Oklahoma City will play the Lakers in the second round

It’s official: Lakers versus Thunder in the second round.

It took seven games, but the Lakers finally finished off the Nuggets 96-87 to move on. And now they have to take on the waiting Thunder just two days later, after Oklahoma City has been resting for nine days.

Obviously the fact that the older Lakers had to press so much to advance should benefit the Thunder, but then again, I remember OKC waiting on a Memphis team last season that didn’t have much time off and the Thunder dropping a clunker in Game 1 while the Grizzlies didn’t miss a beat.

A quick review: The Thunder went 2-1 against the Lakers this season with a 15-point win and nine-point win, with the loss being in double-overtime with James Harden missing the entire second half.

A lot of this series will clearly hinge on the health of Kendrick Perkins as there’s no one better in the game at guarding Andrew Bynum. All indications are that Perk should be ready to go for Game 1. It’s just a matter of how ready he’ll be.

More thoughts to come of course, but it’s time to start thinking about basketball again. A lot of storylines, but forget that stuff. It’s time to play, which means it’s time to win.

Game 1 is Monday at 8:30 CT in Oklahoma City. Finally, it’s time for round two for the Thunder.