The Frankenstein Blues...

Sing it, Zen Master. Phil Jackson, the uber-dork so-called basketball genius who is the instigator of so many provocatively idiotic, thinly veiled patronizing remarks about opponents and referees, all in the name of "getting into their heads", is looking pretty stupid right about now.

The Oklahoma Thunder, for all intent and purposes, should have been bounced out of the playoffs by now. The Lakers should have swept their 8th seed opponents and should have been on a flight back to L.A. right now to rest up for their next opponent. But something funny happened on the way to the broom closet...


That something is called Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma Thunder. The younger, more athletic Thunder have something the Lakers don't have-their big star is healthy, and the other cats on the team have stepped up despite not having the front court talent of the Lakers. One thing that HAS happened is the Thunder coach has thrown a spanner in the works by having the longer limbed Kevin Durant defend Kobe Bryant. And the Lakers have no guard quick and strong enough to defend against Russell Westbrook-


And now the series becomes a best of three, with the Thunder having one more game at home. This is NOT how the first round was supposed to go for the Lakers, but let's give credit where credit is due-Kevin Durant, who was accused of losing the psychological battle because he dared to answer Phil Jackson's pathetic drivel over the fact that he gets to the foul line frequently, has shown up BIG for his first NBA playoff series. He struggled in game 1 when Ron Artest was all over him like blonde hair dye on a stripper, but he regained his composure and has been the leader the Thunder need him to be, averaging 28 points and 11 rebounds so far in the series. That type of production is nothing to sneeze at, brothers and sisters. This cat is for real.

Other players have accused Durant of getting "superstar calls". Well, if these jack asses haven't noticed, Kevin Durant IS a superstar. He averaged 30.1 points a game and became the youngest player in league history to win a scoring title. The Thunder went from 23-59 last year to 50-32 this year, separated from the Lakers in the win column by only seven games. This is in an incredibly competitive Western Conference, where there are no built-in patsies like in the Eastern Conference. This team is young, but they are good. They may not win this series, but they've definitely won the psychological battle that the Lakers Frankendork of a coach so revels in. Go Thunder!!!