This Oklahoma City Thunder-Los Angeles Lakers Western Conference playoff showdown has been a long time coming, particularly for the Thunder players. It's an open secret that the Thunder and Lakers have developed quite a rivalry, one that was heightened when Metta World Peace struck James Harden with a monstrous elbow to the back of the head late in the regular season.
The Thunder have been waiting on the Lakers, after disposing of the defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks in four games while the Lakers struggled to put away the Denver Nuggets in seven games. But the wait is over, much to the relief of the Thunder.
"I'm definitely ready to play," guard Russell Westbrook said following the Thunder's shootaround on Monday. "We've just been waiting on them to finish and now we get a chance to play."
"We definitely are ready, we're excited," head coach Scott Brooks said. "We had a great week of practice. Guys were really into it. We know what they do and they know what we do. It's going to come down to how hard we play, how well we execute and making them miss. Rebounding the basketball is going to be a big part of this game tonight."
Read more about the Thunder at Welcome To Loud City.