After a devastating 29-point loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 on Monday night, Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers was asked about whether or not he believes his team can guard the faster, younger Thunder squad.
In a one word reply, Kobe simply said:
“No.”
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With all the ridiculous questions that the five-time NBA champion receives on a daily basis, there’s bound to be some sarcasm in his responses. Whether or not Kobe was being sarcastic about this question is up to the viewer to decide, but after getting destroyed by Oklahoma City it would be safe to say that this question actually has some merit.
It’s no secret or surprise that the Lakers struggled against the Thunder in Game 1 of this second-round series, but the consensus was that they’d bring a better effort than they did right out of the gate.
One day of rest isn’t going to get the job done for a veteran team like the Lakers between playoffs series. With the Denver Nuggets taking them to a full seven games in the first round and having to deal with a grueling regular season schedule due to the NBA lockout has definitely taken its toll on this team.
It remains to be seen if the Lakers can bounce back from this Game 1 massacre and take Game 2 at Chesapeake Energy Arena on Wednesday night before traveling back to Los Angeles for Game 3 and Game 4, but they will definitely be sporting the underdog tag from here on out with the Thunder being dubbed the overwhelming favorite to advance to the Western Conference Finals.
