came before it started, when Kobe Bryant decided to sit it out, passing on a chance to beat out Kevin Durant for this year's scoring title.

Nor is a lot of analysis from Thursday's 113-96 loss required. With Bryant, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, Metta World Peace, and Matt Barnes in street clothes, the Lakers aren't very good. Not exactly a shock.

So instead of breaking down a meaningless loss in a meaningless game, let's look ahead to L.A.'s first round opponent, the Denver Nuggets.

George Karl's crew comes into Sunday's Game 1 (12:30 pm PT, ABC) as one of the West's hottest teams, going 11-4 over their last 15, including four straight victories to end the season. At 18-15, they sport the NBA's fifth best road record, and at +2.9 have a better average point differential than the Lakers. In short, they're a sturdy first round matchup for a shorthanded Lakers squad, one with no stars but scads of B-level talent.

Denver started 14-5 before injuries took them off the rails, and while not completely healthy -- forward Wilson Chandler is done for the year, as is guard Rudy Fernandez -- they should not be taken lightly.

Here's a primer on the Lakers' opening round matchup ...

SEASON SERIES - Lakers 3-1.

1. Lakers 92, Denver 89 (Dec. 31, Staples Center): In Bynum's first game of the season, the Lakers squeak out a win. Drew pops off for 30, while Bryant and Gasol each score 17.
2. Denver 99, Lakers 90 (Jan. 1, Pepsi Center): Kobe goes 6-of-28 from the floor, while six Nuggets score in double figures as Denver takes their half of the home-and-home.
3. Lakers 93, Denver 89 (Feb. 3, Pepsi Center): Bryant was only 7-for-23, but spread around nine assists. Bynum hit 10 of his 13 FGA's, as the Lakers held on to the ball (11 turnovers) and won the glass battle, 47-40.
4. Lakers 103, Denver 97 (April 13, Staples Center): Bynum went for 30/8 with three blocks as the Lakers raced to an early 11-point lead, beating Denver without Bryant in the lineup.

SEASON STATS (through Wednesday's games)-

Offensive Efficiency - Lakers 103.4 (10th), Nuggets 106.1 (3rd)
Defensive Efficiency- Lakers 101.4 (12th), Nuggets 103.4 (20th)
Pace (possessions per game) - Lakers 92.9 (20th), Nuggets 96.6 (2nd)
Rebound Rate (percentage of shots a team rebounds) - Lakers 53.1 (2nd), Nuggets 51.5 (4th)
Turnover Percentage (turnovers per 100 plays) - Lakers 14.2 (19th), Nuggets 14.1 (18th)

5 REASONS THE NUGGETS POSE A PROBLEM FOR THE LAKERS

1. Transition offense. Via Synergy, in transition possessions Denver is the NBA's third best team measured by points per play, at 1.205. Moreover, they push relentlessly. No team in the league has had more transition opportunities than the Nuggets, by a healthy margin of over 100 possessions. While Denver isn't a strong defensive squad, they do force turnovers (7th in defensive TOV%) and are solid on their own glass (9th in DRB%, only .08 percent behind L.A.), two keys in fueling an effective running game. The Lakers, meanwhile, grade out as the 25th ranked team defensively in transition, at 1.171 points per play.

You can see where this could be problematic.

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