POINT GUARD:  Ramon Sessions had a hard time with Ty Lawson in the first round of the playoffs.  He’s going to have an even tougher go in this series against Russell Westbrook.  Sessions played in 7 games (all starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 32.6 minutes, 11.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game.

Russell Westbrook was rock solid in the first round of the playoffs and he’s likely going to be good against the Lakers.  Westbrook played in 4 games (all starts) for the Thunder in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 36.5 minutes, 22.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.3 steals per game.

EDGE:  THUNDER

SHOOTING GUARD:  Kobe Bryant is still the best player on the Lakers, but they are going to need him to share the ball with the big men like he did in Game #7 against the Nuggets.  Bryant played in 7 games (all starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 40.3 minutes, 29.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.1 steals per game.

Thabo Sefolosha is a defensive specialist.  He played in 4 games (all starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 17.3 minutes, 3.3 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.  The bad thing here is that Kobe Bryant is going to get to rest on the defensive side of the court when Sefolosha is on it.

EDGE:  LAKERS

SMALL FORWARD:  Metta World Peace is one of the most overrated players in the entire NBA.  He is going to be very important in this series though because he’s going to have to cover Kevin Durant.  Peace played in 1 game (1 start) in the first round of the playoffs and he played 44 minutes in which he had 15 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocked shots.

Kevin Durant is a big time player and he’s going to take his game to a higher level in this series.  Durant played in 4 games (all starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 41.5 minutes, 26.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.0 steal and 1.8 blocked shots per game.

EDGE:  THUNDER

POWER FORWARD:  Pau Gasol played a great Game #7 for the Lakers last Saturday Night, but he was sleepwalking the rest of the series against the Nuggets.  Unless Gasol is at top form, the Lakers can’t upset the Thunder in this series.  Gasol played in 7 games (all starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 36.6 minutes, 12.9 points, 9.1 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.4 blocked shots per game.

Serge Ibaka is one of the best defensive players on the planet.  He gets most of his shots off of rebounds, so he’s going to be around the basket this whole series.  Ibaka played in 4 games (all starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 29.8 minutes, 11.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 3.3 blocked shots per game.

EDGE:  SLIGHT FOR LAKERS

CENTER:  Andrew Bynum is one of the best centers in the NBA when he’s focused and motivated.  Bynum played in 7 games (all starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 37.4 minutes, 16.7 points, 12.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 4.0 blocked shots per game.  The Lakers need Bynum to be a force in this series if they are going to upset the Thunder.

Kendrick Perkins gets paid to rebound and play defense.  He only usually gets shots off rebounds.  He played in 4 games (all starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 22.3 minutes, 3.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.

EDGE:  LAKERS

BENCH:  The Lakers have tightened up the bench as only four players have been getting consistent minutes so far in the playoffs.  Steve Blake has been pretty solid for the Lakers so far in the playoffs and they hope it continues.  Blake played in 7 games (0 starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 27.6 minutes, 7.4 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.  Jordan Hill is the most prominent big for the Lakers off the bench.  He played in 7 games (0 starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 20.1 minutes, 5.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 0.1 assist per game.  SG/SF Devin Ebanks replaced Metta World Peace in the first round of the playoffs until Game #7.  Ebanks played in 7 games (6 starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 15.1 minutes, 4.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game.  Matt Barnes is the Lakers’ defensive stopper off the bench.  He played in 7 games (0 starts) in the first round of the playoffs for the Lakers and he averaged 19.9 minutes, 4.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steal per game.

The Thunder like to roll with their starters for the most part except for the 6th Man of the Year Award winning SG James Harden.  Harden is one of the best offensive players on the Thunder.  He played in 4 games (0 starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 32.3 minutes, 18.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.5 steals per game.  Backup point guard Derek Fisher is going to relish the shot at taking on his old team in this series.  Fisher played in 4 games (0 starts) for the Thunder in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 23.8 minutes, 8.3 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.  Nick Collison will likely be the first big off the bench for the Thunder in this series.  He played in 4 games (0 starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 18.5 minutes, 2.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.  SG/SF Daequan Cook helps the Thunder stretch the D when he’s on the court due to his long range shooting.  Cook played in 4 games (0 starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 10.5 minutes, 3.5 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.  Backup center Nazr Mohammed might get more P.T. in this series.  He played in 2 games (0 starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 8.0 minutes, 2.0 points and 1.5 rebounds per game.

EDGE:  EVEN

COACHING:  42-year old head coach Mike Brown isn’t really the man in charge for the Lakers as the players don’t respect him one bit.  He somehow got the Lakers to beat the Nuggets in seven hard fought games.  Brown is now 46-32 (59%) in the playoffs as an NBA head coach.

46-year old Scott Brooks is a much better coach than Mike Brown.  Brooks led his Thunder to a 4 game sweep over the Jazz in the first round of the playoffs.  Brooks is now 15-12 (55.6%) as a head coach in the playoffs.

EDGE:  THUNDER

PREDICTION:  THUNDER IN SIX GAMES