Unfortunately, despite being in control throughout the majority of Game 2, the Lakers fell short after a 9-0 run by the Thunder in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter. This collapse late in the game showed the Lakers that they can’t take their foot off the gas pedal against this team as the Thunder will capitalize and ultimately advance to the Western Conference Finals.
After the loss to the Thunder, All-Star center Andrew Bynum got the media buzzing once again with some controversial and ill-advised comments via Sekou Smith of NBA.com:
“We’re better than Santa Claus giving out gifts,” said Lakers center Andrew Bynum. “We like giving out gifts. We give out games, contracts and rings.”
As if Bynum’s comments during the regular season and the playoffs haven’t been enough to question the 24-year-old’s maturity, the up-and-coming center continues to open his mouth at the wrong times.
Obviously, the Thunder aren’t the Denver Nuggets and really don’t need more motivation to beat the Lakers. In the first two games of this series, Oklahoma City has proven to be the better all-around team and the clear favorite to advance to the next round.
With that being said, the fact that Bynum would add more fuel to the fire with comments that will almost certainly motivate Kevin Durant and company heading to Los Angeles for Game 3 and Game 4 makes many people wonder what it going on in his head.
There’s no question that Bynum is a talented big man with a potentially bright future with the Lakers, but he continues to make things harder on this team with questionable comments that hurt rather than help Los Angeles in the playoffs. The comments about contracts and rings also leaves many scratching their heads as it is uncertain what Bynum meant.